80 Fun Facts About 13 Going on 30

In what year was 13 Going on 30 released in theaters?

It opened on April 23, 2004, and went on to become one of the year's biggest-selling DVD rental titles.

Who directed 13 Going on 30?

Winick had just made the low-budget indie Tadpole; Jennifer Garner chose him herself, and the two kept looking for projects together until his death from brain cancer in 2011.

Who plays the adult Jenna Rink?

It was Garner's first leading film role; she squeezed the shoot into a break from her hit spy series.

Who plays the grown-up Matty Flamhaff?

Ruffalo made two very different 2004 romances: this one and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

What is the nickname of Lucy Wyman, the leader of the school's ruling clique?

Adult Jenna only works out late in the film that her best friend Lucy at the magazine and the girl who tormented her in 1987 are the same person.

Under what alternate title was the film released in some countries?

The alternate title makes the premise explicit: Jenna skips straight from 13 to 30.

Which writing team wrote the screenplay?

The same pair later wrote the book for the stage musical adaptation that premiered in 2025.

In what year does the film's opening birthday party take place?

The seventeen-year jump lands adult Jenna in 2004, the year the film was released.

In which US state does the 13-year-old Jenna live?

The finale brings her back to that suburban street, where she and Matty end up in a house that looks like the dollhouse he built her.

What is the name of the popular clique Jenna desperately wants to join?

The clique's ranks included two future stars in bit parts, one of whom would go on to win an Oscar.

How does Jenna persuade the popular girls to come to her thirteenth birthday party?

When she gets a second chance at the party in the finale, she tears the completed homework up and throws them out.

What handmade gift does young Matty give Jenna for her birthday?

Adult Matty has kept it for seventeen years and hands it back to her on his wedding day.

What does Matty sprinkle on the roof of his gift to make it magic?

The last of it swirls around a sobbing adult Jenna at the end and sends her back to 1987.

What is the name of Jenna's teenage crush?

He does not age well: the grown-up version is played by a stand-up comedian rather than a leading man.

The popular girls trick Jenna into waiting in a closet for which party game?

It is Matty who opens the closet door, and Jenna, humiliated, barricades herself in and makes her wish.

Jenna wishes to be "thirty and flirty and" what?

She gets the wish, but with a seventeen-year memory gap attached.

When Jenna wakes up as an adult, where in Manhattan is her luxurious apartment?

The apartment comes with a boyfriend, Alex Carlson, whom she does not recognise.

Adult Jenna is an editor at which fashion magazine?

It was her favourite magazine as a teenager, which is why the wish landed her there.

What is the name of the rival magazine that is beating Jenna's own?

Adult Jenna wanted a job there so badly that she was willing to sell out her own magazine to get it.

Which actor, famous for motion-capture roles, plays the editor-in-chief Richard Kneeland?

Serkis shot it between playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and King Kong for Peter Jackson.

In which New York neighbourhood does Jenna track down the adult Matty?

He tells her that in high school she became head of the Six Chicks and stopped speaking to him.

What is adult Matty's profession?

Jenna hires him to shoot her rebrand pitch, and his photos become the heart of the presentation.

Matty's fiancee Wendy wants him to move with her to which city?

Wendy is played by Lynn Collins, who broke through the same year as Portia in The Merchant of Venice opposite Al Pacino.

Jenna's big presentation at the magazine proposes what?

She hires Matty to shoot the photos for it, and the pitch goes over well with the room.

How does Lucy land the top job at the rival magazine?

She also tricks Matty into signing his photos over to her by claiming Jenna never used them.

According to Lucy, who was actually the magazine's saboteur?

It is the film's cruelest reveal: the adult Jenna had become exactly the kind of person the 13-year-old was bullied by.

Where does Matty's wedding take place?

He is still living next door to the Rinks, which is why a heartbroken Jenna can walk straight over to her own old house.

After returning to her thirteenth birthday, what does Jenna do with the clique's completed homework?

With her second chance she kisses Matty in the closet, and the epilogue shows them married.

Who plays the 13-year-old Jenna?

She later played the socialite Charlotte Grayson on the ABC drama Revenge.

The actress who plays young Jenna again played a young version of Garner's character in which 2009 film?

The two are not related; Allen was simply cast twice for the resemblance.

How old was the actress playing the 13-year-old Jenna when she filmed the role?

She was two years younger than the character, and the youngest of nine siblings with eight older brothers.

Which future Academy Award winner appears as one of the popular girls?

She won Best Actress for Room eleven years later and went on to play Captain Marvel.

Which future Pretty Little Liars star made her film debut as one of the popular girls?

Her breakout as Hanna Marin on Pretty Little Liars came six years later.

Which stand-up comedian plays the grown-up version of Jenna's teenage crush?

The former heart-throb has become a sweaty, balding cab driver, one of the film's better sight gags.

Garner shot the film during a break from which TV series?

She was mid-run as a CIA double agent in a role J. J. Abrams wrote with her in mind.

Which of these actresses was reportedly considered for the lead role before Garner?

Swank was already an Oscar winner for Boys Don't Cry; Gwyneth Paltrow and Renee Zellweger were the other names in the mix.

Besides Los Angeles and New York City, filming took place in which California city?

The crew spent 17 days shooting exteriors in New York; the interiors were all Los Angeles.

Ruffalo nearly left the film during rehearsals for which scene?

The routine, in which Jenna gets a flagging party dancing to Michael Jackson's zombie choreography, is now the film's signature scene.

Who composed the film's original score?

Shapiro went on to score The Devil Wears Prada and win two Emmys for the series Severance.

Which record label released the soundtrack album?

The mostly-eighties compilation charted inside the top 50 of the Billboard 200.

Which Whitney Houston hit is on the soundtrack?

The soundtrack leans on 1980s hits from Talking Heads, Billy Joel, Madonna and Pat Benatar, with a few 2004 acts like Lillix and Liz Phair.

Which Rick Springfield song appears on the soundtrack?

It sits between the Go-Go's "Head Over Heels" and Jackie DeShannon on the track list.

Which 1990 rap hit sneaks onto the otherwise mostly-eighties soundtrack?

The track list mixes eras freely: Soft Cell and Pat Benatar share it with Sinead O'Connor and Liz Phair.

Which Billy Joel song is on the soundtrack?

It comes from Joel's 1977 album The Stranger.

Which Madonna song is on the soundtrack and lends its name to the final cue of the score?

The score's final cue is literally titled "Crazy for You Overlay".

How much did the film gross in its opening weekend?

It finished with $57 million domestically and about $96 million worldwide.

The film opened at number two behind which Denzel Washington thriller?

The two were almost tied; Man on Fire released the very same day, April 23, 2004.

What was the film's production budget?

It nearly tripled that worldwide and became one of 2004's biggest-selling DVD rental titles.

What grade did audiences surveyed by CinemaScore give the film?

Critics were cooler: 65% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus praising a "dazzling performance from Jennifer Garner".

A 2005 DVD guide dismissed the film as a "shameless rip-off" of which Tom Hanks classic?

The comparison is unavoidable: in the 1988 film, 13-year-old Josh Baskin wishes on a Zoltar machine and wakes up as an adult.

How many stars out of four did Roger Ebert give the film?

He bought the magic but not the magazine office; Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman went the other way with an A−.

The 2006 DVD re-release carried what subtitle?

A Blu-ray followed on January 20, 2009.

The stage musical adaptation had its world premiere in which city?

The Manchester Opera House is a 1,920-seat touring theatre; a North American premiere in Toronto was announced for November 2026.

The musical's workshop performances in 2023 were held at which London venue?

The film's original screenwriters wrote the book, with songs by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner.

Which Welsh singer, a former UK Eurovision entrant, played Jenna in the stage musical?

Jones sang "Never Give Up on You" for the UK at Eurovision 2017 and had previously starred in Les Miserables and Waitress.

Who directed the stage musical?

Fickman is a film director too, known for She's the Man and Race to Witch Mountain; Jennifer Garner served as the musical's executive producer.

Who was cast as Jenna in the Netflix remake announced in 2026?

Garner and Judy Greer were spotted filming cameos on the Santa Monica set in July 2026.

Kathy Baker, who plays Jenna's mother Beverly, won three Emmys for which drama series?

She won in 1993, 1995 and 1996 as small-town doctor Jill Brock in David E. Kelley's series.

Phil Reeves, who plays Jenna's father, later played the city manager of Pawnee on which sitcom?

He is also a regular in Alexander Payne films, including Election, About Schmidt and Sideways.

Susan Egan, who plays Tracy Hansen, originated which Disney heroine on Broadway?

She is also the voice of Megara in Disney's Hercules.

Sean Marquette, who plays young Matty, voiced which Cartoon Network character?

Grown-up, he became Johnny Atkins on The Goldbergs.

Which secret agent was Garner playing on television when she made the film?

The role earned her a Golden Globe and four Emmy nominations.

Judy Greer, who plays Lucy, is the longtime voice of which character on the animated series Archer?

Greer has said she is most often recognised for playing Kitty Sanchez on Arrested Development.

Which candy is the protagonists' favourite in the film?

First it's a candy, then it's a gum: Razzles launched in 1966, and the original flavour was raspberry.

Ruffalo went on to play which Marvel superhero?

He replaced Edward Norton for The Avengers and has a record-tying four Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations.

How long is the film's running time?

Principal photography ran from May to November 2003.

Which production company was filming 13 Going on 30 in Los Angeles by May 2003?

Principal photography ran from May to November 2003 across Los Angeles, New York City and South Pasadena.

How many days did the crew spend shooting exteriors in New York City?

Interiors were done in Los Angeles before the production moved east for the Manhattan street scenes.

Which writer "polished" the script but lost a credit in a dispute arbitrated by the Writers Guild?

Credit stayed with Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who also wrote the later stage musical.

Alongside the band Lillix, which singer-songwriter supplied a contemporary track to the soundtrack?

The rest of the Hollywood Records album leans on 1980s hits by Talking Heads, Billy Joel, Madonna and Pat Benatar.

What score does 13 Going on 30 hold on Metacritic, indicating "mixed or average" reviews?

Rotten Tomatoes is kinder at 65 percent, crediting Jennifer Garner's "dazzling" performance.

What grade did Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly give the film?

He called it "the rare commercial comedy that leaves you entranced by what can happen only in the movies".

New York Times critic Elvis Mitchell wrote that the film often felt like "pre-chewed" what?

He felt the performances gave it more flavour than its premise, and wished it had played more with fashion-spread role-play.

Which actor was cast opposite Emily Bader in the Netflix remake announced in March 2026?

Brett Haley directs from a script by Hannah Marks and Flora Greeson, with Jennifer Garner executive producing.

Which composer-lyricist duo wrote the music for the stage musical adaptation?

Original screenwriters Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa wrote the book, with Andy Fickman directing.

At which venue did the stage musical make its world premiere in September 2025?

The run lasted until 12 October 2025, with Revolution Studios among the producers.

Jennifer Garner was born in Houston but grew up where?

She moved to Charleston at age three and later studied theatre at Denison University in Ohio.

Mark Ruffalo, who plays the adult Matty, was born in which Wisconsin city?

His mother was a hairdresser and his father a construction painter; he later spoke out about events in his hometown.

Andy Serkis, who plays the magazine boss Richard, first won wide fame as which motion-capture character?

His Lord of the Rings performance sparked debate over whether CGI-assisted acting deserved awards recognition.

Christa B. Allen, who plays 13-year-old Jenna, later played socialite Charlotte Grayson on which ABC drama?

She also starred as the title character in the CBS children's series Cake in 2006.