Missing (2023 film)

{{Infobox film

| image = Missing poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = {{plainlist|

Will Merrick
Nick Johnson

}}

| screenplay = {{plainlist|

Will Merrick
Nick Johnson

}}

| story = {{plainlist|

}}

| producer = {{plainlist|

Natalie Qasabian
Sev Ohanian
Aneesh Chaganty
Timur Bekmambetov

}}

| starring = {{plainlist|

}}

| cinematography = Steven Holleran

| editing = {{plainlist|

Austin Keeling
Arielle Zakowski

}}

| music = Julian Scherle

| studio = {{plainlist|

Stage 6 Films
Screen Gems
Search Party Productions
Bazelevs Company

}}

| distributor = Sony Pictures Releasing

| released = {{Film date|2023|1|19|Sundance|2023|1|20|United States}}

| runtime = 111 minutes{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/missing-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdewmtk1|title=Missing (15)|website=BBFC|accessdate=January 13, 2023|archive-date=January 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230114053555/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/missing-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdewmtk1|url-status=live}}

| country = United States

| language = English

| budget = $7 million{{cite web |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |title='Avatar 2' & More Putting Year's Running Box Office Over Half Billion- Sunday Update |url=https://deadline.com/2023/01/box-office-avatar-the-way-of-water-m3gan-missing-1235228864/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |date=January 22, 2023 |access-date=January 22, 2023 |archive-date=January 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230120154718/https://deadline.com/2023/01/box-office-avatar-the-way-of-water-m3gan-missing-1235228864/ |url-status=live }}

| gross = $48.8 million{{cite Box Office Mojo|id=10855768|title=Missing (2023)|access-date=March 17, 2023}}{{cite The Numbers|id=Missing-(2023)|title=Missing (2023)|access-date=March 17, 2023}}

}}

Missing is a 2023 American screenlife mystery thriller film written and directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson (in their feature directorial debuts) from a story by Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty, who also produced the film with Natalie Qasabian. The film is a standalone film in the universe of Searching (2018). It stars Storm Reid, Joaquim de Almeida, Ken Leung, Amy Landecker, Daniel Henney, and Nia Long. Its plot follows June Allen, a teenager who tries to find her missing mother after she disappears on vacation in Colombia with her new boyfriend.

An anthology sequel to Searching was announced in 2019, with Merrick and Johnson, who edited the first film, signing on to make their directorial debuts in January 2021. Reid and Long joined the cast in the spring of 2021, and filming took place in Los Angeles from March to May that year after delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Missing also serves as a spiritual sequel to Run (2020), directed by Searching director Chaganty and edited by Merrick and Johnson, confirming the fates of that film's characters.

Missing had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2023, and was released in the United States the following day, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $48 million at the box office.

Plot

18-year-old June Allen lives with her single mother, Grace, in a suburb of Los Angeles. Despite being close, June is annoyed at Grace's attempts to micromanage her life. When Grace heads out for a vacation to Cartagena, Colombia with her boyfriend Kevin, June spends the time partying while trying to avoid Grace's lawyer friend Heather. A week later, June awaits her mother and Kevin at LAX, but they never arrive, and an inquiry at the hotel reveals their luggage never left. When the FBI attaché at the American consulate is unable to get to the footage in time, June decides to investigate herself. She hires Javier, a Colombian gig worker who complies with June's requests for a small fee.

June cracks the password to Kevin's Gmail account, in which she discovers several aliases and a criminal record of scamming many women for their money. Believing Kevin kidnapped her mother, June has Javier look for clues as to their whereabouts in Colombia. She traces Kevin's past movements to a location in Nevada, where she talks to Jimmy, a pastor at a Christian rehabilitation centre for ex-convicts, who tells her Kevin has been rehabilitated and is genuinely in love with Grace. Kevin's online dating profile seemingly confirms this, as past messages reveal Grace was already aware of Kevin's past. FBI agent Elijah informs June he received footage of a band of criminals kidnapping Kevin and Grace in Colombia. June quickly unmasks this as a fabricated event, discovering Kevin had hired a lookalike actress named Rachel to impersonate her mother, who had been kidnapped en route to LAX beforehand. It is revealed Grace went by a different name in the past, sparking online speculation about her character.

Swearing by her mother's innocence, June's suspicions fall on Heather when she discovers an encrypted communication line between her and Kevin. June goes to confront Heather, intending to capture evidence of her wrongdoing. Instead she finds her office ransacked with her computer in the process of being erased and reset to factory settings. She then discovers Heather's lifeless body in a storage closet. Later, June views live footage of a police raid in Colombia focusing on Kevin, who is shot and killed despite surrendering peacefully. Seemingly at a dead end, June is about to give up, but finally figures out the password to her mother's email from old voicemails. Checking her phone's travel history, June discovers her mom never made it to Columbia. While checking through her blocked users, she finds a threatening e-mail directed at Grace, which leads her to discover security cameras Kevin had bought to install at an abandoned house, which turns out to be her childhood vacation home in Nevada. June speaks into the cameras, and discovers the video her mother had previously saved. Before she can view it, Jimmy calls her saying he's uncertain of who he trusts. He is outside June's door and reveals he is her father, James, who June thought died of a brain tumor when she was a child. He claims Grace (whose real name is Sarah) was emotionally unstable and took June away from him after having him arrested under false charges. As he discloses the secrets of her mom, he inadvertently reveals he was in the same prison at the same time where Kevin was incarcerated. June realizes James and Kevin planned the entire ruse. It is revealed that James was a drug addict, domestic abuser, and an obsessive stalker whose abuse and obsessive behavior endangered his family, and Grace had told June he died of cancer to protect her. James sought revenge by enlisting and hiring Kevin to pose as a prospective boyfriend so he could find Grace and June. James also hired Kevin to fix June’s laptop so he could tap into it, spy on her, and block her research.

James then kidnaps June and takes her to her old childhood house, where Grace is also detained. When Grace finds out James has taken June, she puts up a fight with James, but gets shot during the altercation. James tries to leave with June, but the seriously wounded Grace fatally stabs him in the neck with a shard of broken mirror. James locks them back inside the room again and attempts to search for a nearby hospital on his computer, but dies of blood loss while doing so. June, realizing James never shut off her laptop when he kidnapped her, uses the audio feed on the security cameras at the house to tell Siri to call 911 for their rescue. One year later, Grace has recovered from her gunshot wound, and June is off to college. Their story has also been adapted on Unfiction, and Javier reunites with his estranged son. Preparing for a visit home, June texts her mother she loves her, and Grace responds she loves her too.

Cast

{{cast listing|

Storm Reid as June Allen
Ava Zaria Lee as 4-year-old June
Jasmin Savoy Brown as herself playing June
Joaquim de Almeida as Javier Ramos
Ken Leung as Kevin Lin
Amy Landecker as Heather Damore, Grace's friend
Lisa Yamada as Alison
Megan Suri as Veena, June's best friend
Tim Griffin as James Walker, Grace's ex-husband
Daniel Henney as Agent Elijah Park
Nia Long as Grace Allen, June's mother
Michael Segovia as Angel
Lauren B. Mosley as Rachel Page
Tracy Vilar as Detective Gomez
Sean O'Bryan as Radio Host

}}

Production

In August 2019, a standalone sequel to Searching (2018) was announced to be in development, with the original film's director, Aneesh Chaganty, clarifying that the story would not "follow the same characters or plot line as the original", making the series an anthology.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/john-chos-searching-will-get-a-tech-driven-sequel-with-new-characters/|title=John Cho's Searching will get a tech-driven sequel with new faces|first=Gael Fashingbauer|last=Cooper|website=CNET|date=August 14, 2019|access-date=January 3, 2021|archive-date=February 3, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203205045/https://www.cnet.com/news/john-chos-searching-will-get-a-tech-driven-sequel-with-new-characters/|url-status=live}} In November 2020, producer Natalie Qasabian said the COVID-19 pandemic had postponed production on the film, simply going under the title Searching 2.{{Cite web|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/run-easter-eggs/|title=The Biggest Run Easter Eggs and Cameos, and an Update on Searching 2|first=Ben|last=Pearson|website=SlashFilm|date=November 20, 2020|access-date=January 3, 2021|archive-date=June 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619195334/https://www.slashfilm.com/run-easter-eggs/|url-status=live}} In January 2021, it was announced that Will Merrick and Nick Johnson, the editors on the first film and Chaganty's Run (2020), would write and direct the film in their directorial debuts, with additional literary material by Micah Ariel Watson, and producer of Unfriended and Searching Timur Bekmambetov to executive produce the sequel with Ohanian, Chaganty, and Qasabian.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/01/searching-sequel-directors-will-merrick-sony-stage-6-screenlife-1234672890/|title=Sony's Stage 6 Sets Will Merrick & Nick Johnson To Direct Searching Sequel|date=January 13, 2021|first=Mike Jr.|last=Fleming|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=January 13, 2021|archive-date=January 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106224427/https://deadline.com/2021/01/searching-sequel-directors-will-merrick-sony-stage-6-screenlife-1234672890/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Searching 2 |url=https://directories.wga.org/project/1206883/searching-2 |website=Writers Guild of America West |access-date=18 September 2022 |date=2 March 2022 |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921222635/https://directories.wga.org/project/1206883/searching-2 |url-status=live }} In the following months, Storm Reid and Nia Long joined the cast.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/03/storm-reid-sonys-searching-sequel-1234706613/|title=Storm Reid In Talks To Star In Searching Sequel For Sony's Stage 6 Films|date=March 4, 2021|first=Justin|last=Kroll|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=March 4, 2021|archive-date=January 6, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106124814/https://deadline.com/2021/03/storm-reid-sonys-searching-sequel-1234706613/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/04/nia-long-to-co-star-storm-reid-searching-2-1234729498/|title=Nia Long Joins Storm Reid In Next Installment Of Searching Franchise|date=April 7, 2021|first=Justin|last=Kroll|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=April 8, 2021|archive-date=January 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113220606/https://deadline.com/2021/04/nia-long-to-co-star-storm-reid-searching-2-1234729498/|url-status=live}}

Principal photography took place from March 30 to May 30, 2021, in Los Angeles, California.{{cite web|url=https://www.varietyinsight.com/production_restart_full_view.php?track_id=171375 | title=Film and TV Projects Going Into Production – Searching 2|website=Variety Insight |access-date=March 23, 2021|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323005402/https://www.varietyinsight.com/production_restart_full_view.php?track_id=171375 |archive-date=March 23, 2021}} In September 2022, the film's title was revealed to be Missing, with the film set for a 2023 release date.{{cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=September 16, 2022 |title=New Karate Kid Movie Among Sony Pictures Release Date Adds; Kraven The Hunter, Madame Web Move & More |url=https://deadline.com/2022/09/sony-kraven-the-hunter-madame-web-karate-kid-1235121120/ |access-date=September 16, 2022 |website=Deadline Hollywood |archive-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220917002645/https://deadline.com/2022/09/sony-kraven-the-hunter-madame-web-karate-kid-1235121120/ |url-status=live }} In November 2022, producer and co-story writer Sev Ohanian revealed on Reddit that the film would also be set after Run, serving as an epilogue to the events of that film as well as a continuation of Searching.{{Cite web|author=u/sevohanian|author-link=Sev Ohanian|date=November 10, 2022|title=The sequel to Searching, titled "Missing", now releasing January 20th|quote=[in response to u/deleted's comment: "are you gonna do a sequel to Run too?] u/sevohanian: To be honest, unlikely[,] but if you pay attention in MISSING.... you may find out what has continued to happen to those characters in RUN :)|url=https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/yr1uo9/the_sequel_to_searching_titled_missing_now/ivrj9al|url-status=live|access-date=November 10, 2022|website=Reddit|archive-date=January 22, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122232133/http://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/yr1uo9/the_sequel_to_searching_titled_missing_now/ivrj9al/}}

Release

Missing was theatrically released in the United States on January 20, by Sony Pictures Releasing under their Screen Gems banner.{{Cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |date=2022-11-10 |title='Missing': Sony Moves 'Searching' Pic Up To January |url=https://deadline.com/2022/11/missing-release-date-searching-franchise-sony-1235168340/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=Deadline |language=en-US |archive-date=November 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221110022558/https://deadline.com/2022/11/missing-release-date-searching-franchise-sony-1235168340/ |url-status=live }} It was originally scheduled for February 24, 2023.{{cite web |last=Couch |first=Aaron |date=16 September 2022 |title=Sony Sets Karate Kid Movie for Summer 2024, Pushes Back Kraven and Madame Web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/karate-kid-2024-movie-sets-release-date-1235222593/ |access-date=29 October 2022 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |archive-date=September 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927085344/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/karate-kid-2024-movie-sets-release-date-1235222593/ |url-status=live }}

=Home media=

Missing was released on digital platforms on March 7, 2023, and on DVD and Blu-ray on March 28, 2023.{{Cite web |title=Missing DVD Release Date March 28, 2023 |url=https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/11102/missing |access-date=2023-02-27 |website=DVDs Release Dates |archive-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230320170041/https://www.dvdsreleasedates.com/movies/11102/missing |url-status=live }} It was then released on Netflix on May 20, and became the number 1 most streamed movie in the US within 2 days.{{Cite web|last=Graham-Lowery|first=Nathan|date=2023-05-30|title=An Underrated 2023 Movie Is Dominating The Netflix Charts, & Viewers Are Loving It|url=https://screenrant.com/missing-2023-movie-netflix-success-reactions/|access-date=2025-01-31|website=Screen Rant|language=en-US}}

Reception

= Box office =

Missing grossed $32.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $16.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $48.8 million.

Missing made $3.4 million on its first day, including $760,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to a $9.2 million weekend, finishing fourth behind holdovers Avatar: The Way of Water, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and M3GAN.{{cite web |title=Domestic 2023 Weekend 3 |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2023W03/?ref_=bo_wey_table_1 |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=January 23, 2023 |archive-date=January 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230123222530/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2023W03/?ref_=bo_wey_table_1 |url-status=live }} The film made $5.7 million in its second weekend, finishing in sixth.{{cite web|last1=D'Alessandro|first1=Anthony|title='Avatar 2' Now No. 11 Among Top-Grossing US Pics Of All-Time, Bests 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' – Box Office Sunday|url=https://deadline.com/2023/01/box-office-avatar-the-way-of-water-infinity-pool-cronenberg-1235243380/|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=January 29, 2023|access-date=January 29, 2023|archive-date=January 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230128224534/https://deadline.com/2023/01/box-office-avatar-the-way-of-water-infinity-pool-cronenberg-1235243380/|url-status=live}}

= Critical response =

{{RT prose |score=88|count=148|average=6.8|consensus=Missing can strain credulity in its efforts to keep the audience guessing, but a fast pace and relatable fears keep this twisty techno-thriller from completely losing its way.|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes|title= Missing (2022) |id= missing_2023|type=m|access-date=March 5, 2023}} {{Metacritic film prose |score=66|count=32}}{{cite Metacritic |id=missing-2023|title=Missing Reviews |type=movie |access-date=February 16, 2023}} Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 81% positive score, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it.