A Mexico City cinephile and journalist, Alondra Camacho, helped bring Richard Kelly’s cult classic ‘Donnie Darko’ to Mexican theaters for its 25th anniversary—after the film never had a commercial theatrical release in Mexico. Supported by Film Tank, Cinépolis
On April 16, 2025, “Donnie Darko” finally opened in Mexican theaters—25 years after it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2001. For a film that had built an international cult following. the wait in Mexico had been unusually long: Richard Kelly’s debut feature never received a commercial theatrical release in the country.
That changed because a single initiative decided to stop waiting. Alondra Camacho. a Mexico City-based cinephile and journalist who founded the distribution company Avena Cine. used the film’s 25th anniversary as a mission she says no distributor or exhibition chain had previously completed. Her goal was direct: bring “Donnie Darko” to Mexican screens.
Camacho told IndieWire that the idea came late last year during a conversation with a friend at the Cineteca Nacional. “Why don’t we bring something that we genuinely love. something we would enjoy ourselves. and that people haven’t had the chance to experience on the big screen?” she said. “I immediately said. ‘Why not ‘Donnie Darko’?‘ It has been my favorite film since I was a teenager and throughout my years studying cinema.”.
The project then moved into the less glamorous part of any theatrical comeback: rights. Camacho set out to identify the film’s rightsholders. and during the process she contacted the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA). which oversees restoration and exhibition rights in the United States. AGFA eventually directed her toward the holders of the international rights.
The initiative took another step when Camacho met producer and screenwriter Edgar San Juan at the Morelia International Film Festival. Through his company Film Tank, San Juan joined the effort, working alongside Camacho to bring the film to Mexican audiences. Their conversations then reached Miguel Rivera, head of distribution at Cinépolis, Mexico’s largest exhibition chain. Rivera suggested expanding the release beyond Mexico and into the rest of Latin America.
San Juan said the expansion wasn’t just geographical—it also came with a licensing push meant to keep the film present across the region. “Following their recommendations. we expanded the rights not only for Mexico but for all of Latin America. and we also extended the licensing period. ” he said. “We made a tremendous effort to ensure the film could reach those territories through Cinépolis while also remaining available in essential cultural spaces in Mexico. including film clubs. independent cinemas. the Cineteca Nacional. and the rest of cinetecas across the country. We felt it was a remarkable film. a masterpiece. and it seemed unfortunate that Mexican audiences had never had the opportunity to experience it in theaters.”.
The impact of that decision lands differently in Mexico because repertory cinema is rarely treated as a commercial priority. Throughout 2025, only six restored films reached Mexican screens. Most screenings were limited to the Cineteca Nacional. with a handful of independent venues in Mexico City also showing restored titles including Leos Carax’s “The Lovers on the Bridge. ” Suzana Amaral’s “The Hour of the Star. ” Emir Kusturica’s “Underground. ” David Lynch’s “Lost Highway. ” Vera Chytilová’s “Daisies. ” and Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s “Memories of Underdevelopment.”.
Against that backdrop, “Donnie Darko” didn’t just appear—it surprised. Camacho described a box office opening that exceeded projections from the start. “The results were far bigger than we ever expected,” she said. “In its first week, the box office exceeded our projections. We were competing against titles like ‘Pillion’ and still performed much better than anticipated. considering our number of screens and marketing budget. Even compared to the double re-release of the ‘Top Gun’ films in Mexico, the response was remarkable. To us, it proves that audiences genuinely want to experience this kind of film on the big screen.”.
More than eight weeks after the launch, the film remained active through independent venues and kept entering Mexico’s box office top 10 despite a limited release and a marketing push that was far smaller than many domestic and international titles competing in the same marketplace.
Camacho said the numbers so far are real and measurable. To date, “Donnie Darko” has grossed MXN $2.3 million at the Mexican box office (around $132,000 USD). The film has also expanded to 69 screens nationwide, including 43 Cinépolis locations and 26 independent venues.
And the reach didn’t stop at Mexico’s borders. What began as a local initiative supported by a small independent distributor grew across Latin America, adding 36 Cinépolis screens in Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
On the calendar, the film moved through a competitive year. During its run. it faced box office competition from major studio releases and local hits. including “The Devil Wears Prada 2. ” “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. ” “The Drama. ” “Hoppers. ” “Michael. ” “Project Hail Mary. ” “Hokum. ” “The Sheep Detectives. ” “Obsession. ” “Mortal Kombat 2. ” “Pillion. ” “The Blue Trail. ” “Los Domingos. ” “Father Mother Sister Brother. ” “Undertone. ” and the re-releases of “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick.” It also competed with Mexican productions including “El Diablo Fuma. ” “Juana. ” “El Ritual del Nahual. ” “Deseo. ” and “No Dejes a los Niños Solos.”.
As the Mexico project took shape in late 2025, inviting Richard Kelly to accompany the release was initially treated as a distant possibility. It stayed that way until San Juan managed to obtain the filmmaker’s email address through industry contacts.
Kelly’s response turned the campaign into an event. He traveled to Mexico on April 6 to present a special screening at Cinépolis Oasis Coyoacán and to participate in a masterclass moderated by Mexican filmmaker Isaac Ezban.
Asked about the success and what it feels like in Mexico City. Kelly pointed to the surprising audience energy—especially among younger viewers. “I am enormously grateful that audiences all across Mexico and Latin America have mobilized back to theaters to experience ‘Donnie Darko.’ Young people. especially those who weren’t even alive when we released the film in 2001. are embracing the theatrical experience. which should give us all hope for the future of our industry. There is a larger universe that exists beyond the confines of the film itself… and I believe that audiences want to experience the film again and again as a way to search for answers and perhaps speculate on what this all means moving forward. What secrets are hidden in plain view?. What secrets are hidden in code?”.
For Kelly, Mexico is also part of a longer, improbable afterlife for a movie that was never treated gently at the start. In the United States, the film’s path from premiere to distribution was complicated.
When “Donnie Darko” premiered at Sundance Film Festival on January 19. 2001. Kelly was four years away from graduating from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. The screening drew immediate excitement, but the film struggled to secure distribution. Scenes involving firearms alarmed distributors still grappling with the aftermath of the Columbine massacre. Then. the film’s October release via Newmarket was further complicated by a trailer prominently featuring an airplane crash just weeks after the September 11 attacks.
Looking back on those early obstacles. Kelly described a launch he called “very difficult. ” starting at Sundance in 2001 and continuing with a “very compromised theatrical release in North America” on October 26. 2001. He said the original distributor, Newmarket Films, “actually wanted to cancel the release altogether.”.
Kelly said he has seen the later success in ways that often don’t reach the public. “But my films generate enormous ancillary revenue. which is gratifying. but also extremely frustrating because those numbers are not publicly reported. I hope people can see that this kind of longevity really matters when it comes to connecting with a worldwide audience. and I just hope this bodes well for all of the films I intend to make. ” he said. “Mexico is the fourth-largest market in the world for movie theater attendance. I have been working nonstop on so many ambitious stories. and I just need that first greenlight… and then the floodgates will be open.”.
Kelly also praised Avena Cine and Film Tank’s work. saying the release strategy was built quickly once the partners lined up. “Avena Cine was a wonderful partner for us in Mexico and Latin America. and we were able to mobilize and put together a successful release strategy in just a few weeks’ time. with great support from Cinepolis and Film Tank. ” he told IndieWire. He added that audiences were ready to experience the film on the big screen. “I have always seen ‘Donnie Darko’ through the lens of my experience growing up in the American suburbs. but this film continues to defy expectations and expand across the world. proving that it has a global appeal that now spans many generations.”.
Through it all, Camacho and San Juan are now looking ahead. Camacho said that, following “Donnie Darko,” Avena Cine is already preparing its next repertory release: Sarah Jacobson’s 1997 Sundance indie “Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore,” expected to reach Mexican theaters later this year.
As “Donnie Darko” approaches its 25th anniversary this October. its unexpected success in Mexico has already changed the trajectory for Avena Cine—and offered a message to anyone who believes cult films always wait forever. For Camacho, the experience is inspiration for future releases. For Kelly. it’s another chapter in the reminder that a film’s story doesn’t necessarily end with its first run.
Donnie Darko Richard Kelly Avena Cine Alondra Camacho Edgar San Juan Film Tank Cinépolis AGFA Mexico box office repertory cinema