A Cinderella Story is a 2004 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Mark Rosman, written by Leigh Dunlap and starring Hilary Duff, Chad Michael Murray, Jennifer Coolidge, and Regina King.

A modernization of the classic Cinderella folklore, the film's plot revolves around two internet pen pals who plan to meet in person at their high school's Halloween dance.

She and her best friend Carter Farrell, an aspiring actor, are bullied by the popular clique at school, led by head cheerleader and mean girl Shelby Cummings.

Unbeknownst to Sam, "Nomad" is Austin Ames, the popular but unhappy school quarterback and Shelby's boyfriend, whose father Andy expects him to attend USC.

A masked Carter makes out with Shelby after defending her from the unwanted advances of Austin's friend, but is forced to drive Sam back to the diner before Fiona discovers she is gone.

The next day, Austin covers the school in flyers, hoping to identify the mysterious Cinderella and Carter is cruelly rejected by Shelby.

At the school pep rally, Shelby and the twins perform a humiliating skit exposing Sam as Cinderella and she runs home crying.

Clifford Werber conceived a modernized adaptation of the Cinderella story due to its long-lasting appeal of being "the ultimate wish-fulfillment fantasy" with "an underlying message of empowerment.

[8] Roger Ebert wrote that A Cinderella Story "is a lame, stupid movie, but Warner Bros. is spending a fortune to persuade [young audiences] to see it and recommend it".

[11] They noted that its attempts to modernize aspects of the source material were gimmicky and led to illogical plot elements, such as a cell phone being the film's glass slipper and Sam looking too pretty and cheerful for an outcast.

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $13,623,350 in 2,625 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking #4 at the box office, behind I, Robot, Spider-Man 2 and Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.