Synopsis
THE CITY DARK is a feature documentary about the loss of night. After moving to NYC from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question - do we need the stars? - taking him from Brooklyn to Mauna Kea, Paris, and beyond. Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawaii, tracking hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing injured birds on Chicago streets, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights - including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, THE CITY DARK is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars.
Scores
Popularity Percentile (Year)
89.2%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
9.4%
Critic Consensus
86.7% Fresh • 377 critic reviews
Critic reception is largely positive, with 87% of 377 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize dark, thin plot, emotional. Most critics frame the film as an effective delivery of its core style and intent.
darkthin plotemotionalcharacter-drivengrittysuspensefulrealisticvisually strikingthought-provokingpolitical
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|
| Christian Bale | 2012 | $29,521,000 | $40,335,000 | (est) |
| Michael Caine | 2012 | $18,172,000 | $24,829,000 | (est) |
| Gary Oldman | 2012 | $13,682,000 | $18,694,000 | (est) |
| Anne Hathaway | 2012 | $11,186,000 | $15,284,000 | (est) |
| Tom Hardy | 2012 | $9,569,000 | $13,074,000 | (est) |
| Marion Cotillard | 2012 | $8,422,000 | $11,507,000 | (est) |
| Joseph Gordon-Levitt | 2012 | $7,561,000 | $10,330,000 | (est) |
| Morgan Freeman | 2012 | $6,886,000 | $9,408,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score87.0
RT critic review count377
Rotten Tomatoes audience score90.0
RT audience rating count250,000
IMDb rating7.1
IMDb votes343
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|
| Domestic | 2012 | $9,269 | $12,664 |
| International | 2012 | N/A | N/A |
| Worldwide | 2012 | $9,269 | $12,664 |
Earnings / Profitability
Estimated net revenues and net expenses for films based on reported and estimated numbers. This income statement should be considered most viable for the first 24 months after the inital movie's release (ie after most lucrative pay windows).
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|
| Revenues |
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 2012 | $4,634 | $6,332 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 2012 | $435,000 | $594,336 |
| Digital Purchases ? | 2012 | $195,000 | $266,426 |
| Physical Rentals ? | 2012 | $689,000 | $941,373 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 2012 | $1,702,000 | $2,325,424 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 2012 | $75,000 | $102,472 |
| Total Revenues | 2012 | $3,100,634 | $4,236,363 |
| Expenses |
| Budget ? | 2012 | $250,000 (est) | $341,572 (est) |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 2012 | $80,000 (est) | $109,303 (est) |
| Participations | 2012 | $124,000 | $169,420 |
| Residuals ? | 2012 | $195,000 | $266,426 |
| Interest & Overhead | 2012 | $50,000 | $68,314 |
| Total Expenses | 2012 | $699,000 | $955,036 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 2012 | $2,401,634 | $3,281,327 |
Similar Movies
| Poster | Movie | Year | Match | Overall | Est. Profit |
|---|
 | Elemental | 2013 | Shared genres: 3 | 21.9 | $2,420,379 |
 | An Inconvenient Truth | 2006 | Shared genres: 2 | 82.0 | $62,959,500 |
 | Requiem for the American Dream | 2016 | Shared genres: 2 | 71.4 | $4,656,152 |
 | Food, Inc. | 2009 | Shared genres: 2 | 68.3 | $29,180,317 |
 | Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the American Drive-in Movie | 2013 | Shared genres: 2 | 68.2 | $1,563,229 |
Tooltips
- Budget Estimated using Machine Learning
- Digital Rentals: PVOD, VOD, & On-Demand
- Marketing & distribution costs to release Movie in Theaters. Includes: Online & Offline Ads, Posters, Trailer Production, and physical or digital copies (formerly "prints") sent to cinemas.
- Net Digital Purchase Revenue
- Net Revenues for Physical Rentals: VHS, DVD, BluRay (when appropriate)
- Physical Purchases: VHS $0, DVD $1,253,000, BluRay $449,000
- Reported or Estimated Net Budget (after tax, product placements, & grants)
- Theatrical box office grosses split into Domestic, International, and Worldwide totals.
- Union-modeled residuals using SAG-AFTRA and WGA schedules as a simplified estimate proxy.
- reestimate_prior_estimate;covid_mult=1.00;peer_count=0;reg_box_pred=34035;reg_main_pred=403669
Budget Tooltip
Reported or Estimated Net Budget (after tax, product placements, & grants)
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