Claim: The principal photography of Vantage Point (film) began in Mexico City.

Vantage Point is a 2008 American thriller film directed by Pete Travis ; it was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy . The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States , as seen from the various vantage points of different characters . Dennis Quaid , Matthew Fox , Forest Whitaker , William Hurt , and Sigourney Weaver star in principal roles . The film is often compared , unfavorably , to Akira Kurosawa 's Rashomon , which also employed storytelling through multiple perspectives . Rashomon used the multiple perspectives to question the possibility of truth , in a process called the Rashomon effect ; in contrast , Vantage Point recounts a series of events which are re-enacted from several different perspectives and viewpoints in order to reveal a truthful account of what happened . Vantage Point also explores kidnapping , assassination and terrorism .   The motion picture was co-produced by Relativity Media , Original Film , and Art In Motion . It was commercially distributed by Columbia Pictures theatrically , and by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in home media format . The film project began principal photography in Mexico City on June 18 , 2006 . Executive producers for the film included Callum Greene , Tania Landau , and Lynwood Spinks . On February 26 , 2008 , the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released by the Varèse Sarabande label . The film score was composed by musician Atli Örvarsson .   Following its premiere on February 22 , 2008 , Vantage Point grossed $ 72,266,306 in domestic ticket receipts . The film was screened at 3,163 theaters during its widest release nationwide in the United States . It earned an additional $ 78,895,185 in business through international release to top out at a combined $ 151,161,491 in gross revenue . The film was technically considered a strong financial success due to its $ 40 million budget costs . Preceding its theatrical run though , the film was met with generally mixed to negative critical reviews . The widescreen DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc editions of the film featuring the director 's audio commentary and interviews with the cast and crew , were both released in the United States on July 8 , 2008 .