<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $215.3 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Sorcerer's Apprentice is a 2010 American fantasy film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and released by Walt Disney Pictures, the team behind the National Treasure franchise . The film stars Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer, Monica Bellucci . </P> <P> The film is named after a segment in Disney's 1940 film Fantasia called The Sorcerer's Apprentice (with one scene being an extensive reference to it), which in turn is based on the late - 1890s symphonic poem by Paul Dukas and the 1797 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ballad . Balthazar Blake (Nicolas Cage), a "Merlinean", is a sorcerer in modern - day Manhattan, fighting against the forces of evil, in particular his nemesis, Maxim Horvath (Alfred Molina), while searching for the person who will eventually inherit Merlin's powers ("The Prime Merlinean"). This turns out to be Dave Stutler (Jay Baruchel), a physics student, whom Balthazar takes as a reluctant protégé . The sorcerer gives his unwilling apprentice a crash course in the art of science, magic, and sorcery, in order to stop Horvath and Morgana le Fay (Alice Krige) from raising the souls of the evil dead sorcerers ("Morganians") and destroying the world . </P> <P> In 740 AD, in England, the mighty magician Merlin has three apprentices; Balthazar Blake, Veronica Gorloisen & Maxim Horvath . Horvath betrays his master by joining forces with the evil sorceress Morgana le Fay . Morgana mortally wounds Merlin before Veronica is able to rip Morgana's soul from her body and absorbs it into her own . As Morgana attempts to kill Veronica by possessing her from within, Balthazar stops her by imprisoning Morgana and Veronica in the "Grimhold", a magic prison in the shape of a nesting doll . Before dying, Merlin gives Balthazar a dragon figurine that will identify the Prime Merlinean, Merlin's descendant and the only one able to defeat Morgana . While he searches for his descendant throughout history, Balthazar imprisons Morganians, sorcerers who try to release Morgana, including Horvath, into successive layers on the Grimhold . </P>

Who plays dave in the sorcerer's apprentice