Synopsis

Set in New York's East Village between 1989 and 1990, Rent follows a group of struggling artists and friends confronting poverty, addiction, illness, sexuality, and the AIDS crisis. As relationships shift and personal ambitions collide, they fight to preserve their community, creative identities, and sense of hope while facing the immediate pressures of love, loss, and unpaid rent.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film adapts Jonathan Larson's stage musical, which drew inspiration from Giacomo Puccini's opera La Boheme and Henri Murger's novel Scenes of Bohemian Life.

• Six principal performers from the original 1996 Broadway cast returned to play their stage roles in the movie. Rosario Dawson replaced Daphne Rubin-Vega as Mimi, while Tracie Thoms took over the role of Joanne from Fredi Walker.

• Production combined location shooting in New York with work in San Francisco and Oakland. The filmmakers had to recreate parts of late-1980s Alphabet City because the neighborhood had changed significantly by the time filming began.

• A temporary subway entrance was constructed in New York for the opening of the "I'll Cover You" sequence. It was dismantled after filming.

• The New Year's Eve sequence became a genuine party for the cast and crew, allowing the on-screen celebration to include real festivities.

• The "Tango: Maureen" choreography includes an eyebrow lift and jacket toss that originated during rehearsal. The spontaneous gestures were retained after they caught the filmmakers' attention.

• The film includes Jonathan Larson's "Love Heals," a song that was not part of the original Broadway production.

• Released in the United States on November 23, 2005, the film earned mixed reviews and grossed less than its reported $40 million production budget.