Shakespeare in Love poster

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Shakespeare in Love

1998 · Movie · 123 min
B

MEANRANK

74/100

Averaged across 12 ratings · 643.8K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 29 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

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48–93 out of 100

Split

Lowest is Criticker on 48, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 93. Critics average 90, everyone else 71.

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A young Will Shakespeare struggles with writer's block and financial pressure until he finds a mysterious muse in a passionate noblewoman. She inspires him to write his greatest work, *Romeo and Juliet*, as they conduct a secret and forbidden love affair that mirrors the play he is creating, full of passion, comedy, and tragedy.

Details

Director
John Madden
Released
11 December 1998
Country
United States
Language
English
Runtime
123 min
Rated
R
Budget
$25.0M
Box office
$289.3M
Awards
26 wins, 45 nominations

This title elsewhere

Joseph Fiennes

Joseph Fiennes

Will Shakespeare

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow

Viola De Lesseps

Geoffrey Rush

Geoffrey Rush

Philip Henslowe

Tom Wilkinson

Tom Wilkinson

Hugh Fennyman

Judi Dench

Judi Dench

Queen Elizabeth

Colin Firth

Colin Firth

Lord Wessex

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck

Ned Alleyn

Awards & nominations

See all 71 →

16 major awards won · 26 wins from 71 nominations across 19 ceremonies

Academy Awards 1998 Best Original Musical or Comedy Score Stephen Warbeck Winner
Academy Awards 1998 Best Actress Gwyneth Paltrow Winner
Academy Awards 1998 Best Supporting Actress Judi Dench Winner
Academy Awards 1998 Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard Winner
Academy Awards 1998 Best Art Direction Art Direction: Martin Childs ; Set Decoration: Jill Quertier Winner
Academy Awards 1998 Best Costume Design Sandy Powell Winner
Academy Awards 1998 Best Picture David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick, and Marc Norman Winner
Berlin International Film Festival 1998 Silver Bear Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard Winner
Show all 71 awards across 19 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.