In the title compound, C18H14N2O, the dihedral angle between the methyl-phenyl ring and the phthalazone ring system (r.m.s. deviation = 0.034 Å) is 53.93 (9)°. In the crystal, mol-ecules are connected by C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [101]. The chains are linked by π-π inter-actions [centroid-centroid distance 3.6990 (12) Å], forming layers parallel to (10-1).