# The Runaways (2010 film)
*The Runaways* is a 2010 American biographical drama film written and directed by Floria Sigismondi that dramatizes the formation and brief career of the 1970s all-girl rock band the Runaways, focusing on guitarist [Joan Jett](https://www.edgepedia.org/joan-jett) ([Kristen Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/kristen-stewart)) and lead singer [Cherie Currie](https://www.edgepedia.org/cherie-currie) (Dakota Fanning) under the management of impresario Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon).[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/66583-THE-RUNAWAYS) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/therunaways) It is based on Currie's 1989 autobiography, *Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story*.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-19-zap-review-the-runaways-lat-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writer | Floria Sigismondi, a music-video artist making her feature debut[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/66583-THE-RUNAWAYS) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-19-zap-review-the-runaways-lat-story.html) |
| Lead cast | Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett, Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie, Michael Shannon as Kim Fowley[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/66583-THE-RUNAWAYS) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/therunaways) |
| Source material | Currie's 1989 autobiography *Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story*[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-19-zap-review-the-runaways-lat-story.html) |
| Release | Limited opening in Los Angeles and New York on March 19, 2010, distributed by Apparition; expanded wide April 9, 2010[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/66583-THE-RUNAWAYS) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Runaways-The) |
| Box office | Domestic gross $3,573,673; worldwide $5,278,632 against a $9,500,000 production budget (The Numbers); Box Office Mojo and IMDb list worldwide gross of $4,681,651 and a $10,000,000 budget[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Runaways-The) • [5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1017451/) |
| Critical reception | 68% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 187 reviews[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_runaways) |
| Rating and runtime | Rated R for language, drug use and sexual content, all involving teens; 106 minutes per the AFI Catalog[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/66583-THE-RUNAWAYS) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Runaways-The) |
## Spoilers
### Story and cast
The film follows two rebellious [Southern California](https://www.edgepedia.org/southern-california) teenagers, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, as they rise from obscurity to rock stardom in the band put together by [Kim Fowley](https://www.edgepedia.org/kim-fowley), who turns the group into an outrageous success and, in the film's telling, a family of misfits. Joan is portrayed as the band's pure rock 'n' roll heart, while Cherie, with what the studio synopsis calls her Bowie-Bardot looks, is cast as the sex kitten.[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/therunaways)
The supporting cast includes [Alia Shawkat](https://www.edgepedia.org/alia-shawkat) as Robin, Scout Taylor-Compton as guitarist [Lita Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/lita-ford), Stella Maeve as drummer [Sandy West](https://www.edgepedia.org/sandy-west), and Tatum O'Neal as Cherie's mother.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/66583-THE-RUNAWAYS) • [7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-runaways-2010) Currie's family life receives the film's most sustained attention: Roger Ebert's review notes a runaway mother (O'Neal), a loyal but resentful sister (Riley Keough), and a dying, alcoholic father (Brett Cullen).[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-runaways-2010) The film also depicts a sexual encounter between the Jett and Currie characters after a concert; Currie discussed a sexual relationship with Jett in her memoir, and Jett was closely involved with the production.[8](https://s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/ap-st01.ext.exlibrisgroup.com/64OTAGO_INST/storage/alma/75/D2/52/DE/00/E6/4C/AA/D5/D0/44/DF/5B/D1/C0/AE/bitstream_56574.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAJUYRSPBSIJGGDX6A%2F20260406%2Fap-southeast-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260406T192518Z&X-Amz-Expires=119&X-Amz-Signature=12088bd6c29a38bd26dd8f9f82929e7366e0923629011a755684f92da281c994&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf)
## Production
Sigismondi came to the project from a career in music videos, and critics noted the resulting visual style: the Los Angeles Times' Betsy Sharkey described a grainy documentary feel achieved on a shoestring indie budget.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-19-zap-review-the-runaways-lat-story.html) The cinematographer was Benoît Debie, the editor Richard Chew, the production designer Eugenio Caballero, and the composer Lillian Berlin; the producers were John Linson, Art Linson, and William Pohlad for River Road Entertainment.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/66583-THE-RUNAWAYS) Joan Jett herself served as a producer.[9](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-runaways/umc.cmc.5zys8mufhioa9dor8qgian4nm)
The path to the screen began years earlier: Jett's manager Kenny Laguna began shopping a script based on a revised edition of Currie's *Neon Angel* about seven years before the film's release, at one point tapping the then-unmasked [JT LeRoy](https://www.edgepedia.org/jt-leroy) to write it.[10](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2010/03/behind-scenes-runaways/)
## Scope and reception
**A narrow focus.** The film concentrates on Jett and Currie rather than the full band, and it does not extend past Currie's 1977 resignation from the group, according to DVD Talk's review.[11](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/44555/runaways-the/) The real band, assembled by Fowley in Los Angeles around 1975 with Jett, Sandy West, Lita Ford, Currie, and [Jackie Fox](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-fox), dissolved in April 1979.[12](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Hi-Fi-World/2010/Hi-Fi-World-2010-12.pdf) • [13](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/joan-jett-on-the-end-of-the-runaways) Sharkey's review argued the film chose the wrong protagonist, training its lens on Currie, the one who actually ran away, rather than on Jett, who became a legend after the band with "I Love Rock 'N Roll" in 1982.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-19-zap-review-the-runaways-lat-story.html) Roger Ebert called it less an in-depth biopic than a quick overview of the band's creation, rise, and fall, with slim character development and a great deal of rock 'n' roll.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-runaways-2010)
**Reception.** On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 68% Tomatometer from 187 reviews, with a critics consensus stating that viewers expecting an in-depth biopic will be disappointed but that the film is as electric as the band's music, largely thanks to the performances of Shannon, Fanning, and Stewart.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_runaways) The Houston Chronicle's Andrew Dansby wrote that, like every music biopic, it is imperfect, but that its subject, a short-lived band of teenage girls, was a welcome respite from big-figure music biopics such as *Ray* and *[Walk the Line](https://www.edgepedia.org/walk-the-line)*.[14](https://www.chron.com/culture/main/article/runaways-escapes-usual-biopic-pitfalls-1712886.php)
## Box office
The film opened limited on March 19, 2010 in 244 theaters, grossing $805,115 on its opening weekend, and expanded wide on April 9, 2010.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Runaways-The) It finished with a domestic gross of $3,573,673 and an international gross of $1,704,959, for a worldwide total of $5,278,632, about 0.6 times its $9,500,000 production budget as reported by The Numbers.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Runaways-The) Box Office Mojo and IMDb instead report a worldwide gross of $4,681,651 and an estimated budget of $10,000,000.[5](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1017451/) • [15](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1017451/?bypassRefViewPref=1) Estimated domestic disc sales added $6,892,264, with $5,806,430 from DVD and $1,085,834 from Blu-ray.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Runaways-The) Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the video on July 20, 2010.[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Runaways-The)
## Legacy
Later commentary credits the film with helping renew interest in the band. A 2025 [Guitar World](https://www.edgepedia.org/guitar-world) feature wrote that *The Runaways* introduced a whole new generation to the trailblazing 1970s band.[13](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/joan-jett-on-the-end-of-the-runaways) In a 2025 [El País](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-pais) piece marking fifty years since the band's founding, bassist Jackie Fuchs said the film helped sustain the band's fandom as part of a broader recovery of overlooked figures.[16](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-11-19/cincuenta-anos-de-the-runaways-enamorarse-emborracharse-ir-pasadas-de-drogas-y-odiar-a-alguien.html)
## References
1. [The Runaways (2010), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/66583-THE-RUNAWAYS)
2. [The Runaways, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/therunaways)
3. [Betsy Sharkey, "'The Runaways'", Los Angeles Times, March 19, 2010](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-mar-19-zap-review-the-runaways-lat-story.html)
4. [The Runaways (2010), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Runaways-The)
5. [The Runaways (2010), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1017451/)
6. [The Runaways, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_runaways)
7. [Roger Ebert, "The Runaways", rogerebert.com, 2010](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-runaways-2010)
8. [Academic source on The Runaways (2010) and Jett's involvement, University of Otago repository](https://s3.ap-southeast-1.amazonaws.com/ap-st01.ext.exlibrisgroup.com/64OTAGO_INST/storage/alma/75/D2/52/DE/00/E6/4C/AA/D5/D0/44/DF/5B/D1/C0/AE/bitstream_56574.pdf?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAJUYRSPBSIJGGDX6A%2F20260406%2Fap-southeast-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20260406T192518Z&X-Amz-Expires=119&X-Amz-Signature=12088bd6c29a38bd26dd8f9f82929e7366e0923629011a755684f92da281c994&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf)
9. [The Runaways, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/the-runaways/umc.cmc.5zys8mufhioa9dor8qgian4nm)
10. [Phoebe Reilly, "Behind the Scenes of 'The Runaways'", SPIN, March 11, 2010](https://www.spinmagazine.com/2010/03/behind-scenes-runaways/)
11. [Brian Orndorf, The Runaways review, DVD Talk, July 19, 2010](https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/44555/runaways-the/)
12. [Hi-Fi World, December 2010](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Hi-Fi-World/2010/Hi-Fi-World-2010-12.pdf)
13. [Joan Jett on the end of The Runaways, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/joan-jett-on-the-end-of-the-runaways)
14. [Andrew Dansby, "Runaways escapes usual biopic pitfalls", Houston Chronicle, April 8, 2010](https://www.chron.com/culture/main/article/runaways-escapes-usual-biopic-pitfalls-1712886.php)
15. [The Runaways (2010), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1017451/?bypassRefViewPref=1)
16. ["Cincuenta años de The Runaways", El País, November 19, 2025](https://elpais.com/cultura/2025-11-19/cincuenta-anos-de-the-runaways-enamorarse-emborracharse-ir-pasadas-de-drogas-y-odiar-a-alguien.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Films by genre, form, and subject › Documentary and biographical films › Biographical films of musicians, artists, and writers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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