Kimi

Angela Childs is a top quality tech worker who never leaves her apartment, living in a world of screens and security codes. She relies on voice assistants, online messages, and a meticulously maintained routine to stay on top of her day. When a routine audit yields recorded footage of a violent crime, she realizes the evidence is real and urgent, but reporting it proves harder than she imagined. The systems she trusts to flag danger either doubt her or dismiss the problem, turning a clear call for help into a maze of bureaucracy. With time running out, Angela must summon the nerve to step outside, face the city, and demand accountability for the crime she witnessed as the city watches.

Released in 2022, Kimi is directed by Steven Soderbergh from an original screenplay by David Koepp, delivering a lean, tense thriller that leans on urban tech anxiety and economical set pieces rather than grand set pieces, with a quiet pace.

Box office: The film premiered and circulated primarily on streaming rather than a wide theatrical release, with no widely reported global gross. Its footprint rests on a streaming platform release and select limited runs, not a traditional box office surge.

Cultural impact: As a compact streaming thriller, Kimi has not sparked a broad cultural phenomenon, but it contributes to contemporary conversations about privacy and surveillance in everyday life. Zoë Kravitz's portrayal has been noted for restraint and precision, aligning with a growing trend toward intimate, low key thrillers for critics.

Reception & themes: Critics highlighted Soderbergh's economy of ideas and Kravitz's controlled performance. The film tackles themes of isolation, the costs of reporting crime from a distance, and how tech infrastructure can amplify anxiety while small acts of courage test personal boundaries, throughout, keeping tension constant for viewers to feel.