Great Expectations
A young man from a working-class background in New York rises through society with the help of a mysterious benefactor, but discovers that wealth and status come at a devastating personal cost.
“Let desire be your destiny.”
Synopsis
Loosely based on the Charles Dickens
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 237+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Steven WeisbergShot by Emmanuel LubezkiScored by Patrick DoyleDesigned by Tony BurroughSound by Richard BeggsCostumes by Judianna Makovsky Nm0538721VFX by Craig Barron
Box Office
1998 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 2.2× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$55.5M
US & Canada: $26.4M — 48% of worldwide · International: $29.1M (52%)
Opening weekend: $9.6M — 36% of its US run. Front-loaded — most of its money arrived opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $11.8M — 45% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 1,867 theaters
Also known as
- Große Erwartungende
- Grandes esperanzases
- De grandes espérancesfr
- Paradiso perdutoit
- (Bulgarian)Големите надежди
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- CanadaJan 30, 1998
- United StatesJan 30, 1998
- ItalyMar 2, 1998
- SpainMar 4, 1998
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Cast & Crew
237 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Ethan Hawke
as Finnegan Bell
Gwyneth Paltrow
as Estella
Hank Azaria
as Walter Plane
Chris Cooper
as Joe
Anne Bancroft
as Ms. Dinsmoor
Robert De Niro
as Prisoner, Lustig
Josh Mostel
as Jerry Ragno
Kim Dickens
as Maggie
Nell Campbell
as Erica Thrall
Gabriel Mann
as Owen
Jeremy James Kissner
as Finnegan at Age 10
Raquel Beaudene
as Estella at Age 10
Supporting cast
47Stephen Spinella
as Carter Macleish
Marla Sucharetza
as Ruth Shepard
Isabelle Anderson
as Lois Pope
Peter Jacobson
as Man on Phone
Drena De Niro
as Marcy
Lance Reddick
as Anton Le Farge
Craig Braun
as Mr. Barrow
Kim Snyder
as Mrs. Barrow
Nicholas Wolfert
as Security Guard
Gerry Bamman
as Ted Rabinowitz
Dorin Seymour
as Senator Elwood
Clem Caserta
as Hitman #1
Frank Pietrangolare
as Hitman #2
Dennis Paladino
as Hitman #3
Clem Caserta Jr
as Hitman #4
Marc Macaulay
as Cop on Boat
Ana Susana Gerardino
as Clemma
Francis Dumaurier
as Waiter
Pedro Barquin
as Lover
Kendall Williamson
as 7 Year Old Girl
Shobha Jain
as Singing Indian Woman
Aditi Jain
as Singing Indian Girl
Margo Peace
as Anchor Woman
Kimmy Suzuki
as Waitress
John P Casey
as Doorman
Adusah Boakye
as Taxi Driver
Dyan Kane
as Gallery Waitress
Anne Ok
as Gallery Receptionist
Alva Chinn
as Gallery Guest
G B Thomas
as Gallery Guest
Albert Zihenni
as Gallery Guest
Fritz Michel
as Gallery Guest
Lisa Herth
as Gallery Guest
Nino Pepicelli
as Gallery Guest
Wills Robbins
as Gallery Guest
Jewel Turner
as Gallery Guest
Jim Taylor Mcnickle
as Gallery Guest
Martin Alvin
as Gallery Guest
William Rothlein
as Gallery Guest
Maria Capp
as Gallery Guest
Patrick Coleman Duncan
as Art Gallery Patron
Spencer Kayden
as Mme. Ridgeway
Marshall Dancing Elk Lucas
as Friend of Fin
Paul Neglio
as Cop #2
Gary Newton
as DJ
Dale Resteghini
as Richard
Stephen Sherman
as Gallery Guest
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
6Other crew
173Marco S Paolini
2D lead artist: Digital Filmworks
Christopher Leone
2D lead artist: Digital Filmworks (as Christopher M. Leone)
Ann Caprio
accounting assistant
Stacy Pagac
accounting assistant: Florida
John Bell
additional orchestrator
Barbara Harris
adr voice casting
Jeremy Braben
aerial camera operator: Spacecam
David Holt
air conditioning technician
Abdul Franklin
apprentice editor
Carrie Puchkoff
apprentice editor (uncredited)
Lauren Buckley
art department coordinator (as Judith Lauren Buckley)
John Kasarda
Art Director
Parents Guide
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Where to watch
Live · bot-verified- The Criterion ChannelStream
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