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The Butterfly Effect (2004)

R | | Sci-Fi, Thriller | 23 January 2004 (USA)
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Evan Treborn suffers blackouts during significant events of his life. As he grows up, he finds a way to remember these lost memories and a supernatural way to alter his life by reading his journal.

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1 win & 8 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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Kayleigh at 13 (as Irene Gorovaia)
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Sarah Widdows ...
Jake Kaese ...
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See full cast »
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Storyline

Evan Treborn grows up in a small town with his single, working mother and his friends. He suffers from memory blackouts where he suddenly finds himself somewhere else, confused. Evan's friends and mother hardly believe him, thinking he makes it up just to get out of trouble. As Evan grows up he has fewer of these blackouts until he seems to have recovered. Since the age of seven he has written a diary of his blackout moments so he can remember what happens. One day at college he starts to read one of his old diaries, and suddenly a flashback hits him like a brick! Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

time travel | child pornography | surprise ending | blackout | reference to god | See All (260) »

Taglines:

Verändere die Zukunft, durch die Vergangenheit (Change the future, through the past.) See more »

Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexual content, language and brief drug use | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

|

Country:

|

Language:

Release Date:

23 January 2004 (USA)  »

Also Known As:

L'effet papillon  »

Filming Locations:

 »

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$17,065,227 (USA) (23 January 2004)

Gross:

$23,947 (USA) (7 May 2004)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

, ,  »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

| |

Color:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Logan Lerman (Evan at 7) wore dark contact lenses to match Ashton Kutcher's eyes. See more »

Goofs

In the theatrical ending, Evan still has multiple journals though he has never met Kayleigh. Dr. Redfield suggested that Evan start keeping journals after his mysterious drawing in class and not after his incident with Kayleigh and Tommy's father. After the incident, Dr. Redfield suggested that he meet his father - not keep his journals. It's not unreasonable that he committed to keeping journals years after Dr. Redfield asked him to (hence his interest in psychology). Though the books would have been completely different, Evan's burning of them was symbolic and not literal. See more »

Quotes

[first lines]
[reading aloud as he writes a note]
Evan: If anyone finds this, it means my plan didn't work and I'm already dead. But if I can somehow go back to the beginning of all of this, I might be able to save her.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The title, "The Butterfly Effect," is superimposed over a depiction of a butterfly beating its wings, which is itself superimposed upon an X-ray profile of a human brain. See more »

Connections

Referenced in The Worst Horror Movie Ever Made (2005) See more »

Soundtracks

Sittin' Single
Written by John Yingst (as John Yigst) and Jan Peterson
Performed by Scott Eversoll
Courtesy of Marc Ferrari/Mastersource
See more »

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does Evan's condition cause the nose bleeds and brain damage?
Q: How was Evan able to go back to the birthday party or to the time of his birth without having experienced any blackouts at those times?
Q: When Evan went back into his past, why did he always return as an adult instead of living his life forward from the time of the flashback?
See more (Spoiler Alert!) »

User Reviews

 
A Real Tripped Out Roller Coaster
7 January 2005 | by (California) – See all my reviews

Man... Whew... Wow! I'm at a loss of words to describe this high octane, tantalizing, brain-stimulating movie. The acting: excellent. The plot: superb. The story: great. The drama/suspense: mind numbing.

How the writers were able to put this story together so flawlessly, I don't know, and how the director was able to actualize it, even more amazing. There was plenty of visual stimuli as well as mental stimuli as you waited to see the outcome of each alteration made by the main character, Evan Treborn (Ashton Kutcher).

The movie kept me guessing and kept me at the edge of my seat, and the writers outdid themselves by making sure the movie didn't peter out with some lame ending. The ending was icing on the cake and it capped what should be a classic.
433 of 569 people found this review helpful.  Was this review helpful to you?
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Message Boards

Recent Posts
The best version dancenog
The sequels should never have been made Tessburton43
Director's cut ending VenserQL
Why the Director's Cut Doesn't Work: powermandan
Probably been discussed before, but one thing that always bothered me. chilichilipepper
Directors cut ending was so much better than the theatrical ending. Humanity_Youve_Failed
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