Where the Wild Things Are
A lonely boy escapes into an island of giant, temperamental creatures who crown him their king, and he must navigate their chaotic world while confronting the yearning for home that threatens to tear his newfound kingdom apart.
“There's one in all of us.”
Synopsis
Max imagines running away from his mom and sailing to a far-off land where large talking beasts—Ira, Carol, Douglas, the Bull, Judith, and Alexander—crown him as their king. They play rumpus, build forts, and discover secret hideaways.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 46+ 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 James HaygoodShot by Lance AcordScored by Carter BurwellDesigned by K K Barrett
Box Office
2009 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.0× 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
$100.1M
US & Canada: $77.2M — 77% of worldwide · International: $22.9M (23%)
Opening weekend: $32.7M — 42% of its US run. Front-loaded — most of its money arrived opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $39.5M — 51% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 3,735 theaters
Also known as
- Wo die wilden Kerle wohnende
- Donde viven los monstruoses
- Max et les Maximonstresfr
- Nel paese delle creature selvaggeit
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Cast & Crew
46 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Max Records
as Max
Catherine O Hara
as Judith
Catherine Keener
as Mom
Forest Whitaker
as Ira
James Gandolfini
as Carol (voice)
Pepita Emmerichs
as Claire
Lauren Ambrose
as KW (voice)
Max Pfeifer
as Claire's Friend
Madeleine Greaves
as Claire's Friend
Joshua Jay
as Claire's Friend
Chris Cooper
as Douglas (voice)
Ryan Corr
as Claire's Friend
Supporting cast
20Paul Dano
as Alexander (voice)
Spike Jonze
as Bob (voice) / Terry (voice)
Steve Mouzakis
as Teacher
Mark Ruffalo
as The Boyfriend
Michael Berry Jr
as The Bull (voice)
Vincent Crowley
as Carol Suit Performer
Sonny Gerasimowicz
as Alexander Suit Performer
Nick Farnell
as Judith Suit Performer
Sam Longley
as Ira Suit Performer
Angus Sampson
as The Bull Suit Performer
Mark Mccracken
as The Bull Additional Suit Performer
John Leary
as Douglas Suit Performer
Alice Parkinson
as KW Suit Performer
Garon Michael
as KW Additional Suit Performer
James Epinfaniou
as Additional Max Performer
Joshua Evans
as Additional Max Performer
Tess Grimshaw Lloyd
as Additional Max Performer
Lucas Haynes
as Additional Max Performer
Nathan Veal
as Additional Max Performer
Kalia Prescott
as Max's Classmate (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
4Other crew
8Parents Guide
AI Personalities
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