The film opens with a CIA internal memo about Arlington Steward, a man who has recovered from severe burn wounds and is delivering units related to the Mars project.

Set in 1976, the story follows Norma and Arthur Lewis, who awaken early one morning to find a mysterious package on their doorstep.

Norma, who teaches literature at an elite private school, reveals her disfigured right foot to her class during a discussion on Sartre's vision of Hell.

Concurrently, Norma receives a cryptic warning from a stranger at a supermarket, instructing her to look up a library call number and not trust Arthur.

Arthur, guided by Arlington's wife, navigates through three water gateways, choosing the correct one based on a prior hint.

At a wedding, their son is kidnapped, and Arthur is abducted by a former NASA employee, who reveals he faced a similar choice between his wife and daughter.

Back home, Arlington offers them a final choice: live with their million dollars and a deaf-blind son, or Arthur can shoot Norma, restoring Walter's senses and securing the money for his future.

A large indoor set was built inside a former Lucent Technologies building in North Andover to recreate a NASA laboratory.

The production crew also journeyed to NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to shoot a number of scenes for the film.

In December 2008, it was announced that Win Butler and Regine Chassagne of Canadian band Arcade Fire, and Owen Pallett provided an original score for the film.

It ranked number 6 at the box office coming in behind the newly released Disney's A Christmas Carol, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and The Fourth Kind.

[21] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars and wrote: "This movie kept me involved and intrigued, and for that I'm grateful.

"[22] Jordan Mintzer of Variety wrote: "Kelly's trademark mix of sci-fi, surrealism and suburbia occasionally entertains.

"[23] Keith Uhlich of Time Out New York named The Box the ninth-best film of 2009, calling it "a defiantly personal project that solidifies writer-director Richard Kelly's talent, even as it surely pushes him further toward the filmmaking fringe.