Novocaine
A dentist becomes a murder suspect when a seductive patient steals his drugs and leaves a trail of bodies—and lies—that point to him.
“Getting to the root of the problem is like pulling teeth.”
Synopsis
A dentist becomes a murder suspect after a seductive patient persuades him to prescribe her drugs.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 209+ 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 Melody LondonShot by Vilko FilacScored by Steve BartekDesigned by Sharon SeymourSound by Robert FernandezCostumes by Denise WingateStunts by Rick LefevourVFX by Reid Burns
Box Office
2001 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.3× 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
$2.0M
Opening week (7-day): $605K
Peak 105 theaters
Also known as
- Novocaine - Zahn um Zahnde
- Sonrisa peligrosaes
- Novocaïnefr
- (DVD Title)Química do Amor
- (Bulgarian)Новокаин
Release dates around the world3 countries · showhide
- CanadaSep 8, 2001
- United StatesSep 10, 2001
- United KingdomNov 12, 2001
Companies
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Cast & Crew
209 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Steve Martin
as Frank Sangster
Steve Martin Nm0000188
as Frank Sangster
Helena Bonham Carter
as Susan
Chelcie Ross
as Mike
Laura Dern
as Jean Noble
Lynne Thigpen
as Pat
Polly Du Pont Noonan
as Sally
Jobe Cerny
as Pharmacist Wayne Ponze
Elias Koteas
as Harlan Sangster
Yasen Peyankov
as 'Sunshine Lounge' Bartender
Scott Caan
as Duane
Teri Cotruzzola
as Attractive Complaining Patient
Supporting cast
25Lucina Paquet
as Mrs. Langston
Preston Maybank
as Gelding
Sally Kao
as Chinese Wife
Quincy Wong
as Chinese Husband
George Lugg
as Liquor Store Owner
Tyler Rostenkowski
as Billy
Tom Milanovich 1953 2003
as Blue Sands' Bartender
Karol Kent
as Detective Lily Pons
Keith David
as Detective Lunt
Eddie Bo Smith Jr
as Motel Security Guard
Mary Ann Childers
as Anchorwoman
Rich Komenich
as Detective
James Chisem
as Harris
Joseph F Kosala
as Officer Peter Reilly
Eric Lane
as Officer Chuck Smith
Roy Hytower
as Skinny Sheriff
Kwame Amoaku
as Visiting Room Guard
Christian Stolte
as Court Guard
Len Bajenski
as Trooper Jarvis
Mindy Bell
as Trooper Bunch
Roderick Peeples
as Storch
Kevin Bacon
as Lance Phelps
Ed Cray
as Prisoner
Marcello Robinson
as Student
Dean Teaster
as Sheriff
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
4Other crew
168Margaret A Thomas
accounting clerk
Blanca Camacho
adr loop group
Gilbert Cruz
adr loop group
Greg Baglia
adr loop group
Bobby Johanson
adr mixer
Joel Avila
adr mixer
Matthew C Beville
adr mixer (as Matt Beville)
Randall Weatherington
animation stand: The Image Resolution, Inc.
Helgo Liebig
Apotheker Wayne Ponze / Getränkemarkt-Inhaber
Dana Burdi
art department coordinator
Craig Jackson
Art Director
Gretchen Gain
assistant costume designer
Parents Guide
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Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
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