The Help (2011)
Change begins with a whisper.
Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson is an African-American maid who has often offended her employers despite her family's struggles with money and her desperate need for jobs; and Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan is a young white woman who has recently moved back home after graduating college to find out her childhood maid has mysteriously disappeared. These three stories intertwine to explain how life in Jackson, Mississippi revolves around "the help"; yet they are always kept at a certain distance because of racial lines.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 9 August 2011 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Director | Tate Taylor |
| Starring | Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard |
| Runtime | 146 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 7/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 76% · Metacritic 62/100 · TMDB users 8.2/10 |
| Budget | $25 million |
Where to watch The Help
The Help is streaming on Prime Video ($8.99 a month) in the US. It is also on Tubi. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Prime Video is $8.99 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 28 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy The Help on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch The Help in 55 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Disney+ $15599 ARS |
| Australia | Disney+ $17.99 AUD |
| Austria | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Belgium | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Belize | Disney+ |
| Bolivia | Disney+ |
| Brazil | Disney+ R$49.90 |
| Bulgaria | Disney+ €9.99 |
| Canada | Disney+ $15.99 CAD |
| Chile | Disney+ $10990 CLP |
| Colombia | Disney+ $36900 COP |
| Costa Rica | Disney+ |
| Croatia | Disney+ €9.99 |
| Czechia | Disney+ 219 Kč |
| Denmark | Disney+ 119 kr DKK |
| Dominican Republic | Disney+ |
| Ecuador | Disney+ $11.49 |
| El Salvador | Disney+ |
| Finland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| France | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Germany | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Greece | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Guatemala | Disney+ |
| Honduras | Disney+ |
| Hong Kong | Disney+ HK$88 |
| Hungary | Disney+ 2990 Ft |
| Ireland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| Jamaica | Disney+ |
| Japan | Disney+ ¥1250 JPY, Hulu |
| Liechtenstein | Disney+ |
| Luxembourg | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Mexico | Disney+ $259 MXN |
| Netherlands | Disney+ €10.99 |
| New Zealand | Disney+ $18.99 NZD |
| Nicaragua | Disney+ |
| Norway | Disney+ 129 kr NOK |
| Panama | Disney+ $12.49 |
| Paraguay | Disney+ |
| Peru | Disney+ S/49.90 |
| Poland | Prime Video 25.99 zł, Disney+ 34.99 zł |
| Portugal | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Romania | Disney+ 34.99 lei |
| Singapore | Disney+ $18.98 SGD |
| Slovakia | Disney+ €9.99 |
| South Korea | Disney+ ₩9900 |
| Spain | Disney+ €10.99 |
| St. Lucia | Disney+ |
| Sweden | Disney+ 129 kr SEK |
| Switzerland | Disney+ CHF16.90 |
| Taiwan | Disney+ NT$285 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | Disney+ |
| Türkiye | Disney+ ₺449.90 |
| United Kingdom | Disney+ £11.99 GBP |
| Uruguay | Disney+ about $U521 |
| Venezuela | Disney+ |
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What kind of watch this is
Tate Taylor’s 2011 drama runs 146 minutes, a duration that feels deliberate when three women are stuck in a room with their past. The tone is polite on the surface, but the silence between the lines carries the real weight. It does not shout; it leans in. The racial lines of Jackson, Mississippi, are not just backdrop but the air itself, thick and suffocating. You watch these three women navigate that distance, their stories intertwining with a quiet, persistent tension. It is less about the plot moving forward and more about the weight of what is left unsaid. The whisper in the tagline is doing the heavy lifting.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes reports a 75% approval rating from 231 critics, with an average score of 7.00 out of 10. Metacritic assigns a 62, which it categorizes as generally favorable. The consensus notes the film rises on its cast, particularly Viola Davis. Tom Long of The Detroit News called it an "old-fashioned grand yarn." Connie Ogle of the Miami Herald added it can "break your heart." Dissent focused on the adaptation, with some arguing it failed to match the book’s quality. The New York Times found many performances overly broad.
How it did with audiences
The budget was $25 million. The box office took in $217 million. That margin separates a good movie from a profitable one, and this had the margin. On TMDB, users rate it 8.2 out of 10. The score is a user metric, not a critic’s. It held the top spot for 25 days. That is a long time to watch a film that starts with a secret and ends with a truth.
What came next for the cast
Bryce Dallas Howard traded Twilight for dinosaurs, while Octavia Spencer moved from Spider-Man to The Shape of Water. Emma Stone went from Superbad to La La Land, and Viola Davis shifted from Knight and Day to Prisoners. The credits list what came next, not what caused it.
Where it left its mark
Davis has spoken openly about regretting her role, saying she felt she betrayed her people and that the film was created in the filter and cesspool of systemic racism. Howard has echoed that sentiment, noting she would not agree to star in the film today because it was told through the perspective of a white character by predominantly white storytellers. The cast’s subsequent trajectories drew more attention. Chastain pointed to Taylor’s casting skills, noting that many of the women were at the very beginning of their careers when the film was made. Since then, Chastain, Spencer, Davis, Stone, and Janney have all won competitive Oscars. Howard remains the only leading lady from that group without an Oscar win or nomination.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Help.
Sources
- The Help on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q204374 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Help (film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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