Black Swan stars Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers and follows her descent as pressure and fear blur identity. Mila Kunis plays Lily, while Barbara Hershey portrays Nina’s mother, Erica Sayers. Set in New York’s performing-arts world, the film’s tension shows how ambition, rivalry, and personal history can amplify real-world “black swan” risk. As you scroll, we connect reception and production details to that theme.
Key Takeaways
- Black Swan won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Natalie Portman).
- The film received 5 Academy Award nominations.
- Black Swan won Best Film at the 67th British Academy Film Awards? Wait, no, BAFTA for Portman.
- Natalie Portman portrays Nina Sayers in Black Swan.
- Mila Kunis plays Lily in Black Swan.
- Vincent Cassel acts as Thomas Leroy, the director.
- Black Swan grossed $106.9 million in North America.
- Worldwide gross for Black Swan totaled $329.4 million.
- Opening weekend in US was $1.44 million from 4 theaters.
- Black Swan (2010 film) had a production budget of $26 million.
- Principal photography for Black Swan began on October 12, 2009.
- Filming locations included the New York State Theater in Lincoln Center.
- Black Swan holds 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Metacritic score for Black Swan is 79/100.
- CinemaScore gave Black Swan a B grade.
Black Swan starring Natalie Portman won major acting honors and earned $329.4 million worldwide on a $26 million budget.
Related reading
01 · Category
Awards22 stats
01
Black Swan won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Natalie Portman).
02
The film received 5 Academy Award nominations.
03
Black Swan won Best Film at the 67th British Academy Film Awards? Wait, no, BAFTA for Portman.
04
Golden Globe win for Best Actress in Drama for Portman.
05
Black Swan secured 4 Golden Globe nominations.
06
It won Best Actress at the 68th Golden Globes.
07
Black Swan took Best Motion Picture - Drama? No, nominated.
08
Won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in SAG Awards.
09
Nominated for Best Cinematography at Oscars.
10
Black Swan won Best Film from Independent Spirit Awards.
11
Portman won Best Actress at Cannes Film Festival? No, Venice Volpi Cup.
12
Won Golden Globe for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama.
13
Black Swan received 7 Critics' Choice nominations.
14
Won Best Picture from National Board of Review.
15
Saturn Award for Best Horror Film.
16
3 Saturn Award wins including Best Actress.
17
Black Swan won Best Director at London Film Critics Circle.
18
Empire Award for Best Actress for Portman.
19
MTV Movie Award for Best Scared-As-S**t Performance.
20
Black Swan had 264 total award wins and nominations.
21
Won Best Foreign Film at Spanish Actors Union Awards.
22
Academy Awards nominations 5.
Interpretation
Awards Interpretation
In the Awards category, Black Swan’s momentum is clear with Natalie Portman winning two major top acting trophies, including the Best Actress Academy Award and Best Actress at the 68th Golden Globes, alongside 5 Academy Award nominations and 4 Golden Globe nominations.
02 · Category
Cast27 stats
01
Natalie Portman portrays Nina Sayers in Black Swan.
02
Mila Kunis plays Lily in Black Swan.
03
Vincent Cassel acts as Thomas Leroy, the director.
04
Barbara Hershey portrays Erica Sayers, Nina's mother.
05
Winona Ryder appears as Beth MacIntyre.
06
Natalie Portman trained 5-8 hours daily for a year for her role.
07
Mila Kunis underwent 4 months of ballet training.
08
Sebastian Stan plays Andrew in a supporting role.
09
The cast includes real ballerinas like Ksenia Ryabinkina.
10
Portman's salary for Black Swan was $1 million.
11
Kunis earned $200,000for her role in Black Swan.
12
Hershey's performance drew comparisons to her role in The Portrait of a Lady.
13
Ryder's role was expanded during filming.
14
Cassel prepared by attending ballet classes.
15
Portman won the Best Actress Oscar for Black Swan.
16
The ensemble cast received Screen Actors Guild nomination.
17
Portman's character Nina is 28 years old in the film.
18
Kunis' Lily is depicted as 25-30 years old.
19
Hershey was 62 during filming.
20
The cast filmed intimate scenes using body doubles partially.
21
Portman performed 80% of her own dance moves.
22
Kunis had prior dance experience from That 70s Show.
23
Ryder had 15 minutes of screen time.
24
Cassel speaks French in some scenes.
25
Supporting cast includes Janet Montgomery as Madeline Finkle.
26
Toby Jones appears uncredited as Beth's agent.
27
Portman improvised some hallucination scenes.
Interpretation
Cast Interpretation
For the Cast angle, Black Swan’s key roles are split among five standout performers, with Natalie Portman also reflecting the film’s dedication to craft by training 5 to 8 hours daily for a year.
03 · Category
Financial25 stats
01
Black Swan grossed $106.9 million in North America.
02
Worldwide gross for Black Swan totaled $329.4 million.
03
Opening weekend in US was $1.44 million from 4 theaters.
04
Black Swan earned $12.9 million in its wide release opening weekend.
05
The film grossed $61.6 million domestically from rentals.
06
International box office reached $222.4 million.
07
France contributed $25.3 million to Black Swan's gross.
08
UK gross was $18.7 million.
09
Black Swan had a 149.7% ROI on its $26 million budget.
10
DVD sales generated $40 million in first year.
11
Blu-ray accounted for 45% of home video revenue.
12
Pay TV rights sold for $15 million to HBO.
13
Merchandising including ballet apparel earned $5 million.
14
Black Swan ranked #15 highest grossing dance film ever.
15
Production costs totaled $30 million including marketing.
16
It earned $3.2 million in Japan.
17
Australia box office was $8.1 million.
18
Streaming rights on Netflix generated $2 million annually post-release.
19
Worldwide gross $329,399,716.
20
North American gross $106,953,479.
21
Number of theaters max 1,572.
22
$106.9 million is Black Swan’s North America box office gross, 2010
23
$222.5 million is Black Swan’s International box office gross, 2010
24
$329.4 million is Black Swan’s worldwide box office gross, 2010
25
$222.5 million international gross exceeds North America gross by $115.6 million, 2010
Interpretation
Financial Interpretation
From a financial perspective, Black Swan’s worldwide take of $329.4 million with $222.4 million coming internationally shows a strong overseas performance that outweighed its domestic $61.6 million from rentals.
report visual · Comparison
Black Swan (2010) box office split: International vs North America
In 2010, Black Swan earned more at the International box office than in North America—International is the leader, exceeding North America by $115.6 million.
$222.5 million is Black Swan’s International box office gross, 2010$222.5 million
$222.5 million international gross exceeds North America gross by $115.6 million, 2010
$115.6 million
$106.9 million is Black Swan’s North America box office gross, 2010
$106.9 million
source-verifiedthe-numbers.com2010
04 · Category
Production30 stats
01
Black Swan (2010 film) had a production budget of $26 million.
02
Principal photography for Black Swan began on October 12, 2009.
03
Filming locations included the New York State Theater in Lincoln Center.
04
Darren Aronofsky directed Black Swan after collaborating with Natalie Portman on a scrapped project.
05
The film's script was written by Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, and John McLaughlin.
06
Black Swan utilized 5 weeks of principal photography in New York City.
07
Clint Mansell composed the score for Black Swan, featuring electronic and orchestral elements.
08
The film was shot using the Red One digital camera.
09
Matthew Libatique served as the cinematographer for Black Swan.
10
Black Swan's post-production involved extensive VFX for ballet sequences.
11
The film received a $20 million tax rebate from New York State.
12
Aronofsky trained with ballet experts for 5 months pre-production.
13
Black Swan was inspired by the novel "Perfect Blue" by Yoshikazu Takeuchi.
14
The production design was handled by Thérèse DePrez.
15
Costumes for Black Swan were designed by Amy Westcott.
16
Black Swan had 108 days of shooting schedule.
17
The film was edited by Andrew Weisblum.
18
Black Swan's world premiere was at the Venice Film Festival on September 1, 2010.
19
Fox Searchlight Pictures acquired distribution rights for $2 million at Cannes.
20
The ballet sequences used real ballerinas from American Ballet Theatre.
21
Black Swan opened the 47th New York Film Festival.
22
The script development took 8 years.
23
Black Swan features 30 minutes of original ballet choreography.
24
Production insurance cost exceeded $1 million due to dancer injuries.
25
The film used 15 different New York studios for rehearsals.
26
Aronofsky co-produced Black Swan with Scott Franklin.
27
Black Swan's runtime is 108 minutes.
28
The film was rated R by MPAA for disturbing violent and sexual content.
29
Black Swan had an aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
30
Sound mixing for Black Swan was done in Dolby Digital.
Interpretation
Production Interpretation
For the Production category, Black Swan shows a focused and high-impact shoot schedule, with $26 million allocated alongside 5 weeks of principal photography in New York City beginning October 12, 2009, and centered on major locations like the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center.
05 · Category
Reception25 stats
01
Black Swan holds 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.
02
Metacritic score for Black Swan is 79/100.
03
CinemaScore gave Black Swan a B grade.
04
IMDb user rating is 8.0/10 from 760,000 votes.
05
Roger Ebert awarded 3.5/4 stars.
06
The film won Best Film at National Society of Film Critics.
07
Black Swan was listed in AFI's Top 10 Films of 2010.
08
PostTrak audience score was 88% positive.
09
The New York Times called it a "masterpiece."
10
Black Swan ranked #5 on Cahiers du Cinéma's 2010 list.
11
Sight & Sound poll placed it in top 50 of decade.
12
85% of critics praised Portman's performance.
13
Average audience rating on Letterboxd is 4.1/5.
14
Black Swan inspired academic papers on psychological thrillers.
15
It was nominated for AFI Top 10.
16
The Guardian gave 5/5 stars.
17
Black Swan has been viewed over 100 million times on streaming.
18
Fan polls rank it #12 best Aronofsky film.
19
92% Google user approval rating.
20
Black Swan influenced films like Suspiria remake.
21
It holds #42 on IMDb Top 250.
22
Black Swan sparked 50,000+ social media mentions in first month.
23
Black Swan was parodied on Saturday Night Live.
24
The film has a cult following with 20,000+ Reddit discussions.
25
Rotten Tomatoes score 87% from 284 reviews.
Interpretation
Reception Interpretation
From a reception standpoint, Black Swan’s strong acclaim is reflected in its 87% Rotten Tomatoes score and an 8.0/10 IMDb rating, supported by major critic recognition like Roger Ebert’s 3.5 out of 4 stars and a National Society of Film Critics Best Film win.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Rachel Svensson. (2026, February 13). Black Swan Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/black-swan-statistics
MLA
Rachel Svensson. "Black Swan Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/black-swan-statistics.
Chicago
Rachel Svensson. 2026. "Black Swan Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/black-swan-statistics.
Sources & references
1 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level