September 7, 2018 (TIFF)
October 5, 2018 (United States)
The Hate U Give is a 2018 American drama film co-produced and directed by George Tillman Jr. from a screenplay by Audrey Wells (who died the day before the film's release), based on the 2017 young adult novel of the same name by Angie Thomas. The film was produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Robert Teitel and Tillman Jr., and stars Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, KJ Apa, Sabrina Carpenter, Common, and Anthony Mackie, and follows the fallout after a high school student witnesses a police shooting.
The project was announced on March 23, 2016, and casting took place during August and September 2017. Principal photography began on September 12, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia. On February 5, 2018, it was announced that Kian Lawley's role was recast after a video of his use of racially offensive slurs resurfaced. A month later, it was announced that Lawley had been replaced by Apa.
The Hate U Give premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2018, and was released in the United States on October 5, 2018, by 20th Century Fox. Although the film was a modest box office success, grossing only $34 million worldwide against its $23 million budget, it received critical acclaim, with many praising the performances (particularly those of Stenberg and Hornsby), Wells' screenplay and Tillman Jr.'s direction. The film was nominated for and won numerous accolades, including Stenberg's winning of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and being nominated for a Critics' Choice Award.