Viral drama
Drama film Contagion has seen a huge spike on download sites amid the coronavirus pandemic. Released in 2011, the film, directed by Stephen Soderbergh and written by Scott Z Burns, tells the story of a fictional illness that kills 26 million people worldwide. Warner Bros, who distributed the film, has now announced that the film is currently the most in demand film in its catalogue behind the Harry Potter franchise. The film was ranked as its 270th most popular film in December 2019 before coronavirus had spread around the world. Film directors Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) both told their Twitter followers they had watched the film as world leaders urged citizens to isolate themselves indoors.
“I paid $12.99 to watch a 10-year-old movie,” Jenkins later told The New York Times. “I’ve never done that before.” He added: “It felt like I was watching a documentary that has all these movie stars playing real people.”
Meanwhile, Wright wrote: “I’d say that it’s a good film to watch right now as, though it’s bleak and sobering, it offers a glimmer of hope at the end.” Contagion is currently trending on both Amazon Prime and iTunes and is in the top four most downloaded films on certain torrent sites.
— The Independent
