Poster © Lionsgate. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy, Drama & Music
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 8 mins
ReleasedDecember 9, 2016
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorDamien Chazelle
StarringRyan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend
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La La Land (2016)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| La La Land's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy, Drama & Music |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 08/31/2016 (Venice); 12/09/2016 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 8 mins |
| Budget | $30M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| La La Land's Interests | |
| General | Jazz clubs, Griffith Observatory, keytars, freeway traffic, old movie theaters, studio backlots. |
| Music | Justin Hurwitz, with songs by Pasek and Paul. The freeway opener is a whole event. |
| Movies | Whiplash (2014). Chazelle's other jazz movie, more yelling. Singin' in the Rain (1952), the blueprint. |
| Television | Smash. More showbiz dreamers, just on the other coast. |
| Heroes | Gene Kelly. Every dance number here owes him a thank you note. |
| La La Land's Crew | |
| Director | Damien Chazelle |
| Writers | Damien Chazelle |
| Producers | Fred Berger, Jordan Horowitz, Gary Gilbert, Marc Platt |
| Cinematography | Linus Sandgren |
| Music | Justin Hurwitz (score and songs), Pasek and Paul (songs) |
| Edited By | Tom Cross |
| Production | Summit Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions, Impostor Pictures, Gilbert Films |
| Distributed By | Lionsgate |
Nobody says it out loud, but Ryan Gosling spends a good chunk of La La Land explaining jazz to a woman who never asked. Seb wants to save a whole art form, and the movie treats that like a personality. That’s one knock. The other is the singing. Gosling and Emma Stone are charming, but they sing like two people having a really good karaoke night, and some numbers float when they should soar. Still, the opening freeway number is a sugar rush, the purple sunset tap dance is gorgeous, and Stone’s audition song is the best thing in it, a real performance in a movie that’s mostly mood. Critics loved it harder than audiences did, with a 94 on Metacritic. Made $540.9 million worldwide on a reported $30 million budget. A 7.0 because it looks like a dream and lectures like a podcast. $3,968 says you finish it, stare at the ceiling for a while and hum the piano theme at your next red light.
What works: Emma Stone’s audition song, the freeway opener, the purple sunset dance, and an ending that actually hurts.
What doesn’t: The leads sing and dance like talented amateurs, and Seb’s save-jazz speeches get preachy fast.
Who it’s for: Dreamers who moved to a big city for something and are still deciding if it was worth it.
Spoilers
Mia and Seb both get their dreams and lose each other. Years later she walks into his club with her husband, and a fantasy montage plays out the life they could have had before they share one last smile.
Mia Dolan (Emma Stone) pours coffee on a Hollywood studio lot between auditions that never go her way. Sebastian Wilder (Ryan Gosling) is a jazz pianist with strong opinions, a tiny apartment and a dream of opening his own club. Their first meeting is an angry honk on a jammed freeway. Their second goes even worse. Los Angeles keeps throwing them together anyway, through a Hollywood house party, an eighties cover band gig and one very purple sunset. Damien Chazelle directs, and everybody sings. One hundred twenty-eight minutes, all tap shoes and big dreams.
Anyone who has ever been told jazz is dying. Bring tap shoes.
| Ryan Gosling | Sebastian "Seb" Wilder |
| Emma Stone | Amelia "Mia" Dolan |
| John Legend | Keith |
| J. K. Simmons | Bill |
| Rosemarie DeWitt | Laura Wilder |
| Finn Wittrock | Greg |
| Callie Hernandez | Tracy |
| Sonoya Mizuno | Caitlin |
| Jessica Rothe | Alexis |
| Tom Everett Scott | David |
| Amiee Conn | The Famous Actress |
| Anna Chazelle | Sarah |
| Josh Pence | Josh |
| Meagen Fay | Mia's mother |
| Damon Gupton | Harry |
| Jason Fuchs | Carlo |
| Marius de Vries | Clyde |
| Olivia Hamilton | Bree |
| Hemky Madera | Jimmy |
| Valarie Rae Miller | Amy Brandt |
| Miles Anderson | Alistair the photographer |
| Khirye Tyler | Seb's Pianist |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 8.0 / 10 (781,842 votes) → 8.0 / 10 (781,913 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +520 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $540.9M; Domestic box office $151.1M; Opening weekend $881K; Profit / loss (est.) +$225.4M; Rotten Tomatoes 91%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; RT 91% (469 reviews); Metacritic 94 / 100; PostTrak audience 81% positive; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 8.0 / 10 (781,842 votes); movie.guru score 8.6.
- (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.