The Butterfly Effect

Play trailer

2:25

The Butterfly Effect

R

2004

1h 53m

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

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.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

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

Read Critics Reviews

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

Read all reviews

Jake F

@jake222 Sep 18, 2026

Watching dumb and just nasty movies like this one will probably suffer lifelong trauma plus a brain lesion and then they'll have lapses of memory where they can travel back to their childhood to witness sick movie producers coming up with sick things to make money. Hey that was more interesting than the movie itself.

See more

Quinten B

@klimmesil Aug 30, 2026

I'm confused how this movie only got 30% from reviewers

See more

William D

@Iangargan Aug 24, 2026

I’d give this a 83. Can’t believe it’s its in the 30’s for critics

See more

Erin M

@Mightymotes Aug 23, 2026

Great movie…watched it when it first was out, and revisited it 20 years later when I found at thrift store on bluray! Movie critics are out of touch living in a bubble of pretentiousness…and aren’t in touch with what normal, traditional valued movie viewers appreciate and enjoy!

See more

Eric S

@Amok303 Aug 15, 2026

To me one of the most underrated movies of all times.

See more

JOSHUA K

@defmagic Aug 7, 2026

I have really fond memories of *The Butterfly Effect* from when I first saw it around 2004. I tend to cherish movies from that period of my life as much for the memories surrounding them as the movies themselves, so take that into consideration. For its time, this felt unique, creative, and really fun. Some of it gets too dark for my taste, especially anything involving animal abuse, which I usually avoid entirely. A few of the other darker moments are also difficult to sit through. The core idea is great, though, and you can tell this was a passion project for the writers/directors. After proving themselves with another film, they finally got to make this with Ashton Kutcher, who was apparently just as invested in the character and story. For my personal experience, it’s a solid **B-**. Judging it purely as a movie today? Probably closer to a **C-**.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Eric Bress

Director

J. Mackye Gruber

Director

Ashton Kutcher

Evan Treborn

Amy Smart

Kayleigh Miller

Eric Stoltz

George Miller

William Lee Scott

Tommy Miller

The Machinist

76%

83%

The Machinist

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Machinist

Stay

27%

69%

Stay

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Stay

Trauma

27%

25%

Trauma

Watchlist

Hide and Seek

13%

50%

Hide and Seek

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Hide and Seek

The I Inside

43%

43%

The I Inside

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

The Butterfly Effect: Trailer 1

2:25

Now Playing

View more videos

View more photos

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)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings