As Good as It Gets

As Good as It Gets
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames L. Brooks
Screenplay by
Story byMark Andrus
Produced by
  • James L. Brooks
  • Bridget Johnson
  • Kristi Zea
Starring
CinematographyJohn Bailey
Edited byRichard Marks
Music byHans Zimmer
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing
Release dates
Running time
139 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million
Box office$314.1 million

As Good as It Gets is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by James L. Brooks from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Andrus. It stars Jack Nicholson as a misanthropic, bigoted and obsessive–compulsive novelist, Helen Hunt as a single mother with a chronically ill son, and Greg Kinnear as a gay artist.

As Good as It Gets premiered at the Regency Village Theatre on December 6, 1997, and was released theatrically in the United States on Christmas Day. A critical and box office hit, it grossed $314.1 million on a $50 million budget. At the 70th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for 7 awards, including Best Picture. Nicholson won for Best Actor and Hunt for Best Actress, making it the most recent film to win both of the lead-acting awards. It is ranked 140th on Empire magazine's "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time" list.