Panic Room

Play trailer

Panic Room

R

2002

1h 52m

Mystery & Thriller

Crime

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

191 Reviews

64%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her young daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham (Forest Whitaker), Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) and Junior (Jared Leto) - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Watch on Fandango

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Elevated by David Fincher's directorial talent and Jodie Foster's performance, Panic Room is a well-crafted, above-average thriller.

Read Critics Reviews

Namrata Joshi

Outlook

01/03/2019

2/4

Leaving you utterly dissatisfied...

Go to Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

12/27/2010

4/5

Extreme suspense, graphic violence; not for kids.

Go to Full Review

Todd McCarthy

Variety

03/27/2009

A thinking-man's women-in-jeopardy picture, Panic Room does about as much as humanly possible with its deliberately restricted one-setting premise.

Go to Full Review

Grant Watson

Fiction Machine

Oct 15

8/10

Panic Room is a beautifully performed, inventively shot commercial thriller that uses a narrow physical setting to ratchet up tension and a smartly written screenplay to give the characters an uncharacteristic level of depth and complexity.

Go to Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

04/07/2025

4/5

Taut and tense, Panic Room represents a smaller scale effort from director David Fincher that is no less meticulously crafted than his previous films.

Go to Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

04/02/2025

4/5

It may not be a "top tier" Fincher film, but this popcorn thriller is hugely entertaining and deserves more respect. It's a great time at the movies.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

bruce F

@bruce999 Aug 4

it is well done, and the bad guys go a little too far. nice suspense.

See more

TWMax65 T

@RT38199094 Jul 5

This movie took some unexpected twists and turns for sure and was suspenseful a few times. Some things seemed a bit too impractical though and far-fetched for my taste a few times. Nevertheless, I liked the performances and the subject matter and it was fun watching it with my girlfriend too! Jody Foster in particular did well!

See more

Richard D

@Kahouli1 Jun 4

Pretty cool concept. As usual the women are both smart and tough while 2 out of the 3 guys are idiots. Imagine if the roles were reversed. Feminists would be complaining it was sexist but as long as the guys are portrayed as idiots, the man haters love it. Could have a really good movie but sadly the woke girl power crap poked it's ugly head even back then.

See more

Brent G

@bgillett86 Mar 9

What lacks in story is more than made up for in David Fincher's deft film making ability. Plus we get baby sized Kristen Stewart which is always fun and weird to see.

See more

Hollis Q

@Hollisqueens Oct 16

Yet more top-shelf terror from director David Fincher, the man behind such popular pulse-pounders as Seven, The Game and Fight Club.

See more

Bryan C

@BryanCelt Sep 26

Led by strong performances top to bottom and a clear-eyed understanding of what it aims to be, “Panic Room” is a straight genre movie but with enough Fincher flourishes to give it an extra kick.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

David Fincher

Director

Jodie Foster

Meg Altman

Forest Whitaker

Burnham

Dwight Yoakam

Raoul

Jared Leto

Junior

Kristen Stewart

Sarah Altman

Panic Room: Official Clip - Get Out of My House!

2:11

Now Playing

Panic Room: Official Clip - Turn the Gas Off!

2:11

Now Playing

Panic Room: Official Clip - Hand in the Door

2:13

Now Playing

Panic Room: Official Clip - Discovering the Burglars

2:11

Now Playing

Panic Room: Official Clip - Unsung Hero

2:01

Now Playing

Panic Room: Official Clip - Thanks, Burnham

2:03

Now Playing

Panic Room: Official Clip - The Panic Room

1:47

Now Playing

Panic Room: Official Clip - I'm Raoul

2:11

Now Playing

View more videos

The Tailor of Panama

75%

46%

The Tailor of Panama

Watchlist

TRAILER

for The Tailor of Panama

Palmetto

40%

30%

Palmetto

Watchlist

Liebestraum

42%

48%

Liebestraum

Watchlist

Wicked

20%

40%

Wicked

Watchlist

Phone Booth

72%

64%

Phone Booth

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Phone Booth

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her young daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham (Forest Whitaker), Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) and Junior (Jared Leto) - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Director: David Fincher
Producer: Ceán Chaffin, Judy Hofflund, David Koepp, Gavin Polone
Screenwriter: David Koepp
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Hofflund/Polone, Columbia Pictures
Rating: R (Violence|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 29, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $95.3M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Join The Newsletter

Join The Newsletter

Cookie Settings