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Released
2013 · FILM

The Way Way Back

A shy 14‑year‑old sent to a posh beach house with his mother’s arrogant boyfriend and spoiled stepdaughter must navigate hostile family dynamics while discovering confidence and unexpected allies at a quirky water‑park, risking everything to prove his worth.

“We've all been there.”

Directed by
Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Written by
Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Rated
MPA · PG-13
Runtime
103 min
ComedyDrama
Streaming on
  • Paramount+

Synopsis

Duncan, a shy 14-year-old, spends the summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and the boyfriend's daughter. Struggling to fit in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend in Owen, the manager of the Water Wizz water park.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Directors

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

A crew of 219+ 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 Tatiana S RiegelShot by John BaileyScored by Rob SimonsenDesigned by Mark RickerSound by Patrick Cyccone JrCostumes by Michelle MatlandStunts by Paul MariniVFX by Sean Devereaux

Box Office

2013 · Box office

💰 Box-office hit — grossed 5.0× 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

$23.2M

Budget$4.6M
Worldwide gross$23.2M
break-even (2.5×)

US & Canada: $21.5M — 93% of worldwide · International: $1.7M (7%)

Opening weekend: $553K — 3% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.

Opening week (7-day): $744K — 3% of its US & Canada run.

Peak 19 theaters

Full synopsis

Also known as

  • Ganz weit hintende
  • The Way, Way Backen
  • Cet été-làfr
  • C'era una volta un'estateit
  • (English)The Way Way Back
  • (Bulgarian)Едно време, онова лято
Release dates around the world2 countries · show
  • United StatesJan 21, 2013
  • AustraliaJun 6, 2013

Companies

ProductionSycamore Pictures, The Walsh Company, Madison Wells

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