Sarah's Oil

Sarah's Oil is a 2025 American biographical drama film regarding Sarah Rector, being directed, co-produced, and co-written by Cyrus Nowrasteh. It is inspired by the 2014 book Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America by Tonya Bolden.^[4] It stars Zachary Levi, Naya Desir-Johnson, Sonequa Martin-Green, and Garret Dillahunt.

Sarah's Oil
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Cyrus Nowrasteh
Written by	Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh Cyrus Nowrasteh
Produced by	John Shepherd Cyrus Nowrasteh Kevin Downes Daryl Lefever Erwin brothers Zachary Levi Derrick Williams
Starring	Zachary Levi Naya Desir-Johnson Sonequa Martin-Green Garret Dillahunt
Cinematography	Johnny Derango
Edited by	Paul Seydor Sean Albertson
Music by	Kathryn Bostic
Production companies	Wonder Project Kingdom Story Company
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (through Amazon MGM Studios)
Release date	November 7, 2025 (2025-11-07)
Running time	104 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$18 million[2]
Box office	$12 million[3]

Released theatrically by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer through Amazon MGM Studios on November 7, 2025, Sarah's Oil received generally positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Cast

• Zachary Levi as Bert Smith
• Naya Desir-Johnson as Sarah Rector
  • Tamala Jones voices the older Sarah
• Sonequa Martin-Green as Rose Rector
• Garret Dillahunt as Devnan
• Kenric Green as Joe Rector
• Mel Rodriguez as Mace
• Adyan Copes as Junior
• Bridget Regan as Kate Barnard
• Stelio Savante as Earl
• Marco Fuller as Jimsye
• Jonathan Lipnicki as a chemist

Production

In July 2024, principal photography was underway in Oklahoma for Sarah's Oil, which was directed, co-produced, and co-written by Cyrus Nowrasteh with Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh.^[5] In August, filming had wrapped, when Zachary Levi, Naya Desir-Johnson, Sonequa Martin-Green, Garret Dillahunt, Bridget Regan, Kenric Green, Adyan Copes, Stelio Savante, and Mel Rodriguez were revealed to have joined the cast.^[6][7]

The film was shot primarily in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.^[8]

Release

Sarah's Oil was released in the United States on November 7, 2025 by Amazon MGM Studios, having been moved ahead from its original December 25, 2025 date.^[6][9]

Reception

Box office

It debuted at #4 at the box office for its opening weekend, grossing $4.5 million.^[10]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 12 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "A heartfelt tribute to trailblazer Sarah Rector's extraordinary journey, Sarah's Oil celebrates courage and perseverance, offering a wealthy well of wholesomeness for the entire family."^[11][12] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.