Better Luck Tomorrow

Better Luck Tomorrow
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJustin Lin
Written by
  • Ernesto Foronda
  • Justin Lin
  • Fabian Marquez
Produced by
  • Justin Lin
  • Julie Asato
  • Ernesto Foronda
Starring
CinematographyPatrice Lucien Cochet
Edited byJustin Lin
Music by
  • Michael Gonzales
  • Tobin Mori
Production
companies
  • Hudson River Entertainment
  • Cherry Sky Films
  • Day O Productions
  • Trailing Johnson Productions
Distributed byParamount Pictures
MTV Films
Release dates
  • January 12, 2002 (2002-01-12) (Sundance)
  • April 11, 2003 (2003-04-11) (United States)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$250,000[2]
Box office$3.8 million[2]

Better Luck Tomorrow is a 2002 American independent crime drama film directed by Justin Lin. The film is about Asian American overachievers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess. Better Luck Tomorrow's cast include Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, and John Cho. The film tells a fictional story of youth violence, drawing inspiration from several sources, including the Columbine shootings and the murder of Stuart Tay, a teenager from Orange County, California.[3]

Crucial funding for the film came from MC Hammer, whom Lin had met in April 2001 at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.[4] "Out of desperation, I called up MC Hammer because he had read the script and liked it. Two hours later, he wired the money we needed into a bank account and saved us," Lin said.[5] MC Hammer is credited as a producer of the film.[6]

Better Luck Tomorrow debuted at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and was subsequently acquired by MTV Films, its first acquisition. MTV Films worked with Paramount Pictures to release the film theatrically in the United States on April 11, 2003.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Better Luck Tomorrow". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Better Luck Tomorrow". Box Office Mojo.
  3. ^ Yi, Daniel (April 6, 2003). "They're the bad seeds?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2006. Retrieved March 18, 2008.
  4. ^ Lin, Lynda (April 10, 2003). "Movie Review: "Better Luck Tomorrow" breaks stereotypes". AsiansInAmerica.org. Archived from the original on July 29, 2005. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  5. ^ "New movie displays original view of Asian American films". The Daily Princetonian. May 9, 2003. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  6. ^ "MC Hammer Biography". Sing365.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
  7. ^ Morales, Wilson. "better luck tomorrow". Blackfilm.com. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  8. ^ Hill, Logan (May 19, 2016). "Meet Justin Lin, the Most Important Blockbuster Director You've Never Heard Of". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved April 7, 2022.