Sling Blade poster

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Streaming data from JustWatch

Sling Blade

1996 · Movie · 135 min
A

MEANRANK

82/100

Averaged across 11 ratings · 222.7K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 6 October 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

Google: Google retired the star ratings it used to show in search results, so this one no longer updates. More on where the numbers come from →

67–96 out of 100

Mostly agreed

Lowest is Criticker on 67, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 96.

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Compare Trailer

A intellectually disabled man is released from a psychiatric hospital where he has spent most of his life after committing a violent childhood crime. He returns to his small hometown and befriends a young boy and his mother. He finds a simple peace with them, but must confront the mother’s abusive boyfriend, who threatens their newfound stability.

Details

Based on
a work by Billy Bob Thornton
Released
30 August 1996
Country
United States
Language
English
Runtime
135 min
Rated
R
Budget
$1.2M
Box office
$34.1M
Awards
13 wins, 10 nominations

This title elsewhere

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton

Karl Childers

Dwight Yoakam

Dwight Yoakam

Doyle Hargraves

J.T. Walsh

J.T. Walsh

Charles Bushman

John Ritter

John Ritter

Vaughan Cunningham

Lucas Black

Lucas Black

Frank Wheatley

Natalie Canerday

Natalie Canerday

Linda Wheatley

James Hampton

James Hampton

Jerry Woolridge

Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall

Karl's Father

Awards & nominations

See all 23 →

3 major awards won · 13 wins from 23 nominations across 15 ceremonies

Academy Awards 1996 Best Screenplay – Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Billy Bob Thornton Winner
Independent Spirit Awards 1996 Best First Feature Winner
Writers Guild of America Awards 1996 Best Screenplay – Based on Material Previously Produced or Published Billy Bob Thornton Winner
Academy Awards 1996 Best Actor Billy Bob Thornton Nominee
Screen Actors Guild Awards 1996 Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Lucas Black, Natalie Canerday, Robert Duvall, James Hampton, John Ritter, Billy Bob Thornton, J. T. Walsh, and Dwight Yoakam Nominee
Screen Actors Guild Awards 1996 Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Billy Bob Thornton Nominee
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 1996 Best New Filmmaker Billy Bob Thornton Nominee
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 1996 Best Actor Billy Bob Thornton Winner
Show all 23 awards across 15 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.