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IMDbPro

Searching

  • 2018
  • PG-13
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
172K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
577
98
John Cho and Michelle La in Searching (2018)
After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her.
Play trailer1:11
15 Videos
99+ Photos
DramaMysteryThriller

After his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.After his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.After his teenage daughter goes missing, a desperate father tries to find clues on her laptop.

  • Director
    • Aneesh Chaganty
  • Writers
    • Aneesh Chaganty
    • Sev Ohanian
  • Stars
    • John Cho
    • Debra Messing
    • Joseph Lee
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    172K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    577
    98
    • Director
      • Aneesh Chaganty
    • Writers
      • Aneesh Chaganty
      • Sev Ohanian
    • Stars
      • John Cho
      • Debra Messing
      • Joseph Lee
    • 1.3KUser reviews
    • 261Critic reviews
    • 71Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 6 wins & 10 nominations

    Videos15

    Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:11
    Watch Trailer #2
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:24
    Watch Official Trailer
    IMDbrief: What You Missed in 'Bird Box'
    Clip 3:20
    Watch IMDbrief: What You Missed in 'Bird Box'
    Searching (Vignette)
    Featurette 1:16
    Watch Searching (Vignette)
    Searching: John Cho On Combining Technology With Classic Storytelling
    Featurette 0:30
    Watch Searching: John Cho On Combining Technology With Classic Storytelling
    Searching: Debra Messing On Her Reaction To Reading The Script And Story
    Featurette 0:33
    Watch Searching: Debra Messing On Her Reaction To Reading The Script And Story
    Searching: Michelle LA On Director Aneesh Chaganty
    Featurette 0:43
    Watch Searching: Michelle LA On Director Aneesh Chaganty
    Searching: Aneesh Chaganty On Filming John Cho And Debra Messing
    Featurette 0:30
    Watch Searching: Aneesh Chaganty On Filming John Cho And Debra Messing
    Searching: Joseph Lee On Defying The Rules Of Ciinema
    Featurette 0:40
    Watch Searching: Joseph Lee On Defying The Rules Of Ciinema
    Searching: Aneesh Chaganty On The Story In Once Sentence
    Featurette 0:20
    Watch Searching: Aneesh Chaganty On The Story In Once Sentence
    Searching: John Cho On The Story
    Featurette 0:17
    Watch Searching: John Cho On The Story
    Searching: Sev Ohanian On The Story In One Sentence
    Featurette 0:19
    Watch Searching: Sev Ohanian On The Story In One Sentence

    Photos173

    John Cho in Searching (2018)
    Faroukh Virani at an event for Searching (2018)
    Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty at an event for Searching (2018)
    John Cho at an event for Searching (2018)
    Debra Messing and John Cho at an event for Searching (2018)
    Debra Messing at an event for Searching (2018)
    Natalie Qasabian at an event for Searching (2018)
    Debra Messing at an event for Searching (2018)
    Aneesh Chaganty at an event for Searching (2018)
    Debra Messing at an event for Searching (2018)
    Debra Messing at an event for Searching (2018)
    John Cho at an event for Searching (2018)

    Top cast

    Edit
    John Cho
    John Cho
    • David Kim
    Debra Messing
    Debra Messing
    • Detective Vick
    Joseph Lee
    Joseph Lee
    • Peter
    Michelle La
    Michelle La
    • Margot
    Sara Sohn
    • Pamela Nam Kim
    Alex Jayne Go
    Alex Jayne Go
    • Young Margot (5 yrs)
    Megan Liu
    Megan Liu
    • Young Margot (7 yrs)
    Kya Dawn Lau
    Kya Dawn Lau
    • Young Margot (9 yrs)
    Dominic Hoffman
    Dominic Hoffman
    • Michael Porter
    Sylvia Minassian
    • Mrs. Shahinian
    • (voice)
    Melissa Disney
    Melissa Disney
    • Isaac's Mom
    • (voice)
    Connor McRaith
    Connor McRaith
    • Isaac
    Colin Woodell
    Colin Woodell
    • 911 Operator
    • (voice)
    Joseph John Schirle
    Joseph John Schirle
    • Jonah Emmi
    • (voice)
    • (as Joseph K. Shirle)
    Ashley Edner
    Ashley Edner
    • Margot's Friend #1
    • (voice)
    Courtney Lauren Cummings
    Courtney Lauren Cummings
    • Margot's Friend #2
    • (voice)
    • (as Courtney Cummings)
    Kenneth Mosley
    Kenneth Mosley
    • Margot's Friend #7
    • (voice)
    Miss Benny
    Miss Benny
    • Margot's Friend #11
    • (voice)
    • (as Ben J. Pierce)
    • Director
      • Aneesh Chaganty
    • Writers
      • Aneesh Chaganty
      • Sev Ohanian
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      For the German, Spanish, French, Russian, Italian and Portuguese versions of the movie, every TV/phone/computer screen was recreated in its respective language, as well as every typing sequence, keystroke by keystroke.
    • Goofs
      While Margot is driving in her a Camry, a sunroof is seen above her head. When the Camry is pulled out of the lake, there is no sunroof on that car.
    • Quotes

      David Kim: I didn't know her. I didn't know my daughter.

    • Connections
      Featured in Projector: Searching (2018)

    User reviews1.3K

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Searching: I'm not crying you're crying
    When Searching was initially annouced I was excited, a John Cho straight role and in that unique presentation style? Count me in, this was on paper destined to be something special.

    Sadly whenever I hype a movie up like this they tend to fall flat, but not Searching. No, no Searching lived up to my high expectations and the John Cho movie demonstrated that this is one of those guys like Ryan Reynolds and Will Smith who truly can do it all.

    The whole movie plays out through pc windows and camera footage. Yes it has been done before with the likes of Unfriended (2014) but they took the concept to the next level here and it works considerably better than you'd imagine.

    John Cho delivers an emotional tour de force with some of the best written material I've seen in years. It's so clever, so intricate and just when you think you've got it all figured out another spanner is thrown into the works to make you re-evaluate everything you've seen so far.

    As I'm getting older I'm becoming a harsher critic because I've seen everything before. Movies like Searching reaffirm my faith in the industry, it's fresh, it's fascinating and doesn't fall for any of the usual Hollywood tropes.

    By far Searching is the best film I've seen in a longtime, a true unconditional triumph and I applaud everyone involved. Outstanding!

    The Good:

    Very unique cinematography

    Powerful performance by Cho

    Incredibly smart writing

    The Bad:

    Nothing springs to mind

    Things I Learnt From This Movie:

    There is hope for Hollywood yet

    John Cho is one of the most underappreciated actors in the industry
    helpful•105
    30
    • Platypuschow
    • Nov 24, 2018

    Top picks

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • August 31, 2018 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Russia
    • Official sites
      • Official Facebook
      • Official Facebook (alt)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Truy Tìm Tung Tích Ảo
    • Production companies
      • Screen Gems
      • Stage 6 Films
      • Bazelevs Production
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $880,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $26,020,957
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $388,769
      • Aug 26, 2018
    • Gross worldwide
      • $75,462,037
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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