How much did Elephant gross?

Elephant grossed $10.0M worldwide on a budget of $3.0M.

Where was Elephant filmed?

Elephant was filmed in Portland.

Elephant

Name: Elephant
Director: Gus Van Sant
Genre: Crime, Drama
Released: 2003-09-20
Duration: 1 h 21 min
Rating: 7
Cast: Alex Frost, Eric Deulen, John Robinson, Elias McConnell, Jordan Taylor

2003

Become a fan of its genres:

7.0/10

Release Date

20/09/2003

Popularity

🍅 Rotten Tomatoes

74%

🎬 Internet Movie Database

71%

Ⓜ️ Metacritic

70%

An ordinary day at high school. Except it isn't.

An ordinary autumn day at Watt High School in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon. Gus Van Sant directs an ensemble story that follows several students inside and outside the school. Elias, a photography student, roams the campus with his camera to photograph his classmates and complete a portfolio. He approaches a pair of rockers, who agree to pose for him. John has a tense relationship with his alcoholic father, and leaves the car keys at the front office for his brother to pick up. Nate finishes his football practice and has arranged to meet his girlfriend for lunch. Michelle, an outcast, struggles with her body image, and three bulimic teenagers complain about their parents. None of them suspects what is about to happen.

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Facts about Elephant

Releases, age ratings, box office, post-credit scenes and more.

Post-credits sceneNone

Worldwide premiereMay 18, 2003

Runtime1 h 21 min

Original languageEnglish

CountryUnited States

Production companiesHBO Films, Blue Relief Productions, Meno Film Company

Budget$3.0M

Worldwide box office$10.0M

Return on investmentx3.3 Box office hit

Trailer views627K

More ratings

3.4/5Letterboxd68/100Trakt7.3/10Metacritic (público)4.0/4Roger Ebert

Awards for Elephant

2total awards

4total nominations

Cannes 2

Awards won

2003Palme d'Or · Gus Van Sant
2003Cannes Best Director Award · Gus Van Sant

Nominations

2004César Award for Best Foreign Film
2004Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography
2004Independent Spirit Award for Best Director
2003National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography

Elephant Cast

Alex FrostAlex

Eric DeulenEric

John RobinsonJohn McFarland

Elias McConnellElias

Jordan TaylorJordan

Carrie FinkleaCarrie

Nicole GeorgeNicole

Brittany MountainBrittany

Alicia MilesAcadia

Kristen HicksMichelle

Bennie DixonBenny

Nathan TysonNathan

Timothy BottomsMr. McFarland

Matt MalloyMr. Luce

Chantelle Chriestenson NelsonNoelle

Larry LavertyTeacher #3

Ruben Bansie-SnellmanGSA Student

Jason SeitzGSA Victim

Vana O'BrienP.E. Instructor

Joseph SackettGSA Student

Sarah BingGSA Student

Ellis WilliamsGSA Teacher

Kim KenneyAssistant Principal's Secretary

Marci BuntrockAssistant Secretary

Phillipp Roman OstrovskyRed Haired Kid

Michael PaulsenBully

Alfred OnoMr. Fong

Marychris MassAlex's Mom

Jim SteinpreisAlex's Dad

Jeremy SimpsonDelivery Man

Sherilyn LawsonTeacher #1

Sarah LuchtTeacher #2

Dave StippichTeacher #4

Jimmy GomezKid On Bike

Joe CroninScience Teacher

Wolfgang WilliamsPunk Guy

Caroline Donovan BoydPunk Girl

Travis FergusonScience Student

Ernest TrulyGSA Teacher

Mary MuldrewGSA Student

Kether HaydenGSA Student

Natascha SnellmanGSA Student

Shanti ChoStudent in Darkroom

Spencer CallahanStudent in Darkroom

Theara SaoEli's Friend

Tiana WoodsEli's Classmate

Griffin GoinsFootball Player

Maxim HornerFootball Player

Thomas TrullingerFootball Player

Ty SchwoeffermannFootball Player

Ray MongeJanitor

Adolf HitlerSelf (archive footage) (uncredited)

Cast of Elephant by the numbers

16average cast age in years

1years of age gap between the leads

43%women in the cast

23%women in the crew

The youngest in the main cast: Carrie Finklea, age 14 at release. The oldest: John Robinson, at 17.

Cast ages at release

Alex Frost16 years old
Eric Deulen17 years old
John Robinson17 years old
Carrie Finklea14 years old

Crew

AddressGus Van Sant
WritingGus Van Sant
PhotographyHarris Savides
EditingGus Van Sant
CastingMali Finn, Danny Stoltz
ProductionDany Wolf

Trivia about Elephant

The film began as a documentary that Van Sant planned to shoot about the Columbine massacre, although the idea of a faithful account was ultimately dropped.

There was no script before filming began. The text was written during shooting, with the actors improvising freely, and the shoot lasted 20 days.

The title is not a tribute to Alan Clarke's 1989 short film, which Van Sant discovered on the recommendation of a producer after reading the project's treatment.

It was shot at the former campus of Whitaker Middle School, which had previously been Adams High School, in the director's hometown of Portland.

JT LeRoy, the pen name of writer Laura Albert, is credited as an associate producer on the film.

"Elephant" won the Palme d'Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, along with the Best Director award for Gus Van Sant, despite the division it caused among critics after its screening.

An open casting call drew thousands of students from Portland; Van Sant chose the young actors through improvisation sessions and wrote the characters based on the performers he selected.

The film had an approximate budget of 3 million dollars and grossed 10,012,022 dollars worldwide.

Sources: Wikipedia (English)

What it's about Elephant

video gamegunmass murderclassroomportland, oregonviolence in schoolsgirlfriendschoolgun violenceschool shootingday in a lifehomosexualityshootingpsychological drama

What Elephant is called in other countries

It was released in 24 countries, each in its own language.

MexicoElefante
BrazilElefante
PortugalElefante
Japanエレファント
South Korea엘리펀트
China大象
RussiaСлон
ArmeniaՓիղ
BulgariaСлон
CanadaÉléphant
CzechiaSlon
GreeceΕλέφαντας

See the remaining 12 countries

Hong Kong大象
HungaryElefánt
Iranفیل
Israelאלפנט
LatviaZilonis
PolandSłoń
RomaniaElefant
SerbiaСлон
Taiwan美國暴力學校
Thailandช้าง
TurkeyFil
UkraineСлон

Where it was filmed Elephant

FilmingWhere the story takes place

Filming locations

Where the Story Takes Place

Quotes by Elephant

[Going over final preparations with Eric] We have enough explosives to last us almost a day. And most importantly, have fun, man!
I've... never kissed anybody before. Have you?
[To John, who asks what he and Eric are doing] Just get the fuck out, don't come back. Some heavy shit's goin' down.
[The bombs fail to go off] Dude, what the fuck?
So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
[When Mr. Luce asks him to put his gun down] I ain't puttin' shit down!

Source: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA)