Better Luck Tomorrow
| Better Luck Tomorrow | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Justin Lin |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Patrice Lucien Cochet |
| Edited by | Justin Lin |
| Music by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures MTV Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $250,000 |
| Box office | $3.8 million |
Better Luck Tomorrow is a 2002 American crime drama film directed, co-written, co-produced, and edited by Justin Lin. It follows a group of overachieving Asian American teenagers who become bored with their lives and enter a world of petty crime and material excess. The plot is loosely based on the 1992 murder of Stuart Tay. The film stars Parry Shen, Jason Tobin, Sung Kang, Roger Fan, Karin Anna Cheung and John Cho.
Better Luck Tomorrow debuted at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. It became the first film acquired by MTV Films, which worked with Paramount Pictures to release the film theatrically in the United States on April 11, 2003. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and developed a grassroots following among Asian American audiences.
The film is notable for originating the character Han Lue (Sung Kang), later featured prominently in the Fast & Furious film series. Justin Lin has stated that Better Luck Tomorrow serves as Han's origin story, retroactively placing it in the Fast & Furious series continuity.