Precious
A teenage girl in Harlem, trapped by abuse and unwanted pregnancies, fights to claim an education and her own worth with the help of a determined teacher, risking her mother's wrath and the system that keeps her silent.
“For precious girls everywhere.”
Synopsis
In Harlem in 1987, Claireece "Precious" Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl facing a difficult and unwanted life. She is pregnant for the second time, the father being her absent father, and at home, she is forced to care for her mother, an angry woman who subjects her to emotional and physical abuse. At school, the environment is chaotic, and despite reaching the ninth grade with good academic performance, Precious keeps a secret—she is unable to read.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 265+ 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 Joe KlotzShot by Andrew DunnScored by Mario GrigorovDesigned by Roshelle BerlinerSound by Brian BowlesCostumes by Marina DraghiciStunts by Roy FarfelVFX by Coco Emerson
Box Office
2009 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 6.4× 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
$63.6M
US & Canada: $47.6M — 75% of worldwide · International: $16.1M (25%)
Opening weekend: $1.9M — 4% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $2.8M — 6% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 18 theaters
Full synopsis
Also known as
- Preciousde
- Precious - Das Leben ist kostbarde
- Precious: Das Leben ist kostbarde
- Preciouses
- (English)Precious
- (Bulgarian)Прешъс
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- United StatesJan 16, 2009
- FranceMay 15, 2009
- CanadaSep 13, 2009
- NetherlandsSep 14, 2009
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Cast & Crew
265 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Supporting cast
54Nealla Gordon
as Mrs. Lichtenstein
Grace Hightower
as Socialworker
Barret Helms
as Tom Cruise
Kimberly Russell
as Katherine
Bill Sage
as Mr. Wicher
Susan Taylor
as Fairy Godmother
Kendall Toombs
as Abdul, New Born
Alexander Toombs
as Abdul, New Born
Cory Davis
as Abdul, 9 Months
Rochelle Mcnaughton
as AIDS Clerk
Roy Anthony Tarell Harvey
as Boy #1
Abigail Savage
as Bunny
Bear
as Carl
Sapphire
as Day Care Woman
Linda Watson
as Female Clerk
Emani Reid
as Girl #1
Dashawn Robinson
as Girl #2
Azmarie Livingston
as Girl with Jermaine
Maurizio Arseni
as Italian Language Instructor
Mugga
as KFC Cashier
Chazz Menendez
as Man #1 Exits Elevator (St)
Roy T Anderson
as Man #2 Exits Elevator (St)
Quisha Powell
as Mongo
Vivien Eng
as Nurse
Silje Vallevik
as Pretty Blonde Girl
Matthew Bralow
as Reggie
Shayla Stewart
as Ruby
Erica Watson
as Sheila
Ephraim Benton
as Skinny Boy #1
Shortee Redd
as Skinny Boy #2
Timothy Allen
as Skinny Boy #3
Nigel Joaquin
as Unruly Boy #1
Esley Tate
as Unruly Boy #2
January Adams
as Student
Dick Clark
as Self
David Collihan
as Doorman
Ryan Curtis
as Paparazzi
Patty Duke
as Self
Michael Jeremiah
as Vagrant
Martin Luther King
as Self
Tristan Laurence
as David
Deborah Lohse
as Lady #1
Malcolm X
as Self
Alex Manette
as Administrator Harris
Kola Ogundiran
as Skinny Man
Catherine Pierce
as Social Worker
Lorna Pruce
as HIV Social Worker
John Reese
as Chior Boy
Rose Sias
as Ferocious Woman
Khalilah Walker
as Pedestrian
Michael T Walker
as Street thug
Kisa Willis
as Incest Survivor
Dolores Winn
as Homeless Woman
Dewanda Wise
as Miriam
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
28Andy Sforzini
associate producer (as Andrew Sforzini)
Asger Hussain
associate producer
Barbara Jean Kearney
digital intermediate executive producer
Bergen Swanson
additional line producer
Coco Emerson
visual effects producer (as Colleen Bachman)
Dana Bloder
digital intermediate producer
Doreen S Oliver Akinnuoye
the producers wish to thank
Evan Eneman
score producer (uncredited)
Gary Magness
Producer
Jason Jones
the producers wish to thank
Jenny Foster
visual effects producer: LOOK Effects
Karen Giordano
the producers wish to thank
Kianga Ellis
the producers wish to thank
Kim Jose
producer: sales and marketing
Lee Daniels
Producer
Lisa Cortes
executive producer (as Lisa Cortés)
Mark G Mathis
co-producer
Oprah Winfrey
executive producer
Pat Golden
the producers wish to thank
Sarah Siegel Magness
Producer
Simone Sheffield
co-executive producer
Steve Knudson
the producers wish to thank
Todd Livingston
the producers wish to thank
Tom Heller
executive producer
Tonya Dokken
the producers wish to thank
Tyler Perry
executive producer
Valerie Hoffman Iii
additional line producer
Wellington Love
the producers wish to thank
Other crew
177Michael Capton
3d supervisor
Thomas Fatone
additional first assistant director (as Tom Fatone)
Rubin Kodheli
additional musician: cello
Entcho Todorov
additional musician: violin
Catherine Gore
additional script supervisor
Kim Thompson
additional second assistant director
Mirashyam Blakeslee
additional second assistant director
Robert Fernandez
additional sound re-recording mixer
Rich Crescenti
adr recordist
Kristyn Hume
animator: main titles, Postillion Studios, main title designer: Postillion Studios
Melissa Miller Costanzo
art department coordinator (as Melissa B. Miller)
Matteo De Cosmo
Art Director
Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
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Ratings & reviews
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Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
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