Water for Elephants poster

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Streaming data from JustWatch

Water for Elephants

2011 · Movie · 122 min
C

MEANRANK

67/100

Averaged across 12 ratings · 381.1K 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.

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 →

41–90 out of 100

Split

Lowest is Criticker on 41, highest is Google on 90. Critics average 56, everyone else 69.

See the films the platforms disagree about most →
Compare Trailer

During the Great Depression, a veterinary student's life is upended by a family tragedy, causing him to abandon his studies. He impulsively jumps onto a passing train, which turns out to be a struggling traveling circus. Hired as the show's veterinarian, he falls in love with the star performer, who is also the wife of the circus's charismatic but cruel and dangerous owner.

Details

Based on
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Released
15 April 2011
Country
United States
Language
English
Runtime
122 min
Rated
PG-13
Budget
$38.0M
Box office
$117.1M
Awards
3 wins, 8 nominations

This title elsewhere

Robert Pattinson

Robert Pattinson

Jacob Jankowski

Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon

Marlena Rosenbluth

Christoph Waltz

Christoph Waltz

August Rosenbluth

Paul Schneider

Paul Schneider

Charlie

Jim Norton

Jim Norton

Camel

Hal Holbrook

Hal Holbrook

Old Jacob

Donna W. Scott

Donna W. Scott

Barbara

Awards & nominations

See all 11 →

3 wins from 11 nominations across 11 ceremonies

Best Art Direction and Production Design 2011 Best Art Direction and Production Design Jack Fisk Nominee
Best Costume Design 2011 Best Costume Design Jacqueline West Winner
Best Original Score 2011 Best Original Score James Newton Howard Nominee
Choice Movie Actor – Drama 2011 Choice Movie Actor – Drama Robert Pattinson Winner
Choice Movie Actress – Drama 2011 Choice Movie Actress – Drama Reese Witherspoon Nominee
Choice Movie – Drama 2011 Choice Movie – Drama Nominee
Favorite Book Adaption 2011 Favorite Book Adaption Nominee
Favorite Drama Movie 2011 Favorite Drama Movie Winner
Show all 11 awards across 11 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.