Mr. Holland's Opus
A passionate musician takes a high‑school teaching job to fund his dream of composing a masterpiece, but must juggle demanding students, a strained marriage and a profoundly deaf son before his art—and his family—fall silent.
“Of all the lives he changed, the one that changed the most was his own.”
Synopsis
In 1965, passionate musician Glenn Holland takes a day job as a high school music teacher, convinced it will provide stability while he pursues his music career in the evenings.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 76+ 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 Trudy ShipShot by Oliver WoodScored by Michael KamenDesigned by David Nichols
Box Office
1995 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 3.4× 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
$106.3M
US & Canada: $82.6M — 78% of worldwide · International: $23.7M (22%)
Opening weekend: $23K — 0% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $23K — 0% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 1 theaters
Also known as
- Mr. Holland’s Opusde
- Professeur Hollandfr
- Goodbye Mr. Hollandit
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Cast & Crew
76 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Richard Dreyfuss
as Glenn Holland
Glenne Headly
as Iris Holland
Jay Thomas
as Bill Meister
Olympia Dukakis
as Principal Jacobs
William H Macy
as Vice Principal Wolters
Alicia Witt
as Gertrude Lang
Terrence Howard
as Louis Russ
Damon Whitaker
as Bobby Tidd
Jean Louisa Kelly
as Rowena Morgan
Alexandra Boyd
as Sarah Olmstead
Nicholas John Renner
as Cole at 6 Years Old
Joseph Anderson
as Cole at 15 Years Old
Supporting cast
54Anthony Natale
as Cole at 28 Years Old
Joanna Gleason
as Gertrude Lang as an adult
Beth Maitland
as Deaf School Principal
Patrick Fong
as Study Hall Student
Benjamin J Dixon
as Mr. Mims
Kathryn Arnett
as Ms. Swedlin
Freeman O Corbin
as Mr. Sullivan
Moira Feeney
as Ms. Godfrey
Joshua Minnick
as Mr. Shapiro
Ashley Hamrick
as Miss Reeves
Janine Shouse
as Miss Schumaker
Spencer Riviera
as Mr. Hosta
Dan Vhay
as Mr. Malone
Sean Bevington
as Mr. McMartin
John Henry Redwood
as Mr. Russ
Ted Roisum
as Dr. Sorenson
Mark Daniels
as Ralph
Kaili Carlton
as Ms. Wayne
Adam Fitzhugh
as Mr. McKenzie
Eric Michael Cole
as Boy 2
Joe Campbell
as Boy 3
Tomiko Peirano
as Girl 2
Kasey Nelson
as Girl 3
Zoe Mclellan
as Girl 4
Kelly M Casey
as Deaf School Teacher
Michael Mendelson
as Chaplain
Alex Dudgeon
as Auditioner 1
Rachel Wooley
as Auditioner 2
Jordan Carlton
as Auditioner 3
Aurora Miller
as Auditioner 4
Paul Bernard
as Auditioner 5
Mary Kay O Mealy
as Auditioner 6
Dieffyd Gilman Frederick
as Auditioner 7
Tara Eng
as Auditioner 8
Jay Frank
as Auditioner 9
Conan Doherty
as Toby Klein
Stacey Siegel
as Diner Waitress
Nicolas Sirianni
as Football Player 1
Jacob Adams
as Football Player 2
Chris Marth
as Football Player 3
Brent Archie
as Football Player 4
Kevin Calaba
as Football Player 5
Keith Swift
as Football Player 6
John Boyer
as Billy Faraday
Linda Williams Janke
as Secretary
David Clegg
as Superintendent
Don Burns
as City Official
Dennis Biasi
as Adult Stadler
Alexander Emmert
as 1st Chair Cellist
Cazzey Louis Cereghino
as Graduate (uncredited)
Michael R Ferraro
as Auditorium extra (uncredited)
Elizabeth Fournier
as Woman in audience (uncredited)
Balthazar Getty
as Stadler (uncredited)
Forest Whitaker
as Bobby Tidd as an adult (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
3Other crew
5Parents Guide
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