Where to watch
Each link opens a search on that service. Checked 13 October 2026.
Streaming data from JustWatch
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
1992
· Movie
· 110 min
C
MEANRANK
69/100
Where it ranks
- Mean Score #2405
- IMDb #2957
- Rotten Tomatoes #2833
- Metacritic #2090
- Letterboxd #2591
- Rotten Tomatoes Critics #2953
+6 more
- Rotten Tomatoes Audience #3228
- Metacritic Critics #2068
- Metacritic Audience #2243
- Kinopoisk #1502
- AlloCiné #3452
- Trakt #2476
Every rating
60–92
out of 100
A woman's perfect life is shattered after her obstetrician husband is disgraced, leading to his suicide. She seeks revenge by insinuating herself into the life of the patient whose accusations destroyed her family. She becomes the seemingly perfect nanny to the woman's children, all the while secretly manipulating events to systematically destroy the family from within.
Details
- Director
- Curtis Hanson
- Writer
- Amanda Silver
- Released
- 10 January 1992
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rated
- R
- Budget
- $11.7M
- Box office
- $88.0M
- Awards
- 5 wins, 6 nominations
This title elsewhere
Cast
Full cast (15) →
Awards & nominations
See all 11 →5 wins from 11 nominations across 6 ceremonies
| ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards 1993 | Top Box Office Film | Graeme Revell | Winner |
| Saturn Awards 1993 | Best Horror Film | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | Nominee |
| Saturn Awards 1993 | Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Nominee |
| Saturn Awards 1993 | Best Actress | Rebecca De Mornay | Nominee |
| Young Artist Awards 1993 | Best Young Actress Under 10 in a Motion Picture | Madeline Zima | Nominee |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 1992 | Best Actress | Rebecca De Mornay | Nominee |
| Cognac Festival du Film Policier 1992 | Audience Award | Curtis Hanson | Winner |
| Cognac Festival du Film Policier 1992 | Grand Prix Award | Curtis Hanson | Winner |
Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
More like this
Beyond the numbers
All lists →
30 October 2026
Why Meryl Streep is the greatest actress of all time
The case rests on comedy, emotional precision, versatility and sustained achievement, tested against the strongest rival claims.
30 October 2026
Denzel Washington is more than an actor: a global Black cultural icon
How global visibility, artistic freedom and a commanding public presence gave his career a meaning that reaches beyond the films.
29 October 2026
Why Batman works without superpowers—and when the films forget why
Fear, money, detective work and moral limits: four Batman films test what makes Bruce Wayne worth watching.
29 October 2026
Five great directorial debuts, ranked for what is already on screen
Citizen Kane, The 400 Blows, Get Out, Reservoir Dogs and Following: first features judged without borrowing greatness from the careers that followed.
29 October 2026
TV shows with Black female leads: four series worth arguing about
Insecure, Queen Sugar, Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder, ranked for character writing, dramatic range and the lives they make room for.
29 October 2026
TV shows with the best song choices: five different ways to get it right
The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The O.C., Peaky Blinders and Euphoria: what their songs do beyond making a scene sound good.
Just released
See all →
Coming soon
Trailer — The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
×Full cast — The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
×
11 awards — The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
×
Cognac Festival du Film Policier
3 nominations, 3 won
| Audience Award | Curtis Hanson | Winner |
| Best Actress | Rebecca De Mornay | Winner |
| Grand Prix Award | Curtis Hanson | Winner |
MTV Movie Awards
2 nominations, 1 won
| Best Villain | Rebecca De Mornay | Winner |
| Best Female Performance | Rebecca De Mornay | Nominee |
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards
1 nomination, 1 won
| Top Box Office Film | Graeme Revell | Winner |
Saturn Awards
3 nominations
| Best Actress | Rebecca De Mornay | Nominee |
| Best Horror Film | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | Nominee |
| Best Supporting Actress | Julianne Moore | Nominee |
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
1 nomination
| Best Actress | Rebecca De Mornay | Nominee |
Young Artist Awards
1 nomination
| Best Young Actress Under 10 in a Motion Picture | Madeline Zima | Nominee |