Jon Heder was paid $1,000 to play Napoleon Dynamite. The movie grossed over $40 million in the United States.
The scene of the farmer shooting the cow in front of the school bus full of children is a true anecdote from director Jared Hess' childhood.
The movie featured one of the longest credited cast lists in movie history; all 181 student extras' names are listed in the closing credits.
A "Napoleon Dynamite" festival was held every year from 2004 to 2008 in Preston, Idaho, the city where the movie was filmed. The festival had contests that included a tater-tot eating contest, football-throwing, look-a-likes, and other types of competition based on scenes from the movie.