Dark Phoenix (2019): Cast, Plot, Ending and Where It Fits

Dark Phoenix follows Jean Grey, the telekinetic X-Men student played by Sophie Turner, as a cosmic force pushes her powers beyond anything Charles Xavier's team can control. The story opens in 1975, when a young Jean causes a car crash with her telekinetic powers and the accident kills her parents. Charles Xavier takes her in and raises her at his school for mutants.

By 1992 the X-Men are celebrated heroes, and the President calls on them to rescue the crew of a damaged space shuttle. During the rescue Jean absorbs a huge cosmic energy force. Back on Earth her powers grow wildly, and her mind starts to unravel.

That puts the film nine years after X-Men: Apocalypse, which opens in 1983, and it is the ninth film in chronological order. Jean has been on screen before: Famke Janssen played her in X-Men (2000), X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, where she returned with huge and unstable power. This film retells that story with the younger cast.

As for the title, the cast list credits Turner as Jean Grey / Dark Phoenix, and the name describes what the cosmic force turns her into. For the character across the saga, see Jean Grey.

Dark Phoenix premiered on June 4, 2019 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and opened in US theaters on June 7, 2019. The UK release followed on June 5 and Australia on June 6, according to Box Office Mojo, and the film carries a PG-13 rating in the US, 12A in the UK and M in Australia.

By the numbers, Dark Phoenix was the weakest earner of the seven main Fox X-Men films. It took $65.8 million domestic and $186.6 million international, for $252 million worldwide on a $200 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo. Every earlier main film made more worldwide, from X-Men (2000) up to Days of Future Past, and its domestic gross is the lowest of the seven. Among the spin-offs, only The New Mutants earned less worldwide. So, in my opinion, "flop" is a fair word for the run, though a budget and a gross do not give a full profit and loss account. The full table is on the X-Men box office page.

As for streaming, Disney Plus carries Dark Phoenix in the US, UK and Australia, according to JustWatch data via TMDB checked on November 3, 2026. Netflix is not among the listed services, and the US list also shows fuboTV, YouTube TV and FXNow, plus rental and purchase options. See where to watch X-Men for every film by country.

Dark Phoenix was filmed in Montreal, Canada, where all principal shooting took place. It was the third X-Men film to shoot in and around the city, according to Screen Global Production.

Much of the film was built rather than found. The suburban street where Jean grew up was built as a set on a gravel field, and part of New York's Fifth Avenue was built on a sound stage. The fictional island of Genosha was built as a set about an hour outside Montreal. A real subway car was also mounted on a rig to crash through a wall.

Dark Phoenix has production details that run from its Montreal shoot to its reshot third act.

• Hans Zimmer composed the score.
• It was the third X-Men film to shoot in and around Montreal, according to Screen Global Production.
• The production was originally slated to spend around CA$80 million in Montreal, according to Screen Global Production.
• The third act was reshot in Montreal after test screenings, according to Wikipedia.
• The suburban street where Jean grew up was built as a set on a gravel field.
• The island of Genosha was built about an hour outside Montreal.
• A real subway car was mounted on a rig to crash through a wall.