Synopsis
Akeelah, a young gifted girl, comes from a dysfunctional family and is on the verge of quitting school. She discovers that she has a high aptitude for spellings and enters a spelling bee contest.
Scores
Overall Score
72.7
Popularity Percentile (Year)
67.6%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
74.3%
Review Aggregate
81.2
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is largely positive, with 85% of 134 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize family-friendly, uplifting, emotional. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.
family-friendlyupliftingemotionalcharacter-drivensuspensefullightheartedfunnyromanticrealistic
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laurence Fishburne | 2006 | $521,000 | $810,000 | (est) |
| Angela Bassett | 2006 | $321,000 | $499,000 | (est) |
| Keke Palmer | 2006 | $241,000 | $376,000 | (est) |
| Curtis Armstrong | 2006 | $197,000 | $307,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score86.0
RT critic review count139
Rotten Tomatoes audience score81.0
RT audience rating count50,000
IMDb rating7.4
IMDb votes22,659
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 2006 | $18,848,430 | $29,329,129 |
| International | 2006 | $99,995 | $155,597 |
| Worldwide | 2006 | $18,948,425 | $29,484,727 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 2006 | $9,464,213 | $14,726,804 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 2006 | $416,000 | $647,317 |
| Digital Purchases ? | 2006 | $128,000 | $199,175 |
| Physical Rentals ? | 2006 | $13,159,000 | $20,476,083 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 2006 | $31,038,000 | $48,296,729 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 2006 | $4,523,623 | $7,038,991 |
| Total Revenues | 2006 | $58,728,836 | $91,385,099 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 2006 | $8,000,000 | $12,448,413 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? source | 2006 | $20,000,000 | $31,121,032 |
| Participations | 2006 | $4,698,000 | $7,310,330 |
| Residuals ? | 2006 | $3,501,000 | $5,447,737 |
| Interest & Overhead | 2006 | $1,600,000 | $2,489,683 |
| Total Expenses | 2006 | $37,799,000 | $58,817,194 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 2006 | $20,929,836 | $32,567,905 |
Similar Movies
| Poster | Movie | Year | Match | Overall | Est. Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Dead Poets Society | 1989 | Shared genres: 4 | 96.5 | $108,454,620 |
 | The Karate Kid | 1984 | Shared genres: 4 | 92.9 | $71,171,135 |
 | The Karate Kid | 2010 | Shared genres: 4 | 89.9 | $120,308,224 |
 | Coach Carter | 2005 | Shared genres: 4 | 87.0 | $-22,474,471 |
 | Freedom Writers | 2007 | Shared genres: 4 | 83.7 | $21,544,031 |