King of the Hill
“When the world turns upside down, the trick is coming out on top.”
Synopsis
Based on the Depression-era bildungsroman memoir by writer A. E. Hotchner, the film chronicles the story of a boy trying to survive on his own in a hotel in St. Louis after his mother is admitted to a sanatorium for tuberculosis. His father, a German immigrant and traveling salesman employed by the Hamilton Watch Company, is frequently away on extended trips, and the boy is uncertain whether his father will return.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 48+ 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 SoderberghShot by Elliot DavisScored by Cliff MartinezDesigned by Gary Frutkoff
Box Office
1993 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.2× 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
$1.2M
Opening weekend: $46K — 4% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $73K — 6% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 5 theaters
Also known as
- König der Murmelspielerde
- Piccolo, grande Aaronit
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Cast & Crew
48 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Jesse Bradford
as Aaron
Jeroen Krabbe
as Mr. Kurlander
Lisa Eichhorn
as Mrs. Kurlander
Karen Allen
as Miss Mathey
Spalding Gray
as Mr. Mungo
Elizabeth Mcgovern
as Lydia
Cameron Boyd
as Sullivan
Adrien Brody
as Lester
Joe Chrest
as Ben
John Mcconnell
as Patrolman Burns
Amber Benson
as Ella McShane
Kristin Griffith
as Mrs. McShane
Supporting cast
26Chris Samples
as Billy Thompson
Peggy Freisen
as Mrs. Thompson
Katherine Heigl
as Christina Sebastian
John Durbin
as Mr. Sandoz
Lauryn Hill
as Elevator Operator
Jesse Zeigler
as Jealous Kid
Remak Ramsay
as Principal Stellwater
Fred Cherrick
as Woodbine Owner
Joseph Moynihan
as Woodbine Waiter
Don Richard
as Mr. Farley
Masaharu Takano
as Mr. Yamo
Craig Hawksley
as Golfer in Orange Pants
Aelred Rosser
as Other Golfer
Jason Feiner
as Marble Bully #1
Jared Joplin
as Marble Bully #2
David Jensen
as Front Desk Clerk
Harry Governick
as Second Policeman
Sarah Mermelstein
as Girl at Graduation
Kimberly Jenkins
as Girl at Party
Gabriel Levinson
as Boy with Apple
Ron Yerxa
as Donald Miller
Ron Vawter
as Mr. Desot - Hotel Manager
Christopher Meister
as Boy in Street
Jake Deptula
as Marble Bully #3
Richard Alan Nichols
as Bar Owner
Matthew Terry
as Stickball Player
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
3Other crew
7Parents Guide
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