# Missing (2023 film)
**Missing** is a 2023 American screenlife mystery thriller in which 18-year-old June Allen, played by [Storm Reid](https://www.edgepedia.org/storm-reid), uses computers, phones, and online records to investigate the disappearance of her mother during a vacation in Colombia. It is a stand-alone follow-up to the 2018 film *Searching*, told almost entirely through digital screens, and it was written and directed by Will Merrick and Nick Johnson from a story by *Searching* co-writers Sev Ohanian and [Aneesh Chaganty](https://www.edgepedia.org/aneesh-chaganty).[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news) • [2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/missing)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Screenlife thriller: the story unfolds through video chats, text conversations, search engines, voice mails, social media, security cameras, and smartwatches[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news) • [3](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-video-just-added-a-seriously-gripping-mystery-thriller-movie-and-it-takes-place-entirely-through-a-screen) |
| Directors and writers | Will Merrick and Nick Johnson (screenplay); story by Sev Ohanian and Aneesh Chaganty[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news) |
| Lead cast | Storm Reid as June, Nia Long as Grace, Ken Leung as Kevin, Joaquim de Almeida as Javi, Megan Suri as Veena, Daniel Henney as Agent Park[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/missing-2023/) |
| Release and rating | Sony Pictures release in theaters January 20, 2023; rated PG-13; runtime 111 minutes[5](https://apnews.com/article/b09a9c72d285b341df0d5987f6c50492) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/missing-2023) |
| Budget and box office | $7,000,000 budget; $48,767,848 worldwide box office, about 7.0 times its budget[7](https://www.will.watch/movies/2023/missing) |
| Critical reception | 88% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 147 reviews; Metascore of 66 on Metacritic from 32 critic reviews[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/missing_2023) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/missing-2023/) |
| Awards | 3 wins and 1 nomination, including a 2024 Saturn Award nomination for Best International Film and a ReFrame Stamp for feature film[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10855768/awards/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Grace Allen travels to Colombia with her new boyfriend, Kevin, while her daughter June stays in Los Angeles, where the film is set and where she plans a party while her mother is away.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news) When June arrives at the airport to pick the pair up, they do not appear, and no calls or texts follow.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news) Blocked by international red tape and told by an FBI agent that the best thing she can do is wait by the phone, June instead investigates herself.[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/missing) • [5](https://apnews.com/article/b09a9c72d285b341df0d5987f6c50492)
Her methods drive the film. She checks her mother's reservations, inspects the Colombian hotel through [Google Street View](https://www.edgepedia.org/google-street-view), notices its security cameras, and learns through a call to the front desk, using translation software, that the security tape is overwritten every 48 hours.[5](https://apnews.com/article/b09a9c72d285b341df0d5987f6c50492) She verifies the credentials of the FBI agent she contacts, then hires a local Colombian [gig worker](https://www.edgepedia.org/gig-worker), Javi ([Joaquim de Almeida](https://www.edgepedia.org/joaquim-de-almeida)), through a Venmo payment and a local task-service platform to retrieve the footage and act as her eyes on the ground.[5](https://apnews.com/article/b09a9c72d285b341df0d5987f6c50492) • [3](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-video-just-added-a-seriously-gripping-mystery-thriller-movie-and-it-takes-place-entirely-through-a-screen) From there she sifts through credit card receipts, iPhone location services, and live tourist cameras.[5](https://apnews.com/article/b09a9c72d285b341df0d5987f6c50492) As the story becomes national news, June learns that Kevin may not be the person he claims to be, and that her mother has secrets of her own.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news)
The Associated Press described June's cluttered laptop screen of Sticky Notes, Zillow listings, reverse phone look-ups, and bookmarked contacts as the 2023 equivalent of the classic "murder board" of suspect photos connected by twine.[5](https://apnews.com/article/b09a9c72d285b341df0d5987f6c50492)
## Production and relationship to Searching
**A sequel by its crew.** *Missing* shares no characters or plot with *Searching*; the connection runs through format and personnel.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news) • [10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-video-just-added-a-seriously-unique-mystery-thriller-movie-and-its-92-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes) Merrick and Johnson worked as editors on *Searching* and made *Missing*, their first film as writer-directors, applying what they had learned cutting the earlier movie.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/23/missing-review-smart-internet-thriller) • [12](https://www.samdb.co.za/titleproductionnotes/2400) Johnson told UPI that editing the first film showed them "what we needed," knowledge that stayed in mind even during filming.[13](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2023/01/19/Missing-Searching-Easter-eggs/5761674066405/) Aneesh Chaganty, writer-director of *Searching*, produced the sequel.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/23/missing-review-smart-internet-thriller)
The title came late. Merrick said "Searching 2.0" was floated before the filmmakers settled on *Missing* during post-production.[13](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2023/01/19/Missing-Searching-Easter-eggs/5761674066405/) Each scene was constructed from live-action and animated parts, and the directors extended techniques from the first film, such as coaching actors to perform as if reading a computer screen.[13](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2023/01/19/Missing-Searching-Easter-eggs/5761674066405/) The story is fictional; Netflix's Tudum feature states plainly that the actions depicted are not based on a true story.[1](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news)
## Reception
**Critics.** The film scored 88% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 147 reviews, with a critics' consensus noting that it "can strain credulity in its efforts to keep the audience guessing" while its fast pace keeps it on course.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/missing_2023) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 66 from 32 reviews, classifying the reception as generally favorable, with 22 positive, 10 mixed, and no negative reviews.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/missing-2023/) The Associated Press gave it 88 and called it a "superbly constructed and satisfying thriller" that makes a film about small screens feel electric in a theater.[5](https://apnews.com/article/b09a9c72d285b341df0d5987f6c50492) • [4](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/missing-2023/) Common criticisms, gathered in an aggregate of 20 publications, were that the twists accumulate until plausibility gives way and that the film handles grief and intimate partner violence glibly; praise centered on Storm Reid's performance and the suspense built from browser windows, FaceTime calls, and smartwatch footage.[14](https://film.one/film/missing/reviews)
**Box office.** Made on a $7 million budget, the film grossed $48,767,848, about seven times its production cost, and trade coverage in May 2023 reported it had netted over $48 million.[7](https://www.will.watch/movies/2023/missing) • [15](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/xyz-films-acquires-screenlife-thriller-161102098.html)
**Awards.** The film received a 2024 Saturn Award nomination for Best International Film from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, and won the ReFrame Stamp for feature film; composer Juls Scherle won Best Score honors at the Paris Art and Movie Awards and the SoCal Film Awards.[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10855768/awards/)
## Screenlife format
*Missing* belongs to the screenlife genre, in which events are presented as if recorded on computer or phone screens. *Searching* was not the first feature in this style, but it was among the first to reach a mainstream audience, and *Missing* carried the approach further by incorporating smartwatches and security cameras alongside laptops and phones.[10](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-video-just-added-a-seriously-unique-mystery-thriller-movie-and-its-92-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes) • [3](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-video-just-added-a-seriously-gripping-mystery-thriller-movie-and-it-takes-place-entirely-through-a-screen) Reviewers noted the constraint this imposes: the filmmakers must build suspense from information visible on screen without cheating, and some found the format's novelty reduced since *Searching*.[16](https://cinapse.co/2023/01/missing-sets-up-the-clues-but-cant-quite-crack-the-case/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/missing_2023) Where *M3GAN*, released the same month, treated reliance on technology as a cautionary tale, the RogerEbert.com review observed that *Missing* ends up celebrating technology's possibilities.[17](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/missing-movie-review-2023)
## Home media and streaming
Sony released the film on Blu-ray and digital.[2](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/missing) As of late 2026 it streams on Hulu, fuboTV, and [YouTube TV](https://www.edgepedia.org/youtube-tv) in the United States, and can be bought or rented on Amazon Video, the Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, and Plex.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/missing-2023)
## References
1. [Missing, the Movie: Is It True? Everything You Need to Know About the Mystery Thriller Sequel to Searching, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/missing-release-date-news)
2. [MISSING, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/movies/missing)
3. [Prime Video just added a seriously gripping mystery thriller movie, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-video-just-added-a-seriously-gripping-mystery-thriller-movie-and-it-takes-place-entirely-through-a-screen)
4. [Missing (2023), Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/missing-2023/)
5. [Review: Hacking, not shoe-leather, solves thriller 'Missing', The Associated Press](https://apnews.com/article/b09a9c72d285b341df0d5987f6c50492)
6. [Missing streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/missing-2023)
7. [Missing (2023), will.watch](https://www.will.watch/movies/2023/missing)
8. [Missing (2023), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/missing_2023)
9. [Missing (2023) Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10855768/awards/)
10. [Prime Video just added a seriously unique mystery thriller movie, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/prime-video/prime-video-just-added-a-seriously-unique-mystery-thriller-movie-and-its-92-percent-on-rotten-tomatoes)
11. [Missing review – smart internet thriller, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/apr/23/missing-review-smart-internet-thriller)
12. [Missing (2023) Production Notes, SAMDB](https://www.samdb.co.za/titleproductionnotes/2400)
13. ['Missing' filmmakers expand on 'Searching' technology, Easter eggs, UPI](https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Movies/2023/01/19/Missing-Searching-Easter-eggs/5761674066405/)
14. [Missing (2023) critics' reviews, Fi1m](https://film.one/film/missing/reviews)
15. [XYZ Films Acquires Screenlife Thriller 'Resurrected' From 'Missing' EP Timur Bekmambetov, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/xyz-films-acquires-screenlife-thriller-161102098.html)
16. [MISSING Sets Up The Clues, But Can't Quite Crack the Case, Cinapse](https://cinapse.co/2023/01/missing-sets-up-the-clues-but-cant-quite-crack-the-case/)
17. [Missing movie review & film summary, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/missing-movie-review-2023)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Action, thriller, and crime series film entries › Entries released 2020s and later*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license