Donnie Darko, the cult 00s sci-fi film that originally flopped at the box office, is returning to cinemas for its 25th anniversary. Arrow Video is bringing the film to cinemas across the UK in 4K on October 30, with a newly filmed introduction from director Richard Kelly.
A cult classic returns
Directed by Richard Kelly, Donnie Darko brought together Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal before they became global superstars, alongside Patrick Swayze, Drew Barrymore, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, and Noah Wyle. The film tells the story of Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal), a troubled high school student whose imaginary friend, a six-foot rabbit named Frank, tells him the world is going to end in 28 days, 06 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds.
The film sees him narrowly avoid death from a falling jet engine and attempt to follow Frank's maladjusted instructions to maintain the space-time continuum. Despite failing at the box office when it was released in 2001, Donnie Darko has become a cult classic, labelled a 'masterpiece' and 'remarkable.'
Arrow Video's statement
A statement from Arrow Video said: '15 years before Stranger Things combined science fiction, Spielbergian touches and 80s nostalgia to much acclaim, Richard Kelly set the template – and the high-water mark – with his debut feature, Donnie Darko. Initially beset with distribution problems, it would slowly find its audience and emerge as arguably the first cult classic of the new millennium.'
Released on October 26, 2011, Donnie Darko made $110,000 (£82,937) during its opening weekend, and roughly $515,000 (£388,298) to $1.3 million (£980,170) domestically during its initial run against an estimated budget of $4.5 million (£3.39 million) to $6 million (£4.5 million). Its disastrous theatre run is widely put down to the fact that it came out just six weeks after the 9/11 attacks, with audiences not eager to watch a dark, existential film about a plane crash. This meant there was very little advertising in the run-up to the film's release, and a poor audience turnout.
Critical acclaim and legacy
Despite its theatrical failure, Donnie Darko found its audience when it came to home video and became a staple of midnight-movie screenings. It holds a certified fresh 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics' consensus reading: 'Richard Kelly's debut feature Donnie Darko is a daring, original vision, packed with jarring ideas and intelligence and featuring a remarkable performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the troubled title character.'
Empire Magazine said Donnie Darko was 'a mini-masterpiece that marks the arrival of brave new talents in Gyllenhaal and Kelly. Cult glory beckons.' Austin Chronicle wrote: 'An unnerving, electrifying debut film from 26-year-old writer/director Kelly, one that elucidates the universal traumas of growing up, but does so with a startling uncommonness.' Sight & Sound hailed the film 'haunting and altogether exquisite,' while Entertainment Weekly thought it was 'excitingly original indie vision.' Dallas Morning News thought: 'Donnie Darko may be too ambitious for a debut feature, but ambition and imagination still trump mediocrity any day of the week.'
Donnie Darko returns to cinemas on Friday, October 30. Tickets at participating cinemas are available to book now.
