Bring It On
A new cheer captain inherits her high school's trophy-winning squad — then discovers the entire championship legacy is built on stolen routines, and the team that had them first is coming to take back what's theirs. A cheerleader movie that turned out to be a conversation about who gets credit.
Bring It On arrived in theaters on August 25, 2000, directed by Peyton Reed in his theatrical debut and written by Jessica Bendinger. Kirsten Dunst starred as Torrance Shipman, the new captain of the Rancho Carne High Toros, a squad chasing its sixth consecutive national championship; Gabrielle Union played Isis, captain of the East Compton Clovers. The film's central reveal transforms the story: the Toros' previous captain, "Big Red," had videotaped and stolen the Clovers' routines, meaning the squad's entire championship pedigree is built on theft — and the Clovers get to nationals to reclaim what's theirs.
Supported by an ensemble including Eliza Dushku and Jesse Bradford, Bring It On opened #1 and stayed there for two straight weeks, grossing $90.5 million worldwide on an $11 million budget after a $17.4 million opening weekend. Spirit fingers became their own cultural shorthand.
The movie spawned six direct-to-video sequels between 2004 and 2017, plus a 2022 TV film, none featuring the original cast. The original endured as a genuine cult classic, later reassessed as a film that was actually about cultural appropriation and who gets credit for artistic work — Roger Ebert eventually called it the "Citizen Kane of cheerleader movies."
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