Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

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Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

R

2012

1h 41m

Comedy

Drama

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

54%

Tomatometer

173 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

50,000+ Ratings

The announcement that an enormous asteroid will obliterate Earth in less than a month brings an end to the marriage of mild-mannered insurance salesman Dodge (Steve Carell), whose wife leaves him on the spot. After his bold young neighbor, Penny (Keira Knightley), belatedly delivers a letter from Dodge's former sweetheart, Dodge decides that he must find the love of his life before it's too late. Dodge and Penny embark on a road trip that eventually brightens their outlook, if not the world's.

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Critics Consensus

Tender, charming, and well-acted, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is unfortunately hamstrung by jarring tonal shifts and a disappointing final act.

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Tara Brady

Irish Times

07/15/2012

3/5

Lorene Scafaria, the screenwriter behind Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, makes a charming directorial debut with Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.

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Derek Malcolm

London Evening Standard

07/13/2012

3/5

This is half a good film but hardly a wholly satisfactory one.

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Tim Robey

Daily Telegraph (UK)

07/13/2012

2/5

[It] unfortunately invites a lethal dose of scepticism towards its cutesy last-ditch matchmaking, obligatory road-trip plotting, and thinly funny jibes at the rest of humankind.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 12

3.5/4

Most critics at the time of its release gave Seeking a Friend for the End of the World a bad review; I ended up placing it on my 10 Best of 2012 list.

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

10/04/2022

3.5/4

In its depiction of The End, it’s quite brave and oddly beautiful. The film takes hold of you all of a sudden and won’t let go. Before you know it, your eyes begin to tear up, and a lump develops in your throat.

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

08/25/2022

3/5

So what do I make of a movie with tone issues, a draggy middle, and inconsistent humor but that still manages to entertain?

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Beth O.

@BethOH Apr 29

I absolutely loved this movie! It’s well acted , tender & funny. A very sweet love story.

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Par H

@Parhwy Mar 23

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) is a 101-minute-long film I own via PlayStation which I saw in March 2026. I have watched this film tens of times. Tens? Yes. Why? Since a teen in the 1980s, I have been attracted to apocalyptic stories. It began with John Christopher’s Empty World (1977 novel). Blame my school curriculum. It was required reading. Z for Zachariah, also. Anyway, back to the movie. It’s a road trip with stops showing different ways of dealing, coping. Carell plays a straight, non-cringe guy. Knightley plays… well, she plays that vulnerable yet confident lass we love to love. I love the scripting and acting around Rob Corddry, William Petersen and Adam Brody: e.g. whoever wrote "Oh you have a job? Mr Job!", as well as that party at Warren and Diane’s house - I salute you for the free dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin you have provided my brain. Rewatch? Yes. Recommend? Yes. 8/10.

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Cristian S

@cristiansj Mar 14

Hermosa, una película romántica no convencional que va mucho mas por el lado humano y no tanto por el cuento de princesas. Atrapante y divertida, buenos momentos de humor que la mejoran pero no logran desviar nuestra atención hacia el núcleo que es la pareja protagonista. Abandono, perdida, nostalgia, desconexión emocional, hay muchos sentimientos que este film toca de manera tan bien lograda que no hay forma de explicar sin verla.

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Mathieu N

@MNem27 Dec 17

Small romantic comedy without pretension but which remains very nice to watch. A good time

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thiago s

@Thiagostone Sep 25

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Piya S

@piyasqm Aug 19

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World sought but never found a cineplex audience. Even so, I would personally advise that you add it to your queue of movies to see before the asteroid hits.

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Lorene Scafaria

Director

Steve Carell

Dodge

Keira Knightley

Penny

Adam Brody

Owen

Connie Britton

Diane

Melanie Lynskey

Karen

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Synopsis

The announcement that an enormous asteroid will obliterate Earth in less than a month brings an end to the marriage of mild-mannered insurance salesman Dodge (Steve Carell), whose wife leaves him on the spot. After his bold young neighbor, Penny (Keira Knightley), belatedly delivers a letter from Dodge's former sweetheart, Dodge decides that he must find the love of his life before it's too late. Dodge and Penny embark on a road trip that eventually brightens their outlook, if not the world's.

Director: Lorene Scafaria
Producer: Steve Golin, Joy Gorman Wettels, Steven Rales
Screenwriter: Lorene Scafaria
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Indian Paintbrush, Focus Features, Mandate Pictures, Anonymous Content
Rating: R (Language|Brief Violence|Sexual References|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 22, 2012, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 18, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $6.6M
Runtime: 1h 41m
Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Stereo