Donnie Darko: New Student Movie Night!

Cornell Cinema is delighted to welcome new Cornell students for a special Orientation Week screening of Donnie Darko (2001)!

Donnie is a troubled high school student: in therapy, prone to sleepwalking and in possession of an imaginary friend, a six-foot rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world is going to end in 28 days, 06 hours, 42 minutes and 12 seconds. During that time he will navigate teenage life, narrowly avoid death in the form of a falling jet engine, follow Frank's maladjusted instructions and try to maintain the space-time continuum. 

Donnie Darko combines an eye-catching, eclectic cast — pre-stardom Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal, heartthrob Patrick Swayze, former child star Drew Barrymore, Oscar nominees Mary McDonnell and Katharine Ross, and television favorite Noah Wyle — and an evocative soundtrack of 80s classics by Echo and the Bunnymen, Tears for Fears and Duran Duran. The film screens in a new 35mm restoration print, courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive. 

Free admission! This event is open to Cornell students only and offered in partnership with the Tatkon Center for New Students as part of Orientation Week 2025.

Before the film, you can enjoy a sneak preview of films and series on offer this fall, participate in a friendly movie trivia competition, and learn more about how you can get involved with the cinema during your time at Cornell. Free popcorn will be provided, and we’ll be raffling off prizes like movie tickets, All-Access Passes, and Cornell Cinema swag. We can’t wait to see you there!

Part of our "Restorations & Rediscoveries" series. Courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive.