

Sling Blade
A simple man. A difficult choice.
Karl Childers, a mentally disabled man, has been in the custody of the state mental hospital since the age of 12 for killing his mother and her lover. Although thoroughly institutionalized, he is deemed fit to be released into the outside world.
TMDB
7.5/10
908 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $1.2M
- Box office
- $34.1M
- Language
- English
- arkansas
- repair shop
- southern
- death threat
- religious art
- father figure
- intellectual disability
Top billed cast













Behind the camera
Director
Writers
Music
Produced in
United States of America
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Videos
Release dates
United StatesUS
- PremiereTelluride Film Festival30 Aug 1996
- Theatrical (limited)R27 Nov 1996
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical1513 Mar 1998
AustraliaAU
- TheatricalMA 15+31 Jul 1997
CzechiaCZ
- Theatrical (limited)UProjekt 10028 Jan 1999
GermanyDE
- Theatrical1218 Sept 1997
GreeceGR
- Theatrical1630 Aug 1996
NetherlandsNL
- Theatrical621 Aug 1997
- Physical6DVD5 Oct 1999
- TV6Nederland 119 Aug 2005
- Physical6Blu ray8 Jun 2012
South KoreaKR
- Theatrical1530 Sept 2000
Frequently asked questions
Sling Blade was released on 30 August 1996.
Audience reviews
2- W6/10
Wuchak
12/31/2019
***When a murderer is the likable protagonist, mmm-hmm*** A simple, slow, seemingly pensive man (Billy Bob Thornton) is released from a mental hospital in central Arkansas after 30 years and gets a job fixing lawnmowers. He makes friends with a boy & his mother (Natalie Canerday) and they let him live in their garage, but the mother’s abusive boyfriend presents a problem (Dwight Yoakam). John Ritter is on hand as …
- F9/10
Filipe Manuel Neto
4/14/2024
**A film full of challenges, to which Billy Bob Thornton, in his greatest work, responded categorically.** I didn't really know what I was going to find when I decided to watch this film, and I'm happy about that: it's a really good, convincing and moving story, which doesn't try to escape the harsh reality of things to create unbelievable heroes. And it is probably the most solid and significant work of Billy Bob…
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