next novel. Directors slated to helm the picture included Joel Schumacher and Mike Newell, with the lead being offered to Edward Norton and Will Smith. The novel's focus on big tobacco was retained until the 1999 film The Insider was released, necessitating a plot change from tobacco to gun companies. Reception Box office The film made $11.8 million in its opening weekend, finishing third. It went on to gross $49.4 million in the United States and a total of $80.2 million worldwide. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 162 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site calls the film "an implausible but entertaining legal thriller." On Metacritic, it has weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars and stated that the plot to sell the jury to the highest-bidding party was the most ingenious device in the story because it avoided pitting the "evil" and the "good" protagonists directly against each other in a stereotypical manner, but it plunged both of them into a moral abyss. References External links Runaway Jury at The Numbers 2003 films 2000s legal films 2003 thriller drama films 20th Century Fox films American legal drama films American thriller drama films American courtroom films Films scored by Christopher Young Films about lawyers Films based on works by John Grisham Films directed by Gary Fleder Films set in New Orleans Films shot in New Orleans Juries in fiction Legal thriller films Murder–suicide in films Regency Enterprises films 2003 drama films Films produced by Arnon Milchan 2000s English-language films 2000s American films