# The Score (2001 film)
**The Score** is a 2001 American heist thriller directed by [Frank Oz](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-oz), starring [Robert De Niro](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-de-niro), Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, and [Angela Bassett](https://www.edgepedia.org/angela-bassett), and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It is notable as the first film in which De Niro and Brando, both Academy Award winners, shared the screen.[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/the-score)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / distributor | Frank Oz; Paramount Pictures[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/the-score) |
| Release | July 13, 2001 (wide, domestic)[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108799-score) |
| Cast | Robert De Niro as Nick Wells, Edward Norton as Jack Teller, Marlon Brando as Max, Angela Bassett as Diane[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0227445/credits/) |
| Running time / rating | 124 minutes; rated R[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/the-score) |
| Box office | $71,107,711 domestic, $113,579,918 worldwide, against a $68,000,000 budget[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0227445/credits/) |
| Critical reception | 74% Tomatometer from 129 reviews and 67% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108799-score) |
| Music | Score by Howard Shore; on-screen jazz performances by Cassandra Wilson and Mose Allison[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/the-score) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Nick Wells (Robert De Niro) is an expert safecracker in Montreal who runs a jazz nightclub as his legitimate business and is preparing to settle down with his girlfriend Diane (Angela Bassett). His friend and fence Max ([Marlon Brando](https://www.edgepedia.org/marlon-brando)), heavily in debt to a crime boss, presses him into one last job: helping novice thief Jack Teller ([Edward Norton](https://www.edgepedia.org/edward-norton)) steal a scepter worth $30 million from the House of Customs. Nick is tempted by a $6 million payday and reluctantly agrees, violating his standing rule of always working alone. The plan becomes a high-risk gamble when a clash of egos among the three threatens the operation.[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/the-score)
Rotten Tomatoes' synopsis adds the story's central tension: the alliance interrupts Nick's plan to retire from crime and settle down with his fiancée.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108799-score) Jack gains access to the target by infiltrating the customs house under the false identity of "Brian," whose speech and movement appear affected by brain damage.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-score-2001)
## Cast and crew
The four leads span what Paramount's synopsis calls three generations of acclaimed actors: De Niro (Oscar winner for *The Godfather Part II* and *Raging Bull*), Brando (Oscar winner for *On the Waterfront*), Edward Norton (Oscar nominee for *Primal Fear* and *American History X*), and Angela Bassett (Oscar nominee for *What's Love Got to Do with It*). Supporting roles include [Gary Farmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/gary-farmer) as Burt, Paul Soles as Danny, Jamie Harrold as Steven, Serge Houde as Laurent, and Martin Drainville as Jean-Claude.[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/the-score)
The screenplay is credited to Kario Salem, Lem Dobbs, and Scott Marshall Smith, with a story credit shared by Daniel E. Taylor and Kario Salem.[5](https://www.aboutfilm.com/movies/s/score.htm) Gary Foster and Lee Rich produced,[1](https://www.paramount.com/movies/the-score) Rob Hahn was the cinematographer, Richard Pearson the editor, and Jackson De Govia the production designer.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0227445/credits/) Production companies included Horseshoe Bay Productions, Paramount Pictures, Eagle Point Production, and Mandalay Pictures.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108799-score)
## Production and reception of the making
Director Frank Oz, whose background is in comedy and puppetry rather than crime films, cast the picture around its three male leads. A *Time* magazine production account described the shoot as difficult: the film ended up costing nearly $70 million, and the script was not finished when the film went into production, with Norton doing rewrites during the shoot and clashing egos on set.[6](https://time.com/archive/6952408/how-to-make-a-score-brando-fights-de-niro-stages-heists-and-norton-does-rewrites-no-one-said-making-films-was-easy/) The film was shot in Montreal, which also serves as its setting; GamesRadar's review singled out the photography of the old town and the Montreal Customs House, the target of the heist, as a strength of the film.[7](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-score-review/) A separate 2001 heist film, *Heist*, was also shot in Montreal around the same time, and the two are frequently confused because of their generic titles and shared setting.[8](https://cultmtl.com/2020/01/made-in-mtl-heist/)
The film was Brando's final theatrical feature according to SensaCine, which notes that the semiretired actor took a supporting role while the film's weight fell on De Niro and Norton.[9](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-28235/)
## Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes records a 74% Tomatometer from 129 reviews and a 67% Popcornmeter score from more than 50,000 ratings, with the critics consensus holding that although the movie treads familiar ground in the heist genre, its three stars make it worth watching.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108799-score) Roger Ebert's review called the film "not a great movie," but judged that as a classic heist movie it showed solid professionalism, and praised Oz for keeping the seasoning light while serving what the reviewer called a triple helping of filet mignon in the cast.[4](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-score-2001) Reviews spanned a wide range: Variety praised the restoration of the no-nonsense procedural heist style,[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108799-score) the BBC gave it 4 out of 5, while Andrew Sarris in the *Observer* wrote that it wasted a prestigious cast on a tediously long-winded caper plot.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108799-score)
## Box office
The Score opened wide on July 13, 2001 with a domestic opening of $19,018,807. It grossed $71,107,711 in the United States, about 62.6 percent of its total, and $42,472,207 internationally, for a worldwide total of $113,579,918 against a $68,000,000 budget.[3](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0227445/credits/) The film was released on DVD on December 11, 2001.[10](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-score/615/where-to-watch/)
## Notes on the title
The title refers to a planned theft, or "score," in criminal slang. It should not be confused with other works of the same name, including a 2022 British crime comedy-musical of the same title and a 2016 documentary about film composers.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_score) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4207112/criticreviews/)
## References
1. [The Score, Paramount Pictures official page](https://www.paramount.com/movies/the-score)
2. [The Score, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1108799-score)
3. [The Score (2001), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0227445/credits/)
4. [The Score movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-score-2001)
5. [AboutFilm.com, The Score (2001)](https://www.aboutfilm.com/movies/s/score.htm)
6. [How to Make a Score, Time (November 19, 2001)](https://time.com/archive/6952408/how-to-make-a-score-brando-fights-de-niro-stages-heists-and-norton-does-rewrites-no-one-said-making-films-was-easy/)
7. [The Score review, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-score-review/)
8. [The Montreal-shot Heist does exactly what it's supposed to, Cult MTL](https://cultmtl.com/2020/01/made-in-mtl-heist/)
9. [The Score (Un golpe maestro), SensaCine](https://www.sensacine.com/peliculas/pelicula-28235/)
10. [The Score (2001): Where to Watch & Stream, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-score/615/where-to-watch/)
11. [The Score (2022), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_score)
12. [Score (2016) Metacritic reviews, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4207112/criticreviews/)
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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 › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2000–2004 films › Released 2000 to 2002*
*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