Synopsis
A young man from Harlem, forced to cope with the 1980s drug scene, builds an illegal empire, only to have a crisis of conscience.
Scores
Overall Score
58.1
Popularity Percentile (Year)
57.1%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
52.0%
Review Aggregate
71.2
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is mixed, with 59% of 37 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize character-driven, dark, visually striking. Common reservations focus on execution consistency, even when reviewers praise standout elements.
character-drivendarkvisually strikingemotionalfamily-friendlyromanticgritty
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Harris | 2002 | $577,000 | $1,006,000 | (est) |
| Mekhi Phifer | 2002 | $355,000 | $620,000 | (est) |
| Cam'ron | 2002 | $268,000 | $466,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score53.0
RT critic review count43
Rotten Tomatoes audience score93.0
RT audience rating count10,000
IMDb rating7.0
IMDb votes15,439
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 2002 | $3,090,862 | $5,389,680 |
| International | 2002 | N/A | N/A |
| Worldwide | 2002 | $3,090,862 | $5,389,680 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 2002 | $1,545,431 | $2,694,840 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 2002 | $10,000 | $17,437 |
| Digital Purchases ? | 2002 | N/A | N/A |
| Physical Rentals ? | 2002 | $11,756,000 | $20,499,485 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 2002 | $21,921,000 | $38,224,668 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 2002 | $1,236,345 | $2,155,872 |
| Total Revenues | 2002 | $36,468,776 | $63,592,303 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 2002 | $7,500,000 | $13,078,099 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 2002 | $2,290,000 (est) | $3,993,180 (est) |
| Participations | 2002 | $1,459,000 | $2,544,126 |
| Residuals ? | 2002 | $2,543,000 | $4,434,348 |
| Interest & Overhead | 2002 | $1,500,000 | $2,615,620 |
| Total Expenses | 2002 | $15,292,000 | $26,665,372 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 2002 | $21,176,776 | $36,926,930 |
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