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Released
2012 · FILM

The Words

A struggling writer seizes a mysterious manuscript that catapults him to literary stardom, only to discover it belongs to another author; now he must choose between preserving his newfound fame or confronting the devastating truth before his deception destroys everything he loves.

“There's more than one way to take a life.”

Directed by
Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal
Written by
Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal
Rated
MPA · Not Rated
Runtime
102 min
DramaMysteryRomance

Synopsis

*The Words* follows young writer Rory Jansen, who achieves long-sought literary success after publishing what is hailed as the next great American novel. The problem is that he did not write it. As his past begins to resurface and his literary fame continues to grow, Jansen is forced to confront the consequences of stealing another man's work and prioritizing ambition and success over life's most fundamental three words.

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 227+ 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 Leslie JonesShot by Antonio CalvacheScored by Marcelo ZarvosDesigned by Michele LaliberteSound by David BachCostumes by Simonetta MarianoStunts by Alexandre CadieuxVFX by Marc Hall

Box Office

2012 · Box office

⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 2.2× 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

$13.2M

Budget$6.0M
Worldwide gross$13.2M
break-even (2.5×)

Opening week (7-day): $6.3M

Peak 2,801 theaters

Also known as

  • Der Dieb der Wortede
  • (Bulgarian)Думите
Release dates around the world4 countries · show
  • United StatesJan 27, 2012
  • CanadaSep 7, 2012
  • EstoniaSep 7, 2012
  • IsraelSep 7, 2012

Companies

ProductionAlso Known As Pictures, Benaroya Pictures, Animus Films, Serena Films, Waterfall Media
DistributionAlfa Films, Alliance, CBS Films, Distribuye Movie, Dutch FilmWorks (DFW)
Special effectsProductions de l'Intrigue, Les, Artifex Animation Studios, Intrigue
Other companiesInternational Film Trust (IFT), Parlay Films, Ultimate Media Group, A & R Brochu Construction, AIM Productions, Alliance Québécoise des Techniciens de l'Image et du Son (AQTIS), Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA)

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