Box office and reaction

In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $12.8 million, ranking a strong third in the North American box office. Overall, it has grossed over $30 million in the United States box office, even though many critics gave it poor reviews, citing bad acting and a formulaic plot. Lewis Segal of the Los Angeles Times panned it as “old uninspired Hollywood hustle” while Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, ranking it “D+”, called the student actors “one-note cartoons” and described the combination of dance styles as “naked desperation to fuse demographics” on the part of the producers.

Trivia

• Much of Take the Lead, including all of the exterior shots of the high school depicted in the film, was filmed in the University of Toronto Schools, a private school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

• A large portion of the soundtrack was produced by Swizz Beatz.

• When the film was released in the Philippines, Dante Basco was named as a lead actor in movie posters, alongside Antonio Banderas.

Soundtrack

1. “I Got Rhythm” (Performed by Lena Horne & Q-Tip)
2. “Take the Lead (Wanna Ride)” (Performed by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony featuring Wisin & Yandel, Fatman Scoop and Melissa Jiménez)
3. “Feel It” (Performed by Black Eyed Peas)
4. “I Like That (Stop)” (Performed by Jae Millz)
5. “These Days” (Performed by Rhymefest)
6. “Here We Go” (Performed by Dirtbag)
7. “Whuteva” (Performed by Remy Ma)
8. “Ya Ya” (Performed by The Empty Heads)
9. “Never Gonna Get It” (Performed by Sean Biggs, Topic and Akon)
10. “I Like That You Can’t Take That Away From Me” (Performed by Jae Millz, June Christy, Eric B, Rakim and Mashonda)
11. “Fascination” (Performed by Kem)

Bonus Track

1. “Qué Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” (Performed by Sly & The Family Stone)