Andrea Basora of Newsweek, stated that director Proyas flooded the screen with "cinematic and literary references ranging from Murnau and Lang to Kafka and Orwell, creating a unique yet utterly convincing world" [REF].
Dark City premiered in cinemas on February 27, 1998 in wide release on 1,754 screens in the U.S., and grossed $5,576,953 on its opening weekend, placing 4th,[REF] far behind Titanic in 1st place with $19,633,056 [REF].