# Due Date
**Due Date** is a 2010 American buddy road comedy directed by [Todd Phillips](https://www.edgepedia.org/todd-phillips), in which an expectant father ([Robert Downey Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-downey-jr)) is forced to travel cross-country from Atlanta to Los Angeles with an eccentric aspiring actor ([Zach Galifianakis](https://www.edgepedia.org/zach-galifianakis)) to reach the birth of his first child.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date) It was Phillips's follow-up to *The Hangover* (2009) and re-teamed him with Galifianakis.[2](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2010/11/todd-phillips-and-zach-galifianakis-the-scorsese-and-pesci-of-r-rated-comedy)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / cast | Todd Phillips; Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx, Juliette Lewis[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date) |
| Release | November 5, 2010 (wide), Warner Bros.; 3,355 opening theaters[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Due-Date) |
| Runtime / rating | 95 minutes; R for language, drug use, and sexual content[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4098786817/?sort=numTheaters) |
| Budget / box office | $65,000,000 budget; $211,739,043 worldwide ($100,539,043 domestic)[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Due-Date) |
| Critical reception | 39% Tomatometer (196 reviews); Metacritic 51; CinemaScore B−[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date) • [5](https://movie.guru/due-date-movie-review) |
| Screenwriters | Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, Adam Sztykiel[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date) |
| Home video | DVD released February 22, 2011 by Warner Home Video[6](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/due-date/38944/where-to-watch/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Peter Highman, an architect, will be a father for the first time when his wife Sarah ([Michelle Monaghan](https://www.edgepedia.org/michelle-monaghan)) gives birth in five days. He intends to fly home from Atlanta for the delivery, but a chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis) leaves both men on the no-fly list after Peter's wallet and luggage are stolen. Desperate to reach his wife, Peter accepts a ride from Ethan, who travels with his French bulldog, and the two make a mishap-filled drive across the United States.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date) • [7](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20101105__Due_Date__director_Todd_Phillips__stars_Robert_Downey_Jr__and_Zach_Galifianakis_love_the_twists_and_turns_that_come_with_a_road-trip_story.html)
The supporting cast includes [Jamie Foxx](https://www.edgepedia.org/jamie-foxx) as Darryl, Juliette Lewis as Heidi, Danny McBride as Lonnie, RZA as an airport screener, Matt Walsh as a TSA agent, and [Charlie Sheen](https://www.edgepedia.org/charlie-sheen) in a cameo as Charlie Harper.[8](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/due-date/umc.cmc.65zirjmu5a20eqsz7nrn6wlm4?ctx_agid=035d8478)
## Production
Phillips developed the project around Galifianakis. He said he hired writers [Alan R. Cohen](https://www.edgepedia.org/alan-r-cohen) and Alan Freedland to write the script while he was shooting *The Hangover*, then decided the material could attract a major co-star: "If I can get Robert Downey Jr. in the other role," and Adam Sztykiel was brought in for rewrites aimed at casting Downey.[2](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2010/11/todd-phillips-and-zach-galifianakis-the-scorsese-and-pesci-of-r-rated-comedy) Phillips had known Galifianakis for years and had wanted to find a suitable vehicle for him after *The Hangover*.[9](https://avclub.com/the-hangover-and-due-date-director-todd-phillips-1798222376)
The film was produced through Phillips's Green Hat Films banner with Legendary Pictures, and distributed by [Warner Bros. Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/warner-bros-pictures).[5](https://movie.guru/due-date-movie-review) • [10](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/due-date/) Phillips described the film's core as fatherhood rather than the road trip itself: Ethan has just lost his father while Peter is about to become one, and the journey pairs a man entering fatherhood with a grieving "man-child" who, in Phillips's words, "is a purely loving creature."
## Reception and comparison
Critics frequently placed the film in the lineage of John Hughes's 1987 comedy *Planes, Trains and Automobiles*, which paired [Steve Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-martin) and [John Candy](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-candy) as mismatched travelers; the Associated Press noted that both films share the structure of an uptight establishment man and a ball of chaos forced onto the highway together.[7](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20101105__Due_Date__director_Todd_Phillips__stars_Robert_Downey_Jr__and_Zach_Galifianakis_love_the_twists_and_turns_that_come_with_a_road-trip_story.html) Roger Ebert called it "nearly a down-market retread" of that film.[11](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/due-date/)
Aggregated scores were mixed. Rotten Tomatoes recorded 39% on the Tomatometer from 196 reviews, with a critics consensus calling the film "shamelessly derivative and only sporadically funny," while audiences gave it 52% on the Popcornmeter.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date) Metacritic assigned a metascore of 51 from 39 critic reviews, in the "mixed or average" band, and opening-night audiences graded it B− on [CinemaScore](https://www.edgepedia.org/cinemascore).[10](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/due-date/) • [5](https://movie.guru/due-date-movie-review) Reviewers singled out the central pairing: the *Christian Science Monitor* found Downey "not entirely comfortable playing straight man," while *The Age* judged that "the film pulls it off with great confidence and some major laughs."[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date/reviews)
## Box office
The film opened at $32,689,406 from 3,355 theaters, 32.5% of its eventual domestic total, and ran for 5.9 weeks on average per theater.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Due-Date) It finished with $100,539,043 domestically and $111,200,000 internationally, for $211,739,043 worldwide, about 3.3 times its $65,000,000 production budget.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Due-Date) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4098786817/?sort=numTheaters) In Spain it earned €2,927,019.36 from 467,669 admissions.[13](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=205410) Estimated physical disc sales added $38,165,358 in the United States.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Due-Date)
## Censorship classifications
The [British Board of Film Classification](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-board-of-film-classification) classified the 95-minute cinema version on August 31, 2010, noting strong language, a prolonged masturbation sequence, scenes of a character smoking cannabis while driving, and comic violence including a single gory moment.[14](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/due-date-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mjmwndq) Spain's ICAA rated it not recommended for audiences under 7 and certified a 96-minute version.[13](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=205410)
## References
1. [Due Date, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date)
2. [Todd Phillips and Zach Galifianakis: "The Scorsese and Pesci" of R-Rated Comedy, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2010/11/todd-phillips-and-zach-galifianakis-the-scorsese-and-pesci-of-r-rated-comedy)
3. [Due Date (2010), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Due-Date)
4. [Due Date, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4098786817/?sort=numTheaters)
5. [Due Date (2010): movie.guru](https://movie.guru/due-date-movie-review)
6. [Due Date, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/due-date/38944/where-to-watch/)
7. ['Due Date' director Todd Phillips, stars Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis love the twists and turns that come with a road-trip story, Philadelphia Daily News / AP](https://www.inquirer.com/philly/entertainment/20101105__Due_Date__director_Todd_Phillips__stars_Robert_Downey_Jr__and_Zach_Galifianakis_love_the_twists_and_turns_that_come_with_a_road-trip_story.html)
8. [Due Date, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/due-date/umc.cmc.65zirjmu5a20eqsz7nrn6wlm4?ctx_agid=035d8478)
9. [The Hangover and Due Date director Todd Phillips, The A.V. Club](https://avclub.com/the-hangover-and-due-date-director-todd-phillips-1798222376)
10. [Due Date Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/due-date/)
11. [Due Date, Flicks UK](https://www.flicks.co.uk/movie/due-date/)
12. [Due Date Audience Reviews, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/due-date/reviews)
13. [Due Date, ICAA Film Database](https://infoicaa.mcu.es/CatalogoICAA/Peliculas/Detalle?Pelicula=205410)
14. [Due Date, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/due-date-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00mjmwndq)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2009 to 2010 › Released in 2010*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license