Pleasantville
A high school twin is thrust into a black-and-white 1950s sitcom world with his sister, trapped as the perfect Parker kids and forced to navigate a flawless, colorless existence controlled by a cryptic TV repairman.
“Nothing is as simple as black and white.”
Synopsis
David, a geeky teenager, and his popular twin sister, Jennifer, are drawn into the black-and-white world of a 1950s TV sitcom called *Pleasantville*, where everything is perpetually "peachy keen." However, Jennifer's modern attitude begins to disrupt the town's peaceful yet monotonous routine, ultimately introducing color into its previously black-and-white existence.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 61+ 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 William GoldenbergShot by John LindleyScored by Randy NewmanDesigned by Jeannine Oppewall
Box Office
1998 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.8× 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
$49.8M
US & Canada: $40.6M — 81% of worldwide · International: $9.2M (19%)
Opening weekend: $8.9M — 22% of its US run.
Opening week (7-day): $11.4M — 28% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 1,636 theaters
Full synopsis
Also known as
- Pleasantville - Zu schön, um wahr zu seinde
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Cast & Crew
61 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Tobey Maguire
as David
Jeff Daniels
as Mr. Johnson
Reese Witherspoon
as Jennifer
Joan Allen
as Betty
William H Macy
as George Parker
Natalie Ramsey
as Mary Sue
Kevin Connors
as Bud
J T Walsh
as Big Bob
Heather Mcgill
as Girl in School Yard
Paul Walker
as Skip
Paul Morgan Stetler
as College Counselor
Don Knotts
as TV Repairman
Supporting cast
38Denise Dowse
as Health Teacher
Marley Shelton
as Margaret Henderson
Mcnally Sagal
as Science Teacher
Jane Kaczmarek
as David's Mom
Giuseppe Andrews
as Howard
Jenny Lewis
as Christin
Marissa Ribisi
as Kimmy
Justin Nimmo
as Mark Davis
Kai Lennox
as Mark's Lackey #1
Jason Behr
as Mark's Lackey #2
Harry Singleton
as Mr. Simpson
John Ganun
as Fireman #1
Dawn Cody
as Betty Jean
Maggie Lawson
as Lisa Anne
Andrea Baker
as Peggy Jane
Lela Ivey
as Miss Peters
Marc Blucas
as Basketball Hero
Danny Strong
as Juke Box Boy
Robin Bissell
as Commercial Announcer (voice)
Jim Patric
as Tommy
Stanton Rutledge
as Coach
Jason Maves
as Paperboy
Gerald Emerick
as TV Weatherman
Charles C Stevenson Jr
as Dr. Henderson
Nancy Lenehan
as Marge Jenkins
Weston Blakesley
as Gus
Patrick Thomas O Brien
as Roy
Jim Antonio
as Ralph
Kristin Rudrud
as Mary
Laura Carney
as Bridge Club Lady
Dan Gillies
as Fireman #2
Erik Macarthur
as Will
Adam Carter
as Boy in Soda Shop
David Tom
as Whitey
Johnny Moran
as Pete
Jeanine Jackson
as Woman
J Patrick Lawlor
as Thug
James Keane
as Police Chief Dan
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
4Other crew
7Parents Guide
AI Personalities
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Ratings & reviews
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