Sometimes real-life events can spark interest in fictional material & that appears to be the case with 2011’s Contagion. Helmed by Steven Soderbergh, the viral outbreak film has gained in sudden popularity thanks to the recent constant news coverage regarding the CoronaVirus.
6000 cases of the CoronaVirus have been confirmed worldwide with over one hundred deaths reported. The disease, which mimics symptoms of the flu, originated in Wuhan, China and has prompted the government to shut down film productions across the country and many of its theme parks. There’s currently no cure for the disease and the widespread news coverage has certainly sparked some fear among the masses that this could be a global crisis.
Most people turn to films to escape the harsh realities of life but that doesn’t appear to be the case here. Even though Contagion is nearly nine years old, the film leaped into the top-ten of the most downloaded films on iTunes last week, holding its own against Oscar hopefuls Joker and Parasite. Contagion was moderately successful in 2011, grossing $75.6 million domestically & $136.5 million worldwide on a $60 million budget but it has mostly faded from public consciousness since. The bizarre turn of events with the CoronaVirus has allowed it to be sought after once again, mostly because it mirrors the situation with the virus quite closely. Contagion stars Jude Law, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, and Laurence Fishburne. In the film, Gwyneth Paltrow’s character returns to the United States from China with an illness that mimics symptoms of the flu, that she initially attributes to jetlag. It turns into a global crisis, that quickly gets out of hand. Seeing the eerie connection?
In the film, the epidemiologists are able to produce a vaccine in the movie and eventually save humanity. However, this isn’t before nearly 26 million people have died. Let’s hope the CoronaVirus doesn’t reach such levels.
