Synopsis
Alvin Straight, a 73-year-old, learns that his estranged brother, Lyle is critically ill. Unable to drive, Alvin embarks on a journey from Iowa to Mt. Zion, by riding a lawn mower. Will he succeed?
Scores
Overall Score
75.7
Popularity Percentile (Year)
81.2%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
60.4%
Review Aggregate
89.8
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is largely positive, with 94% of 103 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize lighthearted, emotional, visually striking. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.
lightheartedemotionalvisually strikingrealisticgrittysurrealnoirfamily-friendlyhistorical
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Farnsworth | 1999 | $962,000 | $1,811,000 | (est) |
| Sissy Spacek | 1999 | $592,000 | $1,115,000 | (est) |
| Harry Dean Stanton | 1999 | $446,000 | $840,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score95.0
RT critic review count113
Rotten Tomatoes audience score91.0
RT audience rating count25,000
IMDb rating8.0
IMDb votes105,796
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 1999 | $6,203,044 | $11,680,041 |
| International | 1999 | $214,918 | $404,681 |
| Worldwide | 1999 | $6,422,983 | $12,094,176 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 1999 | $3,187,489 | $6,001,893 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 1999 | N/A | N/A |
| Digital Purchases ? | 1999 | N/A | N/A |
| Physical Rentals ? | 1999 | $16,087,000 | $30,291,068 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 1999 | $20,792,000 | $39,150,363 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 1999 | $1,488,731 | $2,803,210 |
| Total Revenues | 1999 | $41,555,220 | $78,246,533 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 1999 | $10,000,000 | $18,829,532 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 1999 | $3,193,000 (est) | $6,012,270 (est) |
| Participations | 1999 | $1,662,000 | $3,129,468 |
| Residuals ? | 1999 | $2,792,000 | $5,257,205 |
| Interest & Overhead | 1999 | $2,000,000 | $3,765,906 |
| Total Expenses | 1999 | $19,647,000 | $36,994,381 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 1999 | $21,908,220 | $41,252,152 |
Similar Movies
| Poster | Movie | Year | Match | Overall | Est. Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Schindler's List | 1993 | Shared genres: 2 | 97.8 | $98,679,299 |
 | Oppenheimer | 2023 | Shared genres: 2 | 97.7 | $236,293,513 |
 | Catch Me If You Can | 2002 | Shared genres: 2 | 97.0 | $116,707,558 |
 | The King's Speech | 2010 | Shared genres: 2 | 96.2 | $184,939,092 |
 | Ford v Ferrari | 2019 | Shared genres: 2 | 96.0 | $-20,000,191 |