Tears of the Sun
A U.S. Navy SEAL team races to extract a stubborn American doctor from a war-torn Nigerian mission, where her refusal to abandon her patients forces them to confront a collapsing coup, ethnic violence, and their own orders.
“He was trained to follow orders. He became a hero by defying them.”
Synopsis
Lieutenant A.K. Waters, a Navy SEAL, and his elite team of tactical specialists must decide between their duty and their humanity, between obeying orders and ignoring the surrounding conflict or mustering the courage to follow their conscience and safeguard a group of innocent refugees. When Nigeria's democratic government collapses and the country falls under the rule of a ruthless military dictator, Waters, a fiercely loyal and hardened veteran, is sent on a routine mission to retrieve a Doctors Without Borders physician.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 44+ 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 Conrad Buff IvShot by Mauro FioreScored by Lisa GerrardDesigned by Naomi Shohan
Box Office
2003 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.2× 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
$86.5M
US & Canada: $43.7M — 51% of worldwide · International: $42.8M (49%)
Opening weekend: $17.1M — 39% of its US run. Front-loaded — most of its money arrived opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $22.0M — 50% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 2,973 theaters
Full synopsis
Also known as
- Tränen der Sonnede
- Les Larmes du Soleilfr
- L'ultima albait
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Cast & Crew
44 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Bruce Willis
as Lieutenant A.K. Waters
Cole Hauser
as James 'Red' Atkins
Monica Bellucci
as Dr. Lena Fiore Kendricks
Eamonn Walker
as Ellis 'Zee' Pettigrew
Johnny Messner
as Kelly Lake
Nick Chinlund
as Michael 'Slo' Slowenski
Charles Ingram
as Demetrius 'Silk' Owens
Tom Skerritt
as Captain Bill Rhodes
Paul Francis
as Danny 'Doc' Kelley
Akosua Busia
as Patience
Chad Smith
as Jason 'Flea' Mabry
Peter Mensah
as Terwase
Supporting cast
19Malick Bowens
as Colonel Idris Sadick
Sammi Rotibi
as Arthur Azuka
Jimmy Jean Louis
as Gideon
Awaovieyi Agie
as Musa
Ida Onyango
as Lasana
Benjamin Ochieng
as Colonel Emanuel Okeze
Kanayo Chiemelu
as General Mustafa Yakubu
Hadar Busia Singleton
as Amaka
Fabrice Yahve Habimana Jr
as Bujo
Fionnula Flanagan
as Sister Grace
Cornelia Hayes O Herlihy
as Sister Siobhan
Pierrino Mascarino
as Father Gianni
Howard Mungo
as President Samuel Azuka
Cle Sloan
as Mission Rebel
Allison Dean
as Rape Victim
Rodney Charles
as Christopher Marwa
Jewel Mcdonald
as Village Woman
Harry Van Gorkum
as Carrier Reporter
Michael Clossin
as Rhodes' Aide
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
3Other crew
7Parents Guide
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