<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $82.4 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Strangers is a 2008 American horror film written and directed by Bryan Bertino and starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman . The film follows a young couple who are terrorized by three masked assailants over the course of an evening at a remote summer home . Writer - director Bertino was inspired by two real - life events: the Manson family Tate murders, a multiple homicide, The Keddie Cabin Murders, that occurred in California in 1981; and a series of break - ins that occurred in his own neighborhood as a child . Made on a budget of $9 million, the film was shot on location in rural South Carolina in the fall of 2006 . </P> <P> Originally slated for a theatrical release in November 2007, it was postponed before a theatrical release on May 30, 2008 . It grossed $82 million at the box office worldwide and received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its atmosphere and tension, and others criticizing its script and characters . Contemporary film scholars have interpreted it as a criticism of the perceived safety of pastoral life, as well as an exploration of stranger - on - stranger violence . A sequel, titled The Strangers: Prey at Night, was released ten years later in March 2018 . </P> <P> James Hoyt and his girlfriend Kristen McKay arrive at James' childhood summer home, tired and irritable after a long evening at a friend's wedding reception . It is revealed through flashback that while they were there, James proposed to Kristen and she refused . James calls his friend Mike and asks him to come pick him up in the morning . Shortly after 4 a.m., there is a knock at the door, surprising since the house is so remote and far from any civilization . A young blonde woman, whose face is obscured by low lighting, asks for Tamara . When told that she is at the wrong house, she leaves with the casual caveat that she will "see them later ." </P>

When did the movie the strangers come out