Factual error: After the intruders flood the panic room with propane, Jody Foster's character gets a lighter and ignites the propane causing it to burn along the ceiling. This would be impossible as propane is heavier than air and would sink to the floor rather than rise up to the ceiling. Lighting a flame in that room should have caused anyone in the room and on the floor to be engulfed in flames almost instantly.
Panic Room (2002)
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Jared Leto, Dwight Yoakam
Other mistake: Near the end of the movie Dwight Yoakam is holding Jodie Foster's daughter captive as he tries to exit the house. Jodie Foster sneaks up behind him with a sledgehammer and swings it at his head. He turns to face her and the metal end of the hammer catches him firmly in his temple, knocking him down a flight of stairs. A few minutes later he comes up the stairs and tackles Jodie Foster to the ground, seemingly unhurt by the impact of the sledgehammer.
Character mistake: The mother tells the daughter to keep warm and drink water. In fact that would lower the blood sugar faster. This method is used for high blood sugar to lower it back to normal.
Trivia: The shot of Meg turning on the security screens took 57 takes before director David Fincher was happy.
Trivia: Not really a mistake, but an interesting note. When Jodie Foster phones the ex girlfriend listen to the voice on the phone, it's Nicole Kidman's - she was originally chosen for this role but was unable to due to a minor injury.
Meg: Open the door so I can give her the shot.
Burnham: If we open the door you'll shoot us.
Meg: So give her the shot yourself.
Meg: If we stay calm everything will be fine, okay? Just stay calm.
Sarah: You're making me nervous.
Meg: I'm sorry.
Junior: She's coming down to you.
Burnham: Hey, I told you, I don't hurt people.
Question: I don't really understand why Jodie Foster's character didn't tell the police something was wrong when they came to the door. I know she was worried for her daughter but the robbers couldn't overhear and she could have asked the police to come back later, giving her a chance to smash the cameras. Also, considering that she emphatically denied there was anything wrong, why did the police return later with all the guns etc?
Answer: The cop told Jodie "if you can give me some kind of signal." Jodie runs her fingers through her hair, that's the signal.
Answer: One doesn't ask the cops to come back later, especially when one's daughter's life is a stake. Also, the cops came back because they just didn't believe her and felt that something was up (call it intuition).
Not only that, Jodie Foster said that "they were good", why would she say that they are good if not that they were right?
Question: Can someone please tell me what happened to Jodie Foster's ex-husband? Did he live or die?
Question: Why would 911 put them on hold?
It does happen in real life, and it is sadly a common occurrence in big cities. Living in Los Angeles, I've had to dial 911 a few times. I was on hold for 5 minutes once, and I've read articles about people who have been on hold for way longer. With this film being set in New York city, this did not surprise me. Even Meg and Sarah don't seem too surprised by it, and they opt to call Sarah's father instead.
Answer: There could be a serious major event happening nearby where all the resources needed to be sent ASAP. The 911 operator had to prioritize and assumed the current caller's emergency - whatever it was - was less urgent. There could have been a shortage of operators for whatever reason.
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Answer: But if Jodie Foster was so keen to placate the burglars and protect her daughter's life then why did she smash the cameras after the police left? It doesn't make sense.
She smashed the cameras, so the thieves in the Panic Room couldn't see what she was doing. That's why the thieves had said, "Why didn't we do that?"