The Pelican Brief
A brilliant law student races to expose a deadly conspiracy linking the assassinations of two Supreme Court justices, while powerful forces hunt her down and threaten to silence the truth.
“Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead.”
Synopsis
A law student develops a theory linking the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices, drawing her into a complex entanglement of murder, corruption, and greed.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 354+ 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 Tom RolfShot by Stephen GoldblattScored by James HornerDesigned by Philip RosenbergSound by Ron BocharCostumes by Albert WolskyStunts by Doug ColemanVFX by George Merkert
Box Office
1993 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 4.3× 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
$195.3M
US & Canada: $100.8M — 52% of worldwide · International: $94.5M (48%)
Opening weekend: $16.9M — 17% of its US run.
Opening week (7-day): $24.9M — 25% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 1,993 theaters
Also known as
- Die Aktede
- El informe Pelícanoes
- L'Affaire Pélicanfr
- Il rapporto Pelicanit
- (French)L'affaire Pélican
- (Bulgarian)Версия пеликан
Release dates around the world3 countries · showhide
- CanadaSep 17, 1993
- United StatesDec 13, 1993
- PhilippinesFeb 16, 1994
Production & Distribution
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Cast & Crew
354 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Julia Roberts
as Darby Shaw
Denzel Washington
as Gray Grantham
Sam Shepard
as Thomas Callahan
John Heard
as Gavin Verheek
Tony Goldwyn
as Fletcher Coal
James B Sikking
as FBI Director Denton Voyles
William Atherton
as Bob Gminski
Robert Culp
as President
Stanley Tucci
as Khamel
Hume Cronyn
as Justice Rosenberg
John Lithgow
as Smith Keen
Anthony Heald
as Marty Velmano
Supporting cast
70Nicholas Woodeson
as Stump
Stanley Anderson
as Edwin Sneller
John Finn
as Matthew Barr
Cynthia Nixon
as Alice Stark
Jake Weber
as Charles Morgan, Garcia
Casey Biggs
as Eric East
Christopher Murray
as Rupert
Sonny Jim Gaines
as Sarge
Kevin Geer
as K.O. Lewis
Joe Chrest
as Song and Dance Man from Bar
Richard Bauer
as Managing Editor
Michelle O Neill
as Sara Ann Morgan
Peter Carlin
as Edward Linney
Ralph Cosham
as Justice Jensen
Terrence Currier
as Rosenberg's Nurse
Edwin Newman
as Self
Helen Carey
as Federal Clerk
Howard Shalwitz
as Washington Herald Journalist
Kyle Prue
as News Desk Reporter
Jewell Robinson
as Senior Washington Herald Editor
Kim Peter Kovac
as Senior Washington Herald Editor
Norman Aronovic
as Senior Washington Herald Editor
Carl Palmer
as Cop in Cowboy Boots
Carol Sutton
as New Orleans Policewoman
Scott Michael Jefferson
as Lt. Olsen
Danny Kamin
as Hooten
Mark Mclaughlin
as CIA Agent in Hotel Room
Robert Pavlovich
as CIA Agent in Hotel Room
Magee Hickey
as Self
Constance Yelverton
as Clerk at Sheraton Hotel
Kim Kettle
as Gavin Verheek's Wife
Ellie K Wang
as Reporter at National Cathedral
Franchelle Stewart Dorn
as University Registrar
Karen Bralove
as University Placement Clerk
Teagle F Bougere
as Male University Student
Carey Varner
as Female University Student
Sandra Quarterman
as Laura Kass
Cynthia Hood
as Parklane Receptionist
Alan Wade
as Parklane Administrator
Harold Surratt
as Parklane Security Officer
Paul Morella
as White & Blazevich Attorney
Eddie Jay
as White & Blazevich Security Guard
Jurian Hughes
as White & Blazevich Receptionist
Dick Stilwell
as White & Blazevich Security
Tom Quinn
as Sara Ann Morgan's Father
Beverly Brigham
as Safe Deposit Teller
Eliza Coleman
as Female Pursuer with Gun
Doug Coleman
as Male Pursuer with Gun
Michael Port
as Tulane Law Student
Shanna Connell
as Tulane Law Student
Gene Babb
as Reporter
Kyle Duvall
as Reporter
Karl Warren
as Reporter
Carrie Boren
as Reporter
James Earl Reed
as Reporter
Deborah Ben Eliezer
as Marie Halliburton - Protester
Catherine Boyd
as Protester
Keith Fluker
as Agent
Marianne Hettinger
as Eyewitness
Joe James
as Runner
Shane Lecocq
as Mardi Gras Party Patron
Don Reardon
as Parade Spectator
Kelly Lynn Richards
as Protester
Kimberley Roper
as French Quarter Prostitute
Codie Scott
as Man Partying in Quarter
William Shipman
as Office Worker
Avo Shirazee
as Teen Bicyclist
John A Taylor
as Law School Administrator
Greta Valenti
as Kid at Parade
Jerry Van Dyke
as Assistant Coach Luther Horatio Van Dam in Coach
Directors
1Writers
4Producers
5Other crew
268Robert A Kennedy
additional assistant property master (uncredited)
David Renken
additional electrician (uncredited)
Michael Proscia Jr
additional second assistant director
Annette Kudrak
adr assistant
Joan Franklin
adr assistant
Kay Denmark
adr boom operator (uncredited)
Diane Schaub
adr editor
Harriet Fidlow
adr editor
David H Kramer
adr loop group (uncredited)
Deborah Wallach
adr supervisor
Dominic Marcus
adr supporting artist (uncredited)
Bill Timoney
adr voice group (uncredited)
Parents Guide
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