

The Butler
Directed by Lee DanielsAs Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
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The Butler Ratings & Reviews
- WestwardTVNovember 17, 2025My quick score 8.8/10 Not my usual watch, but the storyline hooks you
- cubano11October 8, 2025A beautiful film. Tragic as much as it is inspiring. It will definitely hit you in the feels, especially if you are watching it for the first time in 2025. The political climate we live in currently makes this film quite poignant.
- ChrisDecember 29, 2024If Denzel played this role only half as well as Whitaker, he would have been Oscar-nominated. Forest Whitaker is underrated and often overlooked.
- Mister ArnMay 18, 2025The Civil Rights movement as seen through the lens of a butler at the White House. I think a little less of the national and a little more of the family would have made this a better movie. Still, it's better than average and worth seeing.
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The Butler Trivia
The Butler was released on August 16, 2013.
The Butler was directed by Lee Daniels.
The Butler has a runtime of 2h 12m.
The Butler was produced by Buddy Patrick, Lee Daniels, Cassian Elwes, Laura Ziskin, Ari Daniel Pinchot.
As Cecil Gaines serves eight presidents during his tenure as a butler at the White House, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, and other major events affect this man's life, family, and American society.
The key characters in The Butler are Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker), Gloria Gaines (Oprah Winfrey), Louis Gaines (David Oyelowo).
The Butler is rated PG-13.
The Butler is a Drama, Biography film.
The Butler has an audience rating of 7.8 out of 10.
The Butler had a budget of $25M.
The Butler has made $177.3M at the box office.










































