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The Butterfly Effect

Play trailer 2:25 Poster for The Butterfly Effect R,  2004,  1h 53m,  Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
The Butterfly Effect: Trailer 1 The Butterfly Effect: Trailer 1 Now Playing View more videos
Watchlist 35% 162 Reviews Tomatometer 81% 250,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
35% Tomatometer 162 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
College student Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) is afflicted with headaches so painful that he frequently blacks out. While unconscious, Evan is able to travel back in time to difficult moments in his childhood. He can also alter the past for friends, like Kayleigh (Amy Smart), who was molested by her father (Eric Stoltz). But changing the past can drastically alter the present, and Evan finds himself in nightmarish alternate realities, including one where he's locked away in prison.
The Butterfly Effect

What to Know

Critics Consensus

The premise is intriguing, but it's placed in the service of an overwrought and tasteless thriller.

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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media Dec 28, 2010
1/5
Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. So very bad. Go to Full Review
Jonathan Crocker BBC.com Apr 13, 2004
2/5
Lobotomised entertainment that's dark, violent, and hilariously dumb. Go to Full Review
Peter Travers Rolling Stone Jan 29, 2004
1/4
Nothing can save this repetitive bore. Dude, where's your memory? Go to Full Review
Luke Buckmaster Flicks (AU, NZ, UK) May 21, 2024
This film is so gut-wrenchingly dark and twisted I’d also call it a horror movie, with virtually no respite once its core premise swings into gear. Go to Full Review
James Croot The Post NZ Jan 12, 2022
3/5
Wildly uneven and not exactly high-quality entertainment, The Butterfly Effect has, nonetheless, weirdly turned out to be strangely memorable, especially for certain generation of moviegoers. Go to Full Review
C.H. Newell Father Son Holy Gore May 5, 2019
3.5/5
The Butterfly Effect looks at the power of memory, the repercussions of events from our past that bleed into the present. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Hagrid S Apr 20, 2019 Ashton Kutcher's only great movie
Han S Mar 16, 2019 captain marvel butt hurt fly effect at maximum. censorship sucks
Kylo M Mar 13, 2019 Revolting. Made me wanna throw up multiple times.
Hagrid S Feb 14, 2019 I liked the concept of this movie, but it drags on as the scenarios get weirder and weirder in an almost comedic way. The acting is where this movie truly falls short. For me it was enjoyable and worth at least one watch; however, some of the scenes in this movie are just cringey to watch due to the horrible acting ability. Learn to fake cry Amy Smart! See more
Feb 14, 2019 Mind twisting movie. I loved it.
Hermione L Jan 25, 2019 Though not exactly excited at the prospect of watching yet another Ashton Kutcher movie, my ever blossoming interest eventually won out and was presented with a genuinely engaging movie. Though eventually you realize that, throughout Kutcher's continued desire to repeated change the past is supposedly to help people for the better, rather than his real motive to assuage his own guilt at making another horrendous impact or, in effect, realize the fruits of his own selfish ambitions to begin with. To that end, Kutcher's character essentially does what he always does, which makes it that much easier not to pity or feel any actual shred of sympathy for his character. He was just that way from the start. It's not a bad movie either (I mean, I am giving it 3 stars for a reason), but it's impossible for it to have a lasting impact either, just as it's impossible to feel for the characters all that much, except for maybe a deep loathing of Tommy. Probably doesn't matter though: in twenty years, people won't even remember this movie exists. See more
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The Butterfly Effect

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis College student Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher) is afflicted with headaches so painful that he frequently blacks out. While unconscious, Evan is able to travel back in time to difficult moments in his childhood. He can also alter the past for friends, like Kayleigh (Amy Smart), who was molested by her father (Eric Stoltz). But changing the past can drastically alter the present, and Evan finds himself in nightmarish alternate realities, including one where he's locked away in prison.
Director
Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Producer
Chris Bender, A.J. Dix, J.C. Spink, Anthony Rhulen
Screenwriter
Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Distributor
New Line Cinema
Production Co
Blackout Entertainment, Benderspink, Katalyst Films, Film Engine
Rating
R (Language|Brief Drug Use|Sexual Content|Violence)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 23, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$57.7M
Runtime
1h 53m
Sound Mix
Surround, DTS, Dolby SRD, SDDS
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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