The film did not perform well in theatres, but since its release on home video, it has become a cult hit. In the United Kingdom, it has sold moderately well on DVD, but was then reissued in a budget edition, with no director's commentary or other extras, which sold for a fraction of the original price and shot to No. 1 in the DVD sales chart.

Album
The score was not put on a soundtrack album until Andy Factor, a friend of Michael Andrews, released it on his Everloving Records independent label in 2002. As Donnie Darko was not a hit at first, there was little interest in the soundtrack in the US. However, the film enjoyed more popularity in Europe especially in the UK where its total box office was greater than for the whole of the US, and so the Donnie Darko soundtrack album was released.

This sparked interest in the soundtrack and in the song "Mad World," taken from the original soundtrack, was a 2003 Christmas Number One in the UK singles chart. It has also made the charts in a number of other countries including Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Australia in 2003 and 2004.