Panic Room - Theatrical Run

Theatrical Run

Columbia Pictures marketed Panic Room as being produced by the same director who produced Seven and Fight Club. Fincher disagreed with the approach because he believed that Panic Room did not match the tone of his previous two films and that it would not appeal to the same audiences. He believed Panic Room would appeal more to audiences who saw Kiss the Girls (1997) and The Bone Collector (1999). He also disagreed with the studio's marketing materials for Panic Room, which advertised it as "the most terrifying movie ever made". Fincher also argued with the studio about the poster design, which he believed reflected the film's themes, and the studio relented in publishing Fincher's poster.

Panic Room had its world premiere on March 18, 2002 in Los Angeles, California. Fincher refused to edit the film to receive a PG-13 rating (parental guidance for children under 13) from the Motion Picture Association of America, so it was released with an R rating (restricted to filmgoers at least 17 years old). It was commercially released in the United States and Canada on March 29, 2002. It was screened in 3,053 theaters and grossed $30 million on its opening weekend. It ranked first at the box office, and for both actor Jodie Foster and director David Fincher, the opening weekend gross was a personal best to date. It also had the biggest Easter holiday opening to date and the third biggest opening to date for a non-supernatural thriller film, following Hannibal (2001) and Ransom (1996). According to CinemaScore, which polls audiences, Panic Room received a "B" grade. The audience demographic was 53% female and 47% male, and 62% of audience members were aged 25 years and older. In the film's second weekend in the United States and Canada, it ranked first again with $18.2 million, competing mainly with the new release High Crimes. The film went on to gross $96.4 million at the U.S. and Canadian box office and $100 million in other territories' box offices for a worldwide total of $196.4 million. The film was Fincher's second highest-grossing to date after Seven (1995), which grossed $327.3 million worldwide.