The Great Debaters
“When the nation was in need, he inspired them to give us hope.”
The true story of a brilliant but politically radical debate team coach who uses the power of words to transform a group of underdog African-American college students into a historical powerhouse that took on the Harvard elite.
Genres
Drama
Studio
Marshall Production
Language
en
Status
Released
How The Great Debaters performed
Budget
$15.0M
Worldwide Gross
$30.2M
Gross Profit
$15.2M
Return
2.0× budget
Opening Wknd (est.)
$4M
Source: TMDB. Domestic/international split (~48/52, genre-typical) and the opening-weekend figure (30% of the domestic run, typical for Drama) are MoviesRankd estimates. Profit is gross revenue minus production budget and excludes marketing — studios typically need ~2–2.5× budget to break even.
Where to Watch
Cast
James Farmer Jr.
Denzel Whitaker
James Farmer Jr.
Melvin B. Tolson
Denzel Washington
Melvin B. Tolson
Henry Lowe
Nate Parker
Henry Lowe
Samantha Booke
Jurnee Smollett
Samantha Booke
Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Forest Whitaker
Dr. James Farmer Sr.
Pearl Farmer
Kimberly Elise
Pearl Farmer
Hamilton Burgess
Jermaine Williams
Hamilton Burgess
Ruth Tolson
Gina Ravera
Ruth Tolson
Sheriff Dozier
John Heard
Sheriff Dozier
Helen Farmer
Devyn A. Tyler
Helen Farmer
Nathaniel Farmer
Trenton McClain Boyd
Nathaniel Farmer
Deputy
Ritchie Montgomery
Deputy
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