Poster © Miramax Films. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy, Drama & History
RatedR
Runtime2 hr 3 mins
ReleasedDecember 11, 1998
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorJohn Madden
StarringGwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush
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Shakespeare in Love (1998)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Shakespeare in Love's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy, Drama & History |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 12/11/1998 (United States); 01/29/1999 (United Kingdom) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 3 mins |
| Budget | $25M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States, United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Shakespeare in Love's Interests | |
| General | Quills, balconies, rehearsals, disguises, writer's block, rival theaters, very big ruffled collars. |
| Music | Stephen Warbeck |
| Movies | Romeo + Juliet (1996). Same play, more Hawaiian shirts. |
| Television | Upstart Crow. A whole sitcom about Shakespeare's writer's block. |
| Heroes | Queen Elizabeth I (Judi Dench). Barely on screen, still runs the place. |
| Shakespeare in Love's Crew | |
| Director | John Madden |
| Writers | Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard |
| Producers | David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick, Marc Norman |
| Cinematography | Richard Greatrex |
| Music | Stephen Warbeck |
| Edited By | David Gamble |
| Production | The Bedford Falls Company |
| Distributed By | Miramax Films (United States), Universal Pictures (International) |
Will Shakespeare lies on a couch and pays a quack to cure his writer’s block, and Shakespeare in Love never stops winking like that. Plenty of those winks are souvenir-mug jokes that feel like a sketch for theater nerds. Joseph Fiennes plays Will as a scruffy, lovesick mess, but Gwyneth Paltrow lights it up as Viola, a rich girl so in love with plays that she’ll glue on a fake mustache to get onstage. Geoffrey Rush is a joy as Henslowe, the broke theater owner who shrugs off every crisis. Judi Dench plays Queen Elizabeth for a few scenes and makes the rest of the cast look like extras. Colin Firth plays Wessex as a snob so stiff you could iron shirts on him. The best part is watching Romeo and Juliet get built out of chaos. It made $289.3 million worldwide on a reported $25M. A 7.9 because it’s witty, romantic and a little too pleased with itself. $1,979 says you sign your name on something this week and practice a few fancy versions first, like Will.
What works: Paltrow’s bright, determined Viola, Judi Dench’s royal scene-stealing, and the backstage chaos of building Romeo and Juliet.
What doesn’t: The wink-wink references to Shakespeare’s future plays pile up until the movie feels more cute than clever.
Who it’s for: Theater kids of all ages, and anyone who loves a costume romance with real jokes in it.
Spoilers
Viola’s secret comes out and she’s forced to marry Wessex anyway, but on opening night she steps in to play Juliet when the boy cast in the part loses his voice. Queen Elizabeth, who has seen through everything, sends her off to Virginia with Wessex, and Will starts writing Twelfth Night with Viola as his heroine, washed up on a strange shore.
London, 1593. Young playwright Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) has a deadline, a broke theater owner named Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush) and total writer's block on a comedy called Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Meanwhile Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), a rich merchant's daughter who adores plays, wants to act, which women are not allowed to do. So she puts on a fake mustache, calls herself Thomas Kent, and auditions. Will is impressed. Her parents, though, have already promised her to the stuffy Lord Wessex (Colin Firth). John Madden directs. One hundred twenty-three minutes, all poetry.
Anyone stuck on page one. Bring a quill and a muse.
| Joseph Fiennes | William Shakespeare |
| Gwyneth Paltrow | Viola de Lesseps |
| Geoffrey Rush | Philip Henslowe |
| Colin Firth | Lord Wessex |
| Ben Affleck | Ned Alleyn |
| Judi Dench | Queen Elizabeth I |
| Simon Callow | Edmund Tilney |
| Jim Carter | Ralph Bashford |
| Martin Clunes | Richard Burbage |
| Antony Sher | Dr. Moth |
| Imelda Staunton | Nurse |
| Tom Wilkinson | Hugh Fennyman |
| Mark Williams | Wabash |
| Daniel Brocklebank | Sam Gosse |
| Nicholas Le Prevost | Sir Robert de Lesseps |
| Jill Baker | Lady de Lesseps |
| Patrick Barlow | Will Kempe |
| Joe Roberts | John Webster |
| Rupert Everett | Christopher "Kit" Marlowe |
| John Inman | Lady Capulet in play |
| Sandra Reinton | Rosaline |
| Paul Bigley | Peter |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.1 / 10 (244,696 votes) → 7.1 / 10 (244,712 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $289.3M; Domestic box office $100.3M; Opening weekend $224K; Profit / loss (est.) +$107.2M; Rotten Tomatoes 92%; CinemaScore A; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 92%; Metacritic 87 / 100; CinemaScore A; IMDb users 7.1 / 10 (244,696 votes); movie.guru score 8.7.
- (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.