Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

Dallas Buyers Club is a 2013 American biographical drama directed by Jean-Marc Vallée. Matthew McConaughey stars as Ron Woodroof, a homophobic, hard-living Texas electrician and rodeo cowboy who is diagnosed with HIV in 1985 and given 30 days to live. Refusing to accept his death sentence, Woodroof researches alternative treatments not approved by the FDA, travels to Mexico and other countries to acquire them, and establishes the Dallas Buyers Club — a membership-based organization that distributes unapproved but potentially effective medications to AIDS patients who are desperate for options beyond the toxic AZT being pushed by pharmaceutical companies.

Matthew McConaughey's physical transformation was staggering — he lost 47 pounds, becoming gaunt and skeletal, and his performance captured Woodroof's evolution from a bigoted, self-destructive man into an unlikely activist fighting both a disease and the medical establishment. Jared Leto was equally transformative as Rayon, a transgender woman and fellow AIDS patient who becomes Woodroof's business partner, bringing dignity and humor to a role that earned him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Both actors won their respective Academy Awards, with McConaughey's win crowning the period known as the "McConaissance" — his dramatic career reinvention from romantic comedy star to serious actor.

Dallas Buyers Club earned $55 million worldwide on a $5 million budget.