The Manchurian Candidate
When decorated veteran Major Bennett Marco is haunted by his former soldier’s nightmares of a Gulf War ambush that may hide a covert atrocity, he must race against powerful political forces to expose the truth before a vice‑presidential campaign erupts into a deadly scandal.
“Everything is under control.”
Synopsis
Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco begins experiencing disturbing nightmares. He starts to question whether his former squad-mate, Sergeant Raymond Shaw—now a vice-presidential candidate—is truly the hero he once believed him to be. As Marco's doubts intensify, Shaw's political influence continues to rise. When Marco discovers a mysterious implant embedded in his back, fragments of the true events from that day begin to resurface in his memory.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 339+ 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 Carol LittletonShot by Tak FujimotoScored by Rachel PortmanDesigned by Kristi ZeaSound by Bob ChefalasCostumes by Albert WolskyVFX by Korey J Cauchon
Box Office
2004 · 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
$96.1M
US & Canada: $66.0M — 69% of worldwide · International: $30.2M (31%)
Opening weekend: $20.0M — 30% of its US run.
Opening week (7-day): $27.7M — 42% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 2,867 theaters
Full synopsis
Also known as
- Der Manchurian Kandidatde
- Un crime dans la têtefr
- (French)Un crime dans la tête
Release dates around the world3 countries · showhide
- United StatesJul 19, 2004
- CanadaJul 30, 2004
- ItalySep 2, 2004
Companies
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Cast & Crew
339 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Denzel Washington
as Ben Marco
Liev Schreiber
as Raymond Shaw
Meryl Streep
as Eleanor Shaw
Kimberly Elise
as Rosie
Jeffrey Wright
as Al Melvin
Pablo Schreiber
as Eddie Ingram
Anthony Mackie
as Robert Baker
Dorian Missick
as Owens
Jose Pablo Cantillo
as Villalobos
Teddy Dunn
as Wilson
Joaquin Perez Campbell
as Atkins
Tim Artz
as Jameson
Supporting cast
115Robyn Hitchcock
as Laurent Tokar
Antoine Taylor
as Boy Scout #1
Joe Alessi
as Boy Scout #2
Raymond Anthony Thomas
as Scout Dad
Bill Irwin
as Scoutmaster
Al Franken
as TV Commentator
Jon Voight
as Senator Thomas Jordan
Paul Lazar
as Gillespie
Danny Darst
as Ellie's Mysterious Aide
Stephanie Mcbride
as Political Aide
Molly Hickok
as Political Aide
Victoria Haynes
as Political Aide
Adam Lefevre
as Congressman Healy
Roger Corman
as Mr. Secretary
Leona E Sondreal
as Green Room Official #2
Zeljko Ivanek
as Vaughn Utly
Jim Roche
as Senator from Florida
Ann Dowd
as Congresswoman Becket
Obba Babatunde
as Senator Wells
Harry Northup
as Congressman Flores
James B Howard
as Self
Walter Mosley
as Congressman Rawlins
Gordon Brummer
as Gordy
Gayle King
as Media Icon
Brad Holbrook
as Newscaster #7
Stacey Newsome Santiago
as Roving Reporter
Kristen Shaughnessy
as Newscaster #4
Prue Lewarne
as Newscaster #8
Forrest Sawyer
as Newscaster #1
Ukee Washington
as Newscaster #9
Ed Crane
as Newscaster #6
Kaity Tong
as Newscaster #2
Roma Torre
as Newscaster #3
William Meisle
as Tyler Prentiss
Dan Olmstead
as Senator John Shaw
Sakina Jaffrey
as Mysterious Arabic Woman
Simon Mcburney
as Atticus Noyle
Charles Napier
as General Sloan
Robert W Castle
as General Wilson
John Aprea
as Rear Admiral Glick
Tom Stechschulte
as Robert Arthur
Jane Denoble
as Robert Arthur's Wife
Vera Farmiga
as Jocelyne Jordan
Jude Ciccolella
as David Donovan
Dean Stockwell
as Mark Whiting
John Bedford Lloyd
as Jay "J.B." Johnston
David Keeley
as Agent Evan Anderson
Christopher M Russo
as Secret Service Agent #1
Michael C Pierce
as Secret Service Agent #2
Ted Levine
as Colonel Howard
Miguel Ferrer
as Colonel Garret
Marin Ireland
as Army Transcriber
Glen Hartell
as Army Transcriber
Tracey Walter
as Night Clerk
Alyson Renaldo
as Mirella Freeman
Edwidge Danticat
as Rosie's Cousin
Kenneth Utt
as Rosie's Cousin's Mentor
Bruno Ganz
as Delp
Enrique Correa
as Reporter #2
David Neumann
as Reporter #3
Neda Armian
as Reporter #4
Paul Johnson
as Campaign Security
James Mccauley
as FBI Agent Jonas
Bebe Winans
as FBI Agent Williams
Darrell Larson
as FBI Agent Ramirez
Kate Valk
as Agent Volk
Beau Sia
as Late Night Comedian
Duana C Butler
as Library Clerk
Jim Wheeler
as Library Patron
Lauren Roselli
as Jordan's Aide
Stephen Richardson
as Jordan's Aide
Shing Ka
as Rosie's Sidekick
Malcolm Simpson
as Yelling Kid
Cassius Kumar Wilkinson
as Abe Lincoln
Jos Demme
as Statue of Liberty
Gabriela Fung
as Betsy Ross
Denzel Delahoussaye
as George Washington
Aaron Scoenfeld
as Uncle Sam
Geovonne Long
as MLK
Jonathan Borst
as JFK
Michael Shehata
as American Eagle
Tom Chapin
as Governor Edward Nelson
Jiggs Walker
as Churchgoer
Joey Perillo
as Jimmy
Buzz Kilman
as The Guy with the Shades
Marie Runyon
as Arthur's Mother
Eliza Simpson
as Arthur's Child
Julie Adamy
as Arthur's Child
Andre B Blake
as Victory Party Director
Tymberly Canale
as Victory Party Celebrity Soldier
Lilly Mcdowell
as Shaw's Aide
Joshua Elrod
as Shaw's Aide
Craig Branham
as Klaus Bachman
Sidney Lumet
as Political Pundit
Reno
as Political Pundit
Anna Deavere Smith
as Political Pundit
Roy Blount Jr
as Political Pundit
Fab 5 Freddy
as Political Pundit
Reggie Austin
as Skid Row Resident #1
Jaclynn Tiffany Brown
as Campaign Staffer
E Jean Carroll
as Reporter #5
Thomas Daniel
as Naval Sea Captain
Wally Dunn
as Burly Passenger
Daryl Edwards
as Train Conductor
Reginald Footman
as Skid Row Resident #2
Ann Pearl Gary
as Skid Rown Resident #4
James Howard
as Political Party Member
Hugh Karraker
as TV Moderator
Jeremy Knaster
as Caretaker
Carol Jean Lewis
as Abby
Al Lopez
as Waiter
Pete Macnamara
as FBI Agent
Dorothy Maneiro Brown
as Choir Soloist
Josh Mowery
as VP Candidate
Mitch Roberson
as Skid Row Resident #3
Directors
1Writers
4Producers
9Other crew
203Temese Meca Chavis
accounting assistant
Charles C Crutchfield
additional costumer
Marty Levenstein
additional editor (as Martin Levenstein)
Patricia Grande
additional hair stylist
Gary Chester
additional music recordist
Jonathan G Beck
additional second assistant camera
Betsy Friedman
additional second assistant director: Kuwait Desert unit (as Betsy Friedman-Palmieri)
Bob Chefalas
additional sound re-recording mixer
Kenna Doeringer
adr editor (as Kenna Sappington)
Derek Casari
adr engineer
Blanca Camacho
adr loop group
David Boulton
adr mixer
Parents Guide
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