That Thing You Do!
A hopeful guitarist leads his fledgling band toward a breakout hit, only to have sudden fame force them to confront greed, ego, and the fragile bonds holding them together.
“The Fab Four without the Mop Tops”
Synopsis
A Pennsylvania band achieves a hit in 1964 and navigates the mechanisms of the music industry as far as they can, with significant support from their manager. However, behind the scenes, the group's rapid rise to fame challenges their strength, maturity, sense of responsibility, and ability to resist the temptations that come with wealth and public attention.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 65+ 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 Richard ChewShot by Tak FujimotoScored by Howard ShoreDesigned by Victor Kempster
Box Office
1996 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.3× 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
$34.6M
US & Canada: $25.9M — 75% of worldwide · International: $8.7M (25%)
Opening weekend: $6.2M — 24% of its US run.
Opening week (7-day): $7.7M — 30% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 1,870 theaters
Also known as
- Music Graffitiit
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Cast & Crew
65 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Supporting cast
45Peter Scolari
as Troy Chesterfield
Rita Wilson
as Margueritte
Chris Isaak
as Uncle Bob
Kevin Pollak
as Boss Vic Koss
Robert Torti
as Freddy Fredrickson
Chaille Percival
as Diane Dane
Holmes Osborne
as Mr. Patterson
Claudia Stedelin
as Mrs. Patterson
Dawn Maxey
as Darlene Patterson
Jack Milo
as Villapiano
Keith Neubert
as Dentist
Lee Everett
as Kitty
Sean Whalen
as Heckler
Clint Howard
as KJZZ Disk Jockey
Sarah Koskoff
as Chrissy Thomkins
Mark Brettschneider
as Talent Show Emcee
Kathleen Kinmont
as Koss' Secretary
Warren Berlinger
as Polaroid T.V. Host
Clive Rosengren
as Wisconsin Cop
Brittney Powell
as Shades Fan
Jonathan Demme
as Major Motion Picture Director
Erika Greene
as Major Motion Picture Assistant Director
Dave Oliver
as Rick
Tracy Reiner
as Anita
Barry Sobel
as Goofball
Paul Feig
as KMPC DJ
Gedde Watanabe
as Play-Tone Photographer
Michael P Byrne
as Play-Tone Reporter
Dick Corman
as Play-Tone Reporter
Diane Mcgee
as Play-Tone Reporter
Randy Fechter
as Play-Tone Tour Manager
Mars Callahan
as Ernie the Disc Master Engineer
Benjamin John Parrillo
as Marine Sergeant
Robert Ridgely
as Hollywood Showcase Announcer
Marc Mcclure
as Hollywood Showcase Director
Karen Praxel
as Hollywood Showcase Script Supervisor
Paulie Dicocco
as Hollywood Showcase Floor Manager
Bryan Cranston
as Virgil "Gus" Grissom
Charlie Frye
as Plate Spinner
Colin Hanks
as Male Page
Elizabeth Hanks
as Bored Girl in Dress Shop
Renee Lippin
as Beautician
Robert Wisdom
as Bobby Washington
Heather Hewitt
as Sales Lady
Elina Madison
as Go-Go Dancer (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
3Other crew
6Parents Guide
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