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Still from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Film 5 of 7 · by Jordan Okafor

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014): Cast, Plot, Ending and Where to Watch

Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is the seventh Fox X-Men film in release order, a time travel story in which Wolverine's mind travels back to 1973 to stop the Sentinel program. It earned $746 million worldwide against a $200 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo, the top total among the main films, and it runs 132 minutes with a PG-13 rating in the US.

Image: TMDB
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) theatrical poster
US release
May 23, 2014
Runtime
2h 12m
Rating
PG-13 / 12A / M
Director
Bryan Singer
Budget
$200 million
Worldwide
$746 million

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST - Official Trailer (2014)

New X-Men movie trailer

X-Men: Days of Future Past Plot: The Setup

X-Men: Days of Future Past is a two era story: in 2023 the Sentinels are close to finishing off mutantkind, and in 1973 a young Charles Xavier has to be talked back into the fight.

The film opens in a bleak future where giant Sentinel robots hunt down mutants and the people who shelter them. The few X-Men left survive because Kitty Pryde (Elliot Page) has found a way to send a person's mind back a short time, which lets the group dodge each attack by sending warnings a few days into the past. Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) are allies by now, and they are the ones who plan the mission.

So, the survivors decide to use Kitty's power on a much bigger scale. They plan to send the consciousness of Logan, also known as Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), back to 1973 to stop Mystique from killing Bolivar Trask, whose death led to the Sentinel program. Logan wakes in his younger body and has to find a young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), who has lost his telepathic powers to a drug that lets him walk.

That 1973 half takes place more than a decade after the 1962 mission of x men first class. In the series as a whole, the film sits seventh in both release order and chronological order, between the wolverine 2013 and x men apocalypse on the main saga line. If you are new to the series, the x men movies in order guide shows where to start, and the full x men movies list covers every film.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Cast and Characters

X-Men cast

More of the cast: Famke Janssen (Jean Grey), James Marsden (Scott Summers), Bryan Singer (Man with Small Film Camera (uncredited)), Mike Dopud (Pinstripe Mafioso), Omar Sy (Bishop), Kelsey Grammer (Hank McCoy / Beast (uncredited)), Daniel Cudmore (Colossus), Chris Claremont (Congressman Parker), Lucas Till (Havok), Evan Peters (Peter / Quicksilver), Booboo Stewart (Warpath).

X-Men: Days of Future Past Stills

  • Still from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
    X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), still 1
  • Still from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
    X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), still 2
  • Still from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
    X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), still 3
  • Still from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
    X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), still 4
  • Still from X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
    X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), still 5

Release Dates

MarketDateSource
USMay 23, 2014reportedboxofficemojo.com
UKMay 22, 2014reportedboxofficemojo.com
AUMay 22, 2014reportedboxofficemojo.com

Where to Watch X-Men: Days of Future Past

MarketSubscriptionRent or buy
USDisney PlusAmazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
UKDisney PlusApple TV Store, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Sky Store, YouTube
AUDisney PlusApple TV Store, Amazon Video, YouTube, Fetch TV

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, checked 2026-11-03.

Director and Crew: Bryan Singer Returns

DirectorBryan Singer
WritersSimon Kinberg, Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman
ProducersBryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Lauren Shuler Donner, Hutch Parker
MusicJohn Ottman
CinematographyNewton Thomas Sigel

Box Office

Budget$200 million
Domestic (US and Canada)$234 million
International$512 million
Worldwide$746 million
Worldwide, in September 2026 dollars$1.06 billion

X-Men box office for every film.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Soundtrack and Score

John Ottman composed the score for X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), which Sony Classical released as "X-Men: Days of Future Past: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" on May 16, 2014. The score album runs 20 tracks, and it is the place to hear Ottman's orchestral work for the film on its own.

Two songs by other artists also play in the film:

  • "Time in a Bottle" by Jim Croce
  • "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" by Roberta Flack

"Time in a Bottle" accompanies the Pentagon kitchen sequence, in which Quicksilver runs in slow motion while the guards are frozen mid-action, and he rearranges them and the objects around them. It is the best remembered set piece in the film, and the song sets a calm backdrop to a scene built entirely around speed.

"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" plays as Wolverine first arrives in 1973. That placement marks his jump from the bleak future into the early seventies, where the rest of the story unfolds.

For the composers behind every film in the series, see the x men soundtrack page.

X-Men: Days of Future Past: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack album cover

X-Men: Days of Future Past: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Score album · Sony Classical · May 16, 2014 · 20 tracks

Cover art via Deezer

Full tracklist

  1. 1The Future: Main Titles · John Ottman2:44
  2. 2Time's Up · John Ottman4:19
  3. 3Hope (Xavier's Theme) · John Ottman4:48
  4. 4I Found Them · John Ottman2:52
  5. 5Saigon: Logan Arrives · John Ottman4:36
  6. 6Pentagon Plan: Sneaky Mystique · John Ottman3:25
  7. 7He Lost Everything · John Ottman1:51
  8. 8Springing Erik · John Ottman3:33
  9. 9How Was She? · John Ottman1:47
  10. 10All Those Voices · John Ottman3:19
  11. 11Paris Pandemonium · John Ottman7:45
  12. 12Contacting Raven · John Ottman1:48
  13. 13Rules of Time · John Ottman3:07
  14. 14Hat Rescue · John Ottman1:30
  15. 15Time's Up (Film Version) · John Ottman3:34
  16. 16The Attack Begins · John Ottman2:27
  17. 17Join Me · John Ottman2:56
  18. 18Do What You Were Made For · John Ottman5:04
  19. 19I Have Faith in You: Goodbyes · John Ottman3:20
  20. 20Welcome Back: End Titles · John Ottman3:58

Songs in X-Men: Days of Future Past

  1. Time in a Bottle

    Licensed song

    Jim Croce

    Quicksilver runs in slow motion through the Pentagon kitchen while the guards are frozen mid-action, and he rearranges them and the objects around them.

  2. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

    Licensed song

    Roberta Flack

    A Roberta Flack song plays as Wolverine first arrives in 1973. The soundtrack article lists this as her track.

Sources: musicbrainz.org, themoviedb.org, stereogum.com

X-Men soundtrack

X-Men: Days of Future Past Full Plot SummarySpoilers

The full plot follows one mission across two eras, and it ends by erasing the grim future that sent Logan back in the first place.

In 2023 the Sentinels have almost destroyed mutantkind. Xavier and Magneto plan to send Wolverine's consciousness to 1973 to stop Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) from killing Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), because Trask's death is what led to the Sentinel program. In 1973 Logan finds a young Xavier, broken and hiding from the world, and persuades him and Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) to help.

Magneto (Michael Fassbender) is locked in a deep cell at the Pentagon, so the group recruits the fast moving Quicksilver (Evan Peters) to help break him out. Xavier and Magneto cannot agree on what to do about Mystique, and she goes to Paris to kill Trask. Her attempt fails and she is captured, which exposes mutants to the public and convinces President Nixon to approve the Sentinels.

Magneto goes his own way, takes control of the prototype Sentinels and attacks Washington, D.C., in a bid to kill the president. Xavier reaches Mystique and persuades her not to kill, and she turns back from the shot at Trask. Mystique saves Nixon and his cabinet, though the world sees her as a mutant who nearly killed them. The Sentinel program is shut down and the grim 2023 timeline is erased. Logan wakes in a restored present where the X-Men he lost are alive.

Premiere, Release Date and Box Office

X-Men: Days of Future Past reached UK and Australian theaters on May 22, 2014 and US theaters on May 23, 2014, according to Box Office Mojo.

The film opened to about $91 million over the 2014 Memorial Day weekend, which the Washington Examiner reported as taking the top spot from Godzilla. It finished with $233.9 million domestic and $512.1 million international, for $746 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Against a $200 million budget, that is roughly three and three quarter times its cost.

How does that compare with the rest of the series? It is the highest grossing of the main films, ahead of X-Men Apocalypse, The Last Stand and X2. Only the two Deadpool spin-offs took more worldwide. The full table sits on the x men box office page.

The film is rated PG-13 in the US, 12A in the UK and M in Australia. A home video release followed on October 14, 2014 from Fox Home Entertainment, according to The Numbers.

Where can you watch it now? As of November 3, 2026, JustWatch data via TMDB lists Disney Plus streaming in the US, the UK and Australia. In the US it can also be rented or bought from Amazon Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, YouTube and Fandango At Home. In the UK, rental and purchase options include Apple TV, Rakuten TV, Amazon Video, Sky Store and YouTube, and in Australia it can be bought from Apple TV, Amazon Video, YouTube and Fetch TV. The where to watch x men page tracks every film.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Ending ExplainedSpoilers

The ending works because one small choice by Mystique undoes the whole Sentinel future, and, in my opinion, it is the best use of the series' recasting that the franchise ever found.

What actually happens? Mystique spares Trask and protects the president, which cancels the Sentinel program and wipes out the dark future. Logan wakes in a bright new 2023 at Xavier's school, with friends who were dead in the old timeline alive again. The film closes the loop on the original and First Class casts by putting both sets of characters in a hopeful timeline.

Is it a reboot? Not in my reading. A reboot throws away what came before, whereas this film keeps both casts and lets one mission reshape the future they share. It could be argued that it is a soft reset instead, because the older cast get a better ending while the younger cast carry on: McAvoy, Fassbender, Lawrence and Hoult all return in x men apocalypse and dark phoenix, while the original cast largely step aside.

The emotional payoff matters too. Xavier spends most of 1973 broken and hiding from the world, having lost his telepathic powers to a drug that lets him walk, and Mystique has the harder moral turn, since Xavier and Magneto cannot agree on what to do about her. Perhaps the neatest detail is that the hero of the time travel story, Wolverine, only carries the message, while the person who changes history is the one the future had written off. That is a better structure than a simple fix it mission, in my opinion.

The final scene points toward a new threat, Apocalypse, which sets up the next main film. For the full story order, see the x men timeline.

Is There a Post Credit Scene?Spoilers

Yes, X-Men: Days of Future Past has one post credit scene, set in ancient Egypt.

It shows En Sabah Nur being worshipped while he uses his powers to raise stones for the building of pyramids. The scene is a direct lead in to x men apocalypse, which opens in ancient Egypt with the same character, played there by Oscar Isaac.

Filming Locations and Story Settings

X-Men: Days of Future Past is set across a future 2023 and 1973, with Paris, a deep cell at the Pentagon and Washington, D.C. as its key story settings.

In the plot, Mystique goes to Paris to kill Bolivar Trask, Magneto is held in a Pentagon cell, and the prototype Sentinels attack Washington, D.C.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trivia

These are the verified details that sit around X-Men: Days of Future Past.

  • The production budget is listed at $200 million by Box Office Mojo and The Numbers.
  • Story credit is shared by three writers, Simon Kinberg, Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn, with Kinberg alone credited for the screenplay.
  • Producers include Bryan Singer, Hutch Parker, Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg, with Stan Lee credited as an executive producer.
  • The runtime is 132 minutes on Box Office Mojo, while The Numbers lists 131.
  • The film opened to about $91 million over the 2014 Memorial Day weekend.
  • The Numbers records a home video release on October 14, 2014 from Fox Home Entertainment.
  • Marvel Studios has an untitled X-Men film dated for May 5, 2028 in US theaters, with Jake Schreier directing, according to TheWrap. The new x men movie page tracks what is confirmed.

Facts

FAQs

Was X-Men: Days of Future Past a flop?

No. X-Men: Days of Future Past grossed $746 million worldwide on a $200 million budget, according to Box Office Mojo, and it opened to about $91 million over Memorial Day weekend 2014. It is the highest grossing of the main X-Men films.

Is X-Men: Days of Future Past a different timeline?

Yes, the film is built around changing the timeline. Wolverine's mind is sent from 2023 to 1973 to stop the event that started the Sentinel program, and the success of that mission erases the grim future the X-Men came from.

How many X-Men died in Days of Future Past?

The story establishes that the Sentinels have left only a few X-Men alive in 2023. The restored timeline then brings back friends who were dead in the old one.

Why was Rogue cut from X-Men: Days of Future Past?

Rogue is still in the credited cast: Anna Paquin is billed ninth in the role. The time sending power that drives this story belongs to Kitty Pryde, played by Elliot Page.

Who is the girl in X-Men: Days of Future Past?

She is Kitty Pryde, played by Elliot Page. Her power to send a person's mind back in time is what lets Wolverine's consciousness reach 1973.

Is X-Men: Days of Future Past available on OTT platforms?

Yes. As of November 3, 2026, JustWatch data via TMDB lists Disney Plus streaming in the US, the UK and Australia. It can also be rented or bought on services such as Amazon Video, Apple TV and YouTube, depending on the country.