This 2000 Cult Classic Lost $30 Million at the Box Office Before Winning Best Original Screenplay

Almost Famous opened September 15, 2000, on a $60 million budget (according to Box Office Mojo) and grossed $47.4 million worldwide. That meant a $12.6 million shortfall before marketing spend.

By the time you factor in print and advertising (typically 50% of production budget at the time), the total loss lands in the $30 million-plus range.

Roger Ebert gave it four stars and included it on his top 10 list of 2000. The Writers Guild would later rank it among the greatest screenplays of the 21st century. And Cameron Crowe won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay at the 73rd Academy Awards. So what the heck happened with this film? Let's dive in and learn more.

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The Screenplay That Took Years to Crack

Crowe had been trying to write this film long before he had the leverage to make it. The concept originally centered on David Bowie. Crowe had written about him for Rolling Stone and wanted to build a story around a fictionalized version.

But as Crowe put it in a 2023 Broadway News piece:

"Something about the screenplay didn't work. Actually it wasn't something. It was everything. It felt like someone writing about the music world of the '70s with their nose pressed against the window. They weren't inside it, they were outside yearning to get in. I kept doing draft after draft, and in each one, the young journalist character got bigger. So did the truths about my own family."

The fix was to stop fictionalizing from the outside. Go inward. Make it his story.

He told Broadway.com, "I always say, 'Don't write the movie that you think is good in the marketplace, that will allow you to do what you really want to do later. You won't get to what you want to do later because you're not being real to begin with.' So, if you can tell your most personal, embarrassing story first, it just might be the thing people really hold to their hearts."

However you feel about "write what you know," if you're struggling on a script, consider going granular. How can you make the story personal?

__Jerry Maguire Bought Him One Shot

Jerry Maguire grossed more than $270 million. That gave Crowe the "credit line" to get Almost Famous greenlit, a film with no obvious star vehicle and no easy genre hook.

Crowe told Rolling Stone, "__Jerry Maguire gave me a credit line. And I thought, 'I'm going to use it, because I'll never be able to make this movie unless it's right now. This is one that's achingly personal—and I'll try not to spend a lot of money.'"

He did not, in fact, keep the budget small. Production ran a month over schedule (92 days total), pushing the budget $15 million over its original $45 million estimate, per Bomb Report. The music licensing budget alone hit $3.5 million.

DreamWorks, panicking, offloaded international rights to Sony weeks before release to hedge their risk. Even when you earn the right to make your personal film, the industry might still try to take it away from you if the risk is too large.

The Box Office Flop

The film opened wide on September 22, 2000, to $2.3 million. Not a disaster opening weekend, but not a signal of momentum either.

But a re-release of The Exorcist opened the same weekend, pulling away audiences. Crowe lamented to Rolling Stone, "Everybody went to see this rerelease of The Exorcist instead. It felt like the long arm of 1973 came back to slap us down."

By October 2000, the Los Angeles Times noted that the film had only grossed $23 million and was expected to cap out at around $35 million.

"One of the best-reviewed movies of the year, __Almost Famous has failed to find an audience. Worse, the coming-of-age drama cost more than $60 million to produce," the LA Times wrote.

Critically, the film was beloved. But audiences largely didn't show up.

'Almost Famous' Credit: Dreamworks

The Oscars Changed Everything

The film landed four Academy Award nominations: Best Supporting Actress (Kate Hudson), Best Supporting Actress (Frances McDormand—yes, in the same category), Best Film Editing, and Best Original Screenplay. Hudson also won a Golden Globe for the role.

Crowe won Best Original Screenplay at the 73rd Academy Awards in March 2001, presented by Tom Hanks. In his acceptance speech, he said, "The movie was a love letter to music and to my family. So, I dedicate this to all the musicians who inspire us."

The win and the nominations gave the film renewed visibility at the exact moment home video was becoming the second life for theatrical releases. Almost Famous found its audience on DVD, in dorm rooms and living rooms, passed hand to hand.

Crowe told Rolling Stone 20 years later, "We were an underdog that gathered support over the years. It's never been as popular as it is right now."

What Screenwriters Can Take Away

Crowe's approach to the script is a great example of what happens when a writer stops protecting themselves from their own story. The early drafts (the ones where Crowe kept himself outside the window) didn't work. The film only became what it is when Crowe made himself (via William Miller, played by Patrick Fugit) the emotional center.

This applies directly to how we can approach autobiographical or semi-autobiographical work. There are plenty of screenwriting exercises that use emotional vulnerability as a starting point. If you're blocked, try coming at the story a new way.

As mentioned, the screenplay was ranked No. 9 on the WGA's 101 Greatest Screenplays of the 21st Century.

The film is also a reminder that the market often can't see what it has. DreamWorks couldn't market it, and theaters failed to sell it. A horror re-release beat it opening weekend. None of that was a verdict on the writing or the film.

If you're writing a screenplay, lead with your most personal, embarrassing story. The stuff you're most tempted to protect or obscure is usually the stuff that connects.