Middle school teacher Marty Anderson notes unusual things happening around the world, from natural disasters to the worldwide loss of the Internet. Billboards and advertisements are popping up everywhere, displaying the picture of an accountant named Charles "Chuck" Krantz, with the words "Charles Krantz: 39 Great Years! Thanks, Chuck!" Marty's ex-wife, Felicia Gordon, calls him and they ponder if the end of the universe is upon them. Marty describes Carl Sagan's Cosmic Calendar, a method to visualise the age of the universe in a single calendar year. Both of them begin seeing more disasters and supernatural occurrences.
After losing telephone service and electricity, Marty goes to Felicia's home so they can stay with each other in the universe's final moments, watching as the stars vanish one by one. The end of the universe is revealed to be connected to 39-year-old Chuck, who is bedridden in a hospital, dying from a brain tumor. He is accompanied by his wife, Ginny, and his son, Brian. Chuck dies as Ginny tells him, "39 great years. Thanks, Chuck." Meanwhile, Marty tells Felicia, "I love you", just as the universe appears to abruptly end.
Nine months before his death, Chuck is attending a banking conference. While walking outside, he stumbles upon a busking drummer named Taylor Franck, who sees Chuck and begins drumming for him. He is moved to dance on the spot, attracting a crowd. Janice Halliday, a young woman who has been dumped by her boyfriend via text, joins Chuck and they dance together, although he is momentarily hampered by a headache before continuing on to the crowd's joy.
Chuck and Janice help Taylor pack up and the three split the profits at Taylor's insistence. Chuck admits he is unsure why he decided to dance as soon as he heard Taylor playing. Taylor suggests they form a traveling troupe, but he and Janice decline and the three part ways with a group hug. Chuck resumes his day, still pondering on why he danced, but in the coming months, as his health declines, he has the feeling that the world was made just for that moment.
As a young child, Chuck loses his father and pregnant mother in a car crash. He then lives with his paternal grandparents, Albie and Sarah. The bright Sarah teaches Chuck how to enjoy dancing. The sardonic Albie turns to alcohol after his son's death and forbids Chuck to enter the cupola at the top of the house, hinting that he has seen the ghosts of people there before they die. During the conversation about this, a TV in the background is showing Carl Sagan describing the Cosmic Calendar. At school Chuck asks his idealistic teacher, Ms Richards, the meaning of the phrase "I contain multitudes" from the Walt Whitman poem "Song of Myself". Richards explains to him that he contains multitudes, with the memories he gains over the course of his life forming a universe in his head.
Sarah dies after collapsing in a supermarket, worsening Albie's alcoholism. Inspired by his grandmother, Chuck joins his school's dance extracurricular program "Twirlers and Spinners", where he emerges as the best dancer in the club and teaches them how to moonwalk. Chuck has a crush on Cat McCoy, an older and taller girl who is frequently partnered with him. Despite having a boyfriend, she asks him to share a dance at their school's Fall Fling.
Chuck expresses his interest in pursuing dance to his grandfather, but Albie dismisses him and instead encourages him to be an accountant like him, sharing how math is seen in, and necessary in, everything. At the Fall Fling, Chuck is hesitant at first but decides to let loose and dances with Cat in front of the large crowd, earning cheers from everyone, including Marty and Felicia, with the former revealed to be a teacher at Chuck's school. After being kissed by Cat, Chuck dances by himself outside in the school field, but he injures his hand in the process which leaves a scar.
Years later, Albie dies, leaving the teen-aged Chuck to inherit everything, including their house. His maternal grandparents from Omaha travel to stay with him until he goes off to college. Now in possession of the key to the cupola, Chuck finally decides to enter it and sees an apparition of himself on his deathbed as an adult, which he identifies through his scar. Despite this, he dismisses his vision, promising to live life to the fullest, saying, "I am wonderful, I deserve to be wonderful, and I contain multitudes."
In July 2020, Stephen King's novella "The Life of Chuck" was optioned by Darren Aronofsky's production company, Protozoa Pictures. However, in May 2023, it was announced director Mike Flanagan would adapt the story, with Tom Hiddleston and Mark Hamill set to star and with Protozoa no longer involved. FilmNation Entertainment had joined the adaptation as co-producer and would handle international distribution sales to the adaptation. Flanagan had previously helmed adaptations of King's novels, including Gerald's Game (2017) and Doctor Sleep (2019).
Reception
During its first weekend of limited release, The Life of Chuck grossed $224,585 from 16 theaters during the weekend of June 6–8. In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside How to Train Your Dragon, Materialists and The Unholy Trinity, and grossed $2.3 million, finishing 9th at the box office during the weekend of June 13–15.
