 The film grossed $39.2 million in the United States and Canada and $3.2 million in other territories, making $42.4 million worldwide.The plot was loosely based on real life events in Altadena, California involving an interracial couple, John and Mellaine Hamilton, and Irsie Henry, an African-American Los Angeles police officer.The saga was documented in a series of articles in both the "Pasadena Star News" and the "Pasadena Weekly" beginning in 2002.