Speaking of the WSOP, in an effort to promote the film, both the film’s leads – Matt Damon and Edward Norton – competed in the $10,000 Main Event that year. However, the John Dahl-directed film developed a cult following once it hit home video, which was fueled by the “Poker Boom” five years later when Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. In fact, it made just $8,459,126 as a wide release in its opening weekend (it hit theaters on September 13, 1998), and grossed $22,905,674 by the end of its theatrical run on November 8, 1998. It was 20 years ago this week that the famed poker flick Rounders hit theaters!īack then, the film, which cost an estimated $12 million to make, wasn’t exactly a hit.
