Poetic Justice (film)

Poetic Justice
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Singleton
Written by	John Singleton
Produced by	John Singleton Steve Nicolaides
Starring	Janet Jackson Tupac Shakur Tyra Ferrell Regina King Joe Torry
Cinematography	Peter Lyons Collister
Edited by	Bruce Cannon
Music by	Stanley Clarke
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	July 23, 1993 (1993-07-23)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$14 million[1]
Box office	$27.5 million[2]

Poetic Justice is a 1993 American romantic drama film written and directed by John Singleton, and starring Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, and Joe Torry. It follows a poet (Jackson) mourning the loss of her boyfriend from gun violence. She goes on a road trip from South Los Angeles to Oakland on a mail truck, along with her friend (King) and a postal worker (Shakur), in order to deal with depression.

Following the success of his debut film, Boyz n the Hood, Singleton wanted to make a film that would give a voice to young African-American women. Jada Pinkett, Lisa Bonet, Monica Calhoun, and many other popular actresses auditioned for the role of Justice, though Singleton knew from the script's draft that the role was solely intended for Jackson.^[3] Filming took place from April 11 to July 4, 1992.

Poetic Justice was released in the United States on July 23, 1993. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized the screenplay though praised Jackson and Shakur's performances and chemistry. It reached No. 1 in the box office its opening weekend, grossing $11,728,455. It eventually grossed a total of $27,515,786. Jackson received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Original Song for "Again", which also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Janet won 2 MTV Movie awards for her role in the film, including Most Desirable Female. The film has developed a cult following, especially for the chemistry between Jackson and Shakur.^[4]