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Released
1996 · FILM

When We Were Kings

A documentary that revisits the legendary 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle,” where Muhammad Ali and George Foreman square off under Don King’s high‑stakes gamble, exposing the clash of sport, politics, and culture on a global stage.

“The untold story of the Rumble in the Jungle.”

Directed by
Leon Gast
Runtime
89 min
DocumentarySport
Streaming on
  • The Criterion Channel

Synopsis

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and considered by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the reigning heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King seeks to establish his reputation and offers both fighters five million dollars each to compete against one another. When they agree to the terms, King must secure the funding. He finds a willing sponsor in Mobutu Sese Seko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is scheduled, accompanied by a musical festival featuring prominent African American performers such as James Brown and B.B. King.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Director of Photography
Director

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

Principal cast & crew: 18

These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.

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 Leon GastShot by Maryse Alberti

Box Office

1996 · Box office

Grossed $2.8M worldwide

Worldwide gross

$2.8M

Worldwide gross$2.8M

Opening weekend: $12K — 0% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.

Opening week (7-day): $26K — 1% of its US & Canada run.

Peak 2 theaters

Also known as

  • When we were Kings - Einst waren wir Königede
  • Quando eravamo reit

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