John Q
Desperate factory worker John Archibald must raise a life‑saving $250,000 for his son's urgent heart transplant before the boy dies, battling crushing debt, an unsympathetic insurer and a ticking clock.
“Give a father no options and you leave him no choice.”
Synopsis
John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and later discovers that his HMO insurance will not cover a transplant. As a result, Archibald decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage in an effort to have his son's name added to the donor list.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 73+ 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 Dede AllenShot by Rogier StoffersScored by Aaron ZigmanDesigned by Stefania Cella
Box Office
2002 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 2.8× 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
$102.2M
US & Canada: $71.8M — 70% of worldwide · International: $30.5M (30%)
Opening weekend: $20.3M — 28% of its US run.
Opening week (7-day): $27.3M — 38% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 2,466 theaters
Full synopsis
Also known as
- John Q. - Verzweifelte Wutde
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Cast & Crew
73 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Denzel Washington
as John Quincy Archibald
Robert Duvall
as Lt. Frank Grimes
James Woods
as Dr. Raymond Turner
Gabriela Oltean
as Beautiful BMW Driver
Kimberly Elise
as Denise Archibald
Ron Annabelle
as Tow Truck Driver
Shawn Hatosy
as Mitch Quigley
Daniel E Smith
as Michael 'Mike' Archibald
Eddie Griffin
as Lester Matthews
David Thornton
as Jimmy Palumbo
Kevin Connolly
as Steve Maguire
Barry G King
as Employee Manager
Supporting cast
51Ethan Suplee
as Guard Max Conlin
Laura Harring
as Gina Palumbo
Ray Liotta
as Chief Gus Monroe
Anne Heche
as Rebecca Payne
Heather Wahlquist
as Julie Bird
Paul Johansson
as Tuck Lampley
Obba Babatunde
as Sgt. Moody
Troy Byer
as Miriam Smith
Troy Winbush
as Steve Smith
Martha Chaves
as Rosa Gonzales
Larissa Laskin
as Dr. Ellen Klein
Vanessa Branch
as Registered Nurse
Stephanie Moore
as Admitting Nurse
James Finnerty
as Nurse Reggie
Michael Jaye
as Insurance Rep
Yanna Mcintosh
as State Employee
Linda Massad
as Social Services Rep
Lester Mathews
as Human Services Rep
Noam Jenkins
as Medicaid Official
Allegra Fulton
as Sick Girl's Mother
Darrin Brown
as TV Buyer
Shera Danese
as Wife of Heart Transplant Patient
Kirsta Teague
as Dr. Turner's Assistant
Rick Sood
as Panicked E.R. Doctor
Scott Bloom
as Desk Guard
Dina Spybey Waters
as Debby Utley
Carlos Diaz
as Paramedic #1
Joe Duer
as Paramedic #2
Simon Sinn
as Fong
Jeff Douglas
as Computer Cop
Keram Malicki Sanchez
as Freddy B.
Philip Williams
as Wally Pitoniak
Nigel Shawn Williams
as News Anchor
Frank Cassavetes
as Sniper
Colin Evans
as Videographer
Angelo Tsarouchas
as Barricade Cop
Marcia Johnson
as Medical Transplant #1
Vijay Mehta
as Medical Transplant #2
Andrew Schaff
as U.N.O.S. Official
Malcolm Nefsky
as Nick
Jay Leno
as Jay Leno
Gloria Allred
as Gloria Allred
Larry King
as Larry King
Arianna Huffington
as Arianna Huffington
Ted Demme
as Ted Demme
Nas
as Nas
Bill Maher
as Bill Maher
Claire Rankin
as Public Defender
Philip Craig
as Judge K. Ploucha
Gerry Quigley
as Jury Foreman
Jane Luk
as O.R. Nurse (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
2Other crew
6Parents Guide
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