City of God
If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you.
In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths.Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.
- Director
- Fernando Meirelles
- Signature
- Craft · Drama · Tension
- Worldwide
- $31M
Who's in it
Cast
The billed ensemble, with character names. Open any performer for their Nutevio filmography.
22 billed performers
The Nutevio profile
Movie DNA
How City of God actually feels to watch, measured on the twelve traits our editors track across every Nutevio title.
Perfect if you enjoyed
Story overview
What It's About
Spoiler-free. Read the analysis below for the full argument.
In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
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Why We Recommend It
Why It's Ranked
City of God appears in 6 Nutevio collections. Here is the argument behind each placement.
- Top 100 Crime Movies Ranked #14
Placed at #14 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Crime Movies Ranked #15
Placed at #15 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Best Philosophical Movies Ranked #28
Placed at #28 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Movies With Incredible Endings Ranked #31
Placed at #31 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Drama Movies Ranked #38
Placed at #38 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
- Top 250 Movies of All Time Ranked #46
Placed at #46 by the Nutevio ranking model. An editor's written case is on the way.
The record
Awards
0 wins · 6 nominations
Academy Awards
No wins yet · 5 nominations
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Cinematography
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Director
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Film Editing
- WinnerAcademy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
- WinnerInternational Submission to the Academy Awards
European Film Award for Best Non-European Film
No wins yet · 1 nomination
- WinnerEuropean Film Award for Best Non-European Film
The numbers
Box Office & Release
City of God returned 9.3× its budget worldwide.
- Budget
- $3M
- Opening weekend
- —
- Domestic gross
- —
- International gross
- —
- Worldwide gross
- $31M
- Release date
- Aug 30, 2002
- Runtime
- 2h 9m
- MPAA rating
- —
- Language
- Portuguese
- Country
- Brazil, Germany
Figures from the verified production record. Fields we cannot source are left blank rather than estimated.
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