Pay It Forward poster

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Streaming data from JustWatch

Pay It Forward

2000 · Movie · 122 min
C

MEANRANK

67/100

Averaged across 12 ratings · 646.3K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 30 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

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39–88 out of 100

Split

Lowest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 39, highest is Google on 88. Critics average 40, everyone else 72.

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A young boy accepts his social studies teacher's challenge to devise a plan to change the world. His idea is simple: do a significant favor for three people who must then, in turn, do a favor for three others—"paying it forward" instead of back—creating a growing wave of kindness.

Details

Director
Mimi Leder
Based on
Pay It Foward by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Released
20 October 2000
Country
United States
Language
English
Runtime
122 min
Rated
PG-13
Budget
$40.0M
Box office
$55.7M

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