Stormbreaker (film)

Stormbreaker
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGeoffrey Sax
Screenplay byAnthony Horowitz
Based onStormbreaker
by Anthony Horowitz
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyChris Seager
Edited byAndrew MacRitchie
Music byAlan Parker
Production
companies
Distributed byUnited Kingdom
Entertainment Film Distributors
United States
The Weinstein Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Germany
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Overseas:
Capitol Films
Release dates
  • 21 July 2006 (2006-07-21) (United Kingdom)
  • 6 October 2006 (2006-10-06) (United States)
Running time
93 minutes
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million
Box office$20.7–23.9 million

Stormbreaker (also known as Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker and Alex Rider: Stormbreaker) is a 2006 action spy film directed by Geoffrey Sax. The screenplay by Anthony Horowitz is based on his 2000 novel Stormbreaker, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. The film stars Alex Pettyfer as Alex Rider, and also stars Robbie Coltrane, Damian Lewis, Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Sophie Okonedo, Andy Serkis, Alicia Silverstone and Mickey Rourke. Stormbreaker was an international co-production between companies and financiers from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany.

The film's plot follows a teenage boy who is recruited by MI6 after his uncle, a secret agent, is killed in action. He is sent on a mission in Cornwall to gather intelligence behind Stormbreaker, an advanced computer system being provided to schools across Britain, and its creator, billionaire Darrius Sayle.

Intended to be the first entry in a film franchise, Stormbreaker grossed between $20.7 and $23.9 million upon its theatrical release, failing to recoup its $40 million budget, and received mixed reviews from critics, who found it lacking in both originality and believability. Plans to produce further Alex Rider films were dropped as a result. A TV series, Alex Rider, premiered in 2020.