October 31, 2019 (Europe)
November 8, 2019 (United States)
Doctor Sleep is a 2019 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Mike Flanagan. It is based on the 2013 Stephen King novel of the same name, and is a sequel to Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980). Set several decades after the events of The Shining, Doctor Sleep stars Ewan McGregor as Danny Torrance, a man with psychic abilities who struggles with childhood trauma. Rebecca Ferguson, Kyliegh Curran, Cliff Curtis and Carl Lumbly have supporting roles.
Warner Bros. Pictures began developing a film adaptation shortly after Doctor Sleep was published in 2013. Writer-producer Akiva Goldsman wrote a script, but the studio did not secure a budget for the film until the box office success of its 2017 horror film It, also based on a novel by King. Flanagan was hired to rewrite Goldsman's script and direct the Doctor Sleep film. Flanagan said he wanted to reconcile the differences between The Shining novel and film. Filming began in September 2018 in Georgia, including Atlanta and the surrounding area, and concluded that December.
Doctor Sleep held its world premiere at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on October 21, 2019, and was theatrically released worldwide on October 31, 2019, and in the United States on November 8. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised Flanagan's screenplay and the performances of the cast (especially McGregor, Ferguson and Curran) but criticized its length. Grossing $72.3 million worldwide, its performance at the box office was considered a disappointment compared to the other King adaptations released in 2019, It Chapter Two and Pet Sematary.
Storyline[]
Years following the events of The Shining (1980), a now-adult Dan Torrance must protect a young girl with similar powers from a cult known as The True Knot, who prey on children with powers to remain immortal.