# A Cinderella Story
**A Cinderella Story** is a 2004 American teen romantic comedy that reworks the [Cinderella](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinderella) fairy tale as a contemporary high school story, starring [Hilary Duff](https://www.edgepedia.org/hilary-duff) as Sam Montgomery, a diner-working teenager who falls for her anonymous online pen pal, the school's popular quarterback Austin Ames ([Chad Michael Murray](https://www.edgepedia.org/chad-michael-murray)). It was directed by Mark Rosman, written by Leigh Dunlap, and released theatrically by Warner Bros. on July 16, 2004.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63016) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cinderella-Story-A-%282004%29)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | July 16, 2004 (wide, Warner Bros.); DVD October 19, 2004[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cinderella-Story-A-%282004%29) |
| Director / writer | Mark Rosman / Leigh Dunlap[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63016) |
| Lead cast | Hilary Duff (Sam), Jennifer Coolidge (Fiona), Chad Michael Murray (Austin), Dan Byrd (Carter), Regina King (Rhonda)[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356470/fullcredits/) |
| Rating and runtime | PG for mild language and innuendo; 95 minutes[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cinderella-Story-A-%282004%29) |
| Box office | $51,438,175 domestic, $18,674,309 international, $70,112,484 worldwide on a $19,000,000 budget; opening weekend $13,623,350[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cinderella-Story-A-%282004%29) |
| Critical reception | 11% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (102 reviews); Metascore 25 on Metacritic from 30 reviews; 6.0/10 from IMDb users[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cinderella_story?nopopup=true) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-cinderella-story/) |
| Franchise | Spawned five follow-ups: Another Cinderella Story (2008), Once Upon a Song (2011), If the Shoe Fits (2016), Christmas Wish (2019), and Starstruck (2021)[6](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/a-cinderella-story/16231/where-to-watch/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film transposes the fairy tale to the [San Fernando Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-fernando-valley). High school senior Sam Montgomery lives with her self-absorbed stepmother Fiona ([Jennifer Coolidge](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-coolidge)) and stepsisters Brianna ([Madeline Zima](https://www.edgepedia.org/madeline-zima)) and Gabriella (Andrea Avery), who treat her as a servant after her father's death and put her to work in the family diner. Sam dreams of attending Princeton and corresponds anonymously online with a Princeton-bound chat partner, not knowing he is Austin Ames, the school's student body president and star quarterback.[7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/a-cinderella-story)
The ball becomes the school's [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween) dance. Prompted by diner manager Rhonda ([Regina King](https://www.edgepedia.org/regina-king)), a fairy-godmother figure, Sam attends in a borrowed gown and mask, meets Austin on the dance floor, and flees at midnight, leaving behind her cell phone as the modern counterpart to the glass slipper.[7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/a-cinderella-story) • [8](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/g4017/best-rom-coms/) Austin then tries to learn the identity of his mystery date while Sam, fearing rejection, avoids revealing that she is "Diner Girl."[9](https://www.tributemovies.com/movie/a-cinderella-story/7754/)
### Sequels
The film's commercial success established a franchise tracked as "A Cinderella Story" by box-office databases.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cinderella-Story-A-%282004%29) Five follow-ups followed, each with a new cast: [Another Cinderella Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/another-cinderella-story) (2008) with [Selena Gomez](https://www.edgepedia.org/selena-gomez), A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song (2011), [A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-cinderella-story-if-the-shoe-fits) (2016), A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish (2019), and A Cinderella Story: Starstruck (2021).[6](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/a-cinderella-story/16231/where-to-watch/) • [13](https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/454077) In the mid-2020s the original remained in circulation on streaming services; as of late 2026 it was available free with ads on YouTube in the United States and on Netflix in several other countries.[16](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-cinderella-story) • [17](https://pinmovies.com/movie/a-cinderella-story-60036237)
## Production and crew
[Warner Bros. Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-pictures) produced the film with producers Hunt Lowry, Dylan Sellers, Clifford Werber, and Ilyssa Goodman.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63016) Christophe Beck composed the score, Anthony B. Richmond was the cinematographer, Cara Silverman edited, and Charles Breen was the production designer.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63016) The supporting cast includes [Julie Gonzalo](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-gonzalo) as Shelby, Lin Shaye as Mrs. Wells, Mary Pat Gleason as Eleanor, Paul Rodriguez as Bobby, Whip Hubley as Sam's father, Kevin Kilner as Austin's father, Erica Hubbard as Madison, and [Simon Helberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-helberg) as Terry.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356470/fullcredits/)
## Reception and box office
**Commercial performance.** The film opened on 2,625 theaters and grossed $13,623,350 on its opening weekend, 26.5% of its eventual $51,438,175 domestic total. International receipts added $18,674,309, for a worldwide gross of $70,112,484, about 3.7 times its $19,000,000 production budget.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cinderella-Story-A-%282004%29) The United Kingdom was the largest reported international territory at $6,978,479.[10](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0356470/)
**Critical reception.** Critics were largely negative. Rotten Tomatoes records an 11% Tomatometer score from 102 reviews, with the critics consensus calling it "an uninspired, generic updating of the classic fairy tale," while audiences gave it a 53% Popcornmeter score.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cinderella_story?nopopup=true) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 25, based on 30 critic reviews, of which 21 were negative and 9 mixed; user ratings were more favorable at 5.9.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-cinderella-story/) Reviewers singled out Jennifer Coolidge's comic stepmother for praise even in negative notices; L.A. Weekly's Ella Taylor called her "a sublimely funny" Botoxed horror of a stepmother.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356470/criticreviews/) The Washington Post's Stephen Hunter wrote that the filmmakers "took the most famous tale in the world and broke it," while Common Sense Media's Nell Minow called it a "funny and sweet update of the Cinderella story."[12](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/07/16/skip-this-ball-cinderella-is-a-limp-take-on-the-tale/964ee9d3-4f7a-43a9-8f3e-bdc682d07c0b/) • [7](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/a-cinderella-story)
## Place in the Cinderella film tradition
The film arrived during a cluster of Cinderella adaptations: within a decade, four big-budget updates appeared, [Ever After](https://www.edgepedia.org/ever-after): A Cinderella Story (1998), A Cinderella Story (2004), Ella Enchanted (2004), and Another Cinderella Story (2008).[13](https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/454077) A 2004 Christian Science Monitor report noted that at least two Cinderella versions were reaching theaters that year alone, and that fairy-tale scholar Jack Zipes had counted at least 100 different Cinderella-type stories published in the three years leading up to 2002.[14](https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0409/p13s02-almo.html) Scholars have read the film as updating the tale with teen-culture rituals and "girl power" framing, with the prom standing in for the royal ball.[15](https://www.ccl-lcj.ca/index.php/ccl-lcj/article/download/4829/4364/4490)
## References
1. [A Cinderella Story (2004), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/63016)
2. [A Cinderella Story (2004), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Cinderella-Story-A-%282004%29)
3. [A Cinderella Story (2004) Full Cast & Crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356470/fullcredits/)
4. [A Cinderella Story, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cinderella_story?nopopup=true)
5. [A Cinderella Story Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-cinderella-story/)
6. [Where to Watch A Cinderella Story, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/a-cinderella-story/16231/where-to-watch/)
7. [A Cinderella Story Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/a-cinderella-story)
8. [The 100 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time, Marie Claire](https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/g4017/best-rom-coms/)
9. [A Cinderella Story (2004) Movie Plot and Synopsis, Tribute Movies](https://www.tributemovies.com/movie/a-cinderella-story/7754/)
10. [A Cinderella Story (2004), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0356470/)
11. [A Cinderella Story (2004) Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356470/criticreviews/)
12. [Skip This Ball: 'Cinderella' Is a Limp Take on the Tale, The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/07/16/skip-this-ball-cinderella-is-a-limp-take-on-the-tale/964ee9d3-4f7a-43a9-8f3e-bdc682d07c0b/)
13. [R. Brock-Servais: Cinderella's Princely Ever After: Post-Feminist "Cinderella" Adaptations](https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/454077)
14. [Film's Grimm Future, The Christian Science Monitor](https://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0409/p13s02-almo.html)
15. [Sidney Eve Matrix, Cinderella Goes to the Prom](https://www.ccl-lcj.ca/index.php/ccl-lcj/article/download/4829/4364/4490)
16. [A Cinderella Story streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/a-cinderella-story)
17. [Is A Cinderella Story on Netflix?, PinMovies](https://pinmovies.com/movie/a-cinderella-story-60036237)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Teen and comedy series film entries › Entries released in the 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license