Poster © Miramax Films. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreDrama & Romance
RatedR
Runtime2 hr 6 mins
ReleasedDecember 5, 1997
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorGus Van Sant
StarringRobin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
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Good Will Hunting (1997)
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| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Good Will Hunting's Details | |
| Genre | Drama & Romance |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 12/02/1997 (Bruin Theater); 12/05/1997 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 6 mins |
| Budget | $10–16M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Good Will Hunting's Interests | |
| General | Hallway chalkboards, Southie job sites, Harvard bars, library books read in one night, apples. |
| Music | Danny Elfman, plus a lot of Elliott Smith. Sad guitar, perfect fit. |
| Movies | Dead Poets Society (1989). Robin Williams, once again the best teacher you never had. |
| Television | Ted Lasso. Another mentor who refuses to give up on people. |
| Heroes | Sean Maguire. Patient, stubborn, and not falling for any of it. |
| Good Will Hunting's Crew | |
| Director | Gus Van Sant |
| Writers | Ben Affleck, Matt Damon |
| Producers | Lawrence Bender |
| Cinematography | Jean-Yves Escoffier |
| Music | Danny Elfman |
| Edited By | Pietro Scalia |
| Production | Miramax Films, Be Gentlemen, A Band Apart, Lawrence Bender Productions |
| Distributed By | Miramax Films |
Nobody has ever rewatched Good Will Hunting for the math, which is lucky, because the math is basically wallpaper. Will’s genius mostly gets used to win an argument at a Harvard bar. People come back for Robin Williams on a park bench, calmly telling a know-it-all kid he’s never actually lived, and it’s one of the quietest knockouts in movies. Matt Damon plays Will like a smart guy with his fists already up. Minnie Driver’s Skylar deserves her own movie and gets about a third of one. Ben Affleck as Chuckie has one speech late in the film that might be the best thing he’s ever done. The Boston accents are thick enough to park a car on. It made $225.9 million worldwide on a reported $10 to $16 million budget. An 8.5 because the therapy scenes are flawless and the romance is a sketch. $89 says you hear someone mention apples this week and finish the line out loud.
What works: Robin Williams in the therapy scenes, the friendship between Will and Chuckie, and dialogue that sounds like real people talking.
What doesn’t: Will’s genius is more plot device than character, and Skylar is written as a reward more than a person.
Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever been told they’re wasting their potential, and anyone who needs a good cry on a Sunday.
Spoilers
Sean finally breaks through by telling Will, again and again, that none of his past is his fault. Will turns down the job offers, leaves Sean a note borrowing Sean’s own line about going to see about a girl, and drives off to California to find Skylar.
Will Hunting (Matt Damon) mops floors at MIT and quietly solves the math problems the students cannot. By the time Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård) tracks down the anonymous genius, Will is in court after a brawl in South Boston. Lambeau gets him released on two conditions: weekly math with him and weekly therapy. Will burns through every therapist until he meets Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), a community college teacher who does not flinch. Meanwhile his best friend Chuckie (Ben Affleck) and a Harvard student named Skylar (Minnie Driver) see more in him than he does. Gus Van Sant directs. One hundred twenty-six minutes of Boston accents and big feelings.
Anyone who has ever said they are fine when they are not. Sean will see you now.
| Matt Damon | Will Hunting |
| Robin Williams | Dr. Sean Maguire |
| Ben Affleck | Chuckie Sullivan |
| Stellan Skarsgård | Professor Gerald Lambeau |
| Minnie Driver | Skylar |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $225.9M; Domestic box office $138.4M; Opening weekend $273K; Profit / loss (est.) +$93.5M; Rotten Tomatoes 97%; CinemaScore A; box office chart updated; RT 97% (91 reviews); Metacritic 71 / 100; CinemaScore A; IMDb users 8.4 / 10 (1,248,315 votes); movie.guru score 9.0.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.