Panic Room

Panic Room
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	David Fincher
Produced by	Ceán Chaffin Judy Hofflund David Koepp Gavin Polone
Written by	David Koepp
Starring	Jodie Foster Forest Whitaker Dwight Yoakam Jared Leto Kristen Stewart
Music by	Howard Shore
Cinematography	Conrad W. Hall Darius Khondji
Edited by	James Haygood Angus Wall
Production companies	Hofflund/Polone Indelible Pictures
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	March 29, 2002 (2002-03-29)
Running time	112 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$48 million
Box office	$196.4 million

Panic Room is a 2002 American thriller film directed by David Fincher and written by David Koepp. The film stars Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart as a mother and daughter whose new home is invaded by burglars, played by Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoakam.

Koepp's screenplay was inspired by news coverage in 2000 about panic rooms. The film was Fincher's fifth feature film, following Fight Club (1999). Fincher and Koepp brought together a crew of people with whom each had worked before. The house and its panic room were built on a Raleigh Studios lot. Nicole Kidman was originally cast as the mother, but she left after aggravating a previous injury. Her departure threatened the completion of the film, but Foster quickly replaced Kidman. The filmmakers used computer-generated imagery to create the illusion of the film camera moving through the house's rooms. Foster became pregnant during the shooting schedule, so filming was suspended until after she gave birth.

The film was commercially released in the United States and Canada on March 29, 2002. The film cost $48 million and it grossed $30 million on its opening weekend. In the United States and Canada, it grossed $96.4 million. In other territories, it grossed $100 million for a worldwide total of $196.4 million, making it a commercial success. Critics were generally positive or mixed in their reviews. In retrospect, Panic Room has been assessed for its portrayal of childhood and feminism, the elements of video surveillance and diabetes, and its thematic approach to mortality.

Recently divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her 11-year-old daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) have just purchased a four-story brownstone on the Upper West Side of New York City. The house's previous owner, a reclusive millionaire, installed an isolated room used to protect the house's occupants from intruders. The "panic room" is protected by concrete and steel on all sides, a thick steel door, and an extensive security system with multiple surveillance cameras, a public announcement system, and a separate phone line. On the night the two move into the home, it is broken into by Junior (Jared Leto), the previous owner's grandson; Burnham (Forest Whitaker), an employee of the residence's security company; and Raoul (Dwight Yoakam), a ski mask-wearing gunman recruited by Junior. The three are after $3 million in bearer bonds, which are locked inside a floor safe in the panic room.