On This Day in 2007, a Film About the Man in Black Was Voted the Greatest Music Biopic of All Time

October 29, 2026, 3:01pm

On this day (October 29) in 2007, users of the online DVD and streaming provider LoveFilm voted Walk the Line the best music biopic. The poll surveyed more than 2,000 customers, who voted for their favorite music-related biopic. The story of Johnny Cash’s life came out on top, beating films like 8 Mile, Amadeus, La Bamba, and Ray.

Walk the Line stars Joaquin Phoenix as Cash and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter. Ginnifer Goodwin portrays Cash’s first wife, Vivian Liberto. Based on two autobiographies–Man in Black: His Own Story in His Own Words (1975) and Cash: The Autobiography (1997)–the film follows Cash’s rise to fame, his marital issues, addiction, and romance with Carter.

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The movie was a massive success before LoveFilm customers voted it the best music biopic. It premiered in November 2005 to positive reviews and was a box office smash. It made $185 million against a $28 million budget, making it the highest-grossing biopic ever released. Straight Outta Compton dethroned it in 2015.

Phoenix and Witherspoon won multiple awards for their portrayals of the country legends. They took home Best Actor and Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards. Walk the Line won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture–Musical or Comedy. The movie also received multiple Oscar nominations. Witherspoon took home the trophy for Best Actress.

The Film Uncovered the Truth About Johnny Cash and June Carter

Walk the Line premiered two years after June Carter and Johnny Cash died. However, the pair worked closely with director James Mangold to build the film’s emotional core. He spoke to Cinemablend about the process and revealed that he uncovered the truth about their relationship that they’d kept hidden for decades.

“[Cash] called me one day from the green room of the Larry King Show, and he was like, ‘It’s not romantic enough. June agrees with me.’ He meant his love story with June in the movie,” Mangold recalled. “I was like, ‘Well, of course it’s not, John, because you guys aren’t telling me anything about your courtship because you were married to other people and you don’t want to talk about what happened between you.’”

A week later, the couple invited Mangold to their Hendersonville, Tennessee, home. “They admitted to me that they had had these run-ins and romantic affairs while married, and of course, that was hard for them,” the filmmaker said. “So in a sense, sometimes when you’re trying to get to and excavate the truth in a dramatic film, you actually force things out in the open because people do lie and leave things out of their biographies,” he added.

Walk the Line Beat Several Classics

“Film and music make a great partnership and have resulted in some of the best acting performances in film,” LoveFilm spokeswoman Fliss White said. “This poll showcases the very best the genre has to offer–whether it be a portrayal of a foul-mouthed rapper, a Motown legend, or a classical composer.” The poll’s top 10 films contain all of that and more.