The Day After Tomorrow

"Where will you be?"

2004 2h 4m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🥫

46%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 9,180🥫46%Rotten Tomatoes●47Metacritic★6.5IMDB · 509,136

Science FictionThrillerAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After paleoclimatologist Jack Hall is largely ignored by UN officials when presenting his environmental concerns about the beginning of a new Ice Age, his research proves true when a superstorm develops, setting off catastrophic natural disasters throughout the world. Trying to get to his son, Sam, who is trapped in New York City with his friend Laura and others, Jack and his crew must travel to get to Sam before it's too late.

“Where will you be?”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

fuboTVSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Dennis Quaid
Jack Hall
Jake Gyllenhaal
Sam Hall
Ian Holm
Terry Rapson
Emmy Rossum
Laura Chapman
Sela Ward
Dr. Lucy Hall
Dash Mihok
Jason Evans
Kenneth Welsh
Vice President Becker
Jay O. Sanders
Frank Harris

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roland Emmerich
Writers: Roland Emmerich, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Timothy Burgard
Languages: English, Japanese, French, Arabic, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$125M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Japanese, French, Arabic, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

578+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roland Emmerich, shot by Ueli Steiger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Harald Kloser. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Brenner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roland Emmerich directs. Ueli Steiger behind the camera. Harald Kloser scores. David Brenner cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Japanese, French, Arabic, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$125M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Made its money back 4.4× over at the box office.
3Released 22 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Japanese, French, Arabic, Spanish.
5578+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Roland Emmerich, shot by Ueli Steiger. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Harald Kloser. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor David Brenner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Dennis Quaid and Jake Gyllenhaal and Ian Holm carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Where will you be?".
11IMDB entry: tt0319262 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 39 themes, including "new york city", "philadelphia, pennsylvania", "saving the world", "scotland".
13Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ueli Steiger
Original score: Harald Kloser
Editing: David Brenner
Production design: Barry Chusid
Makeup / hair: Tamyra Davis
VFX supervisor: Karen E. Goulekas
Sound: Harry Cohen
Stunt coordinator: Charlie Brewer
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $125,000,000
Box office: $552,639,571
Return: 442% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Rotten Tomatoes: 46% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 47/100
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 509,136 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Won 1 BAFTA Award6 wins & 12 nominations total

Also by

Roland Emmerich

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-06-10
★ 5/10
It threatened and promised to be a politically (wooly) mammoth disaster picture. Jack Hall is certain that another ice age is imminent due to the effects of global warming, but the government just will not listen to him. Sure enough the climate changes and the world is at threat from perilous frozen weather, worse still for Jack is that his son is trapped in New York City! Roland Emmerich was the perfect choice to direct this particular piece. There is no denying that he has no little panache when it comes to destroying and blowing things up, think Independence Day, Stargate, Universal Soldier and Godzilla. What runs true through an Emmerich picture is that he is great on the CGI money shots and knows how to whet an appetite for destruction. Sadly, what is also true is that his second halves rarely deliver on their promise, so shall it be with The Day After Tomorrow. Even allowing for the expected mawkishness that comes with disaster/survival pictures, this picture relies too much on its contrivances, thus completely losing sight of its eco-conscious heart, something that I'm sure the politically aware Emmerich set out to deliver at the start. Packing his picture with solid and professional performers (led by the always watchable Dennis Quaid as Jack Hall), Emmerich is all too aware that his money shots are what the popcorn masses have chiefly paid to see. Tornados, floods and the subsequent freeze are all excellent moments in the piece, but now, some years later the film has to be called out for being the shallow showcase that it is, in fact the CGI looks unintentionally artificial. It's a missed opportunity to make a blockbuster with an intelligent heart, and sadly Emmerich, either through boredom or ignorance? failed to seal the deal and craft one of the better genre entries. Just about average for the destruction sequences, but very little else to recommend here I'm afraid. 5/10
Peter McGinn2020-08-29
★ 10/10
I gather that climate deniers hate films like this. I would be sad if my political or social stances Completely prevented me from being able to appreciate films that stretch credulity the opposite way from my own views. I mean, I am an ardent atheist and have enjoyed religious films. I am all for science, but science fiction can take a few liberties and shortcuts and if I like it, I will suspend my disbelief. But many people automatically hate what they disagree with. Anyway, I really enjoyed this movie, as I like extreme weather and other disaster special effects in films. I didn't feel insulted by the perceived intelligence of the plot and dialogue as others seemed to be. I don't watch feature films for the latest information on climate change: the news and documentaries are around for that. The special effects were good enough and - okay — scenes like the quick freezing dropping from the atmosphere is probably total hokey, but it serves the rapid pace of the plot. The idea of what happens with Mexico at the end seems a little heavy handed politically, but I don’t have delicate sensibilities in the political arena, so fine. Yada yada yada: Just entertain me. This one does.
The Movie Mob2023-01-21
★ 6/10
The Day After Tomorrow ends the world better than most natural disaster films, with an experienced disaster director and a grounded premise. Roland Emmerich, the master of disaster, created one of the quintessential apocalyptic natural disaster films with The Day After Tomorrow. Floods, tsunamis, hail, suddenly dropping temperatures, and more all make their way into the perils of this film. The movie follows Dennis Quaid's climatologist as he warns the world of a quickly returning ice age. Once the global freeze catches humanity unprepared, survivors struggle against the impossible temperatures to find shelter and hope. The film sets itself apart with its cinematography featuring the expansive frozen wastelands and iconic monuments captured in ice. Performances are solid with a cast like Quaid, Gyllenhaal, and Rossum. The story is simple, which works for a disaster survival flick. The Day After Tomorrow is special compared to other big-budget catastrophe events because it is a little more grounded compared to some of the more outrageous films of Emmerich's more recent filmography, like Moonfall or 2012 but still benefits from a director that excels at destroying historic landmarks on the big screen.