The Purge is a 2013 American dystopian action horror film written and directed by James DeMonaco. The film stars Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey, Adelaide Kane, and Max Burkholder as members of a wealthy family who find themselves endangered by a gang of murderers during the annual Purge, a night during which all crime, including murder, is temporarily legal. The Purge premiered at the Stanley Film Festival on May 2, 2013, and Universal Pictures theatrically released it in the United States on June 7, 2013. The film grossed $91 million against a $3 million budget.