The Day After Tomorrow
A climatologist races across a catastrophically frozen America to save his son while a climate-triggered new ice age reshapes the planet.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- spectacular
- foreboding
- urgent
- blockbuster movie night
- disaster movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the dialogue and scientific premise clunky or ludicrous, but agreed that Roland Emmerich's spectacular visual effects make the disaster spectacle effective.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film emphasizes tornadoes, flooding, hailstorms, a massive wave, and sudden global freezing as set-piece events.
Jack Hall links global cooling and the approaching ice age to climate disruption and the greenhouse effect.
Jack crosses a frozen and devastated landscape to rescue his son Sam trapped in New York City.
Jack's overland rescue attempt is intercut with Sam and his friends' survival inside storm-stricken New York City.
Films like The Day After Tomorrow, and why
2012
shared global disaster spectacle, survival adventure, and family-centered rescue narrative
Geostorm
shared climate catastrophe premise, apocalyptic scale, and effects-driven thriller structure
Independence Day
shared Roland Emmerich disaster filmmaking, large-scale destruction, and survivalist urgency
The Core
shared extreme-weather peril, ensemble survival, and climate anxiety
Movie Details
- Director
- Roland Emmerich
- Release Date
- 2004-05-26
- Runtime
- 124 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (9158)
Cast
- Dennis Quaid
- Jake Gyllenhaal
- Ian Holm
- Emmy Rossum
- Sela Ward
- Dash Mihok
- Kenneth Welsh
- Jay O. Sanders
- Austin Nichols
- Perry King
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Philo, FXNow, AMC
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Day After Tomorrow about?
- A climatologist races across a catastrophically frozen America to save his son while a climate-triggered new ice age reshapes the planet.
- What is The Day After Tomorrow like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Day After Tomorrow as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Day After Tomorrow violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in The Day After Tomorrow as mild.
- What did critics think of The Day After Tomorrow?
- Critics broadly found the dialogue and scientific premise clunky or ludicrous, but agreed that Roland Emmerich's spectacular visual effects make the disaster spectacle effective.
- Which films are like The Day After Tomorrow?
- Films with a similar feel include 2012, Geostorm, Independence Day, and The Core.
- How long is The Day After Tomorrow?
- The Day After Tomorrow runs 124 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Day After Tomorrow?
- In United States, The Day After Tomorrow streams on fuboTV, Philo, FXNow, AMC.
