Pawn Sacrifice

For the chess move, see Sacrifice (chess).

Pawn Sacrifice
Theatrical release poster
Directed byEdward Zwick
Screenplay bySteven Knight
Story by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBradford Young
Edited bySteven Rosenblum
Music byJames Newton Howard
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • September 11, 2014 (2014-09-11) (TIFF)
  • September 16, 2015 (2015-09-16) (United States)
Running time
115 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$19 million[4]
Box office$5.6 million[5]

Pawn Sacrifice is a 2014 American biographical psychological drama film about chess grandmaster and 11th world champion Bobby Fischer. It follows Fischer's challenge against top Soviet chess grandmasters during the Cold War and culminating in the World Chess Championship 1972 match versus Boris Spassky in Reykjavík, Iceland. It was directed by Edward Zwick and written by Steven Knight, and stars Tobey Maguire as Fischer, Liev Schreiber as Spassky, Lily Rabe as Joan Fischer, and Peter Sarsgaard as William Lombardy. It was released in the United States on September 16, 2015.[6]

The film received generally positive reviews, with many critics praising Maguire's performance, but grossed only $5 million worldwide against a budget of $19 million.

  1. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (March 28, 2013). "Tobey Maguire's Material Pictures Expands with New Backer Onboard". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
  2. ^ D'Arcy, David (September 8, 2014). "Pawn Sacrifice". Screen International. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
  3. ^ "PAWN SACRIFICE (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. September 3, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2015.
  4. ^ Dondis, Harold; Chase, Chris (September 27, 2015). "Chess Notes". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  5. ^ "Pawn Sacrifice (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Amazon. Archived from the original on September 1, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  6. ^ Pedersen, Erik (February 4, 2015). "'I'll See You In My Dreams' and 'Pawn Sacrifice' Get Release Dates". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 1, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.