Contagion Becomes The Most-Watched Film Online After Coronavirus Outbreak

Contagion, released in 2011, has become one of the most-watched films online since coronavirus pandemic. The film which ranked at 270 as the most popular films back in December 2019 and is now right behind the Harry Potter franchise according to the distributor, Warner Bros.

The film has seen a huge spike on download sites amid the coronavirus pandemic because of its similarities with the current situation. Directed by Stephen Soderbergh and written by Scott Z Burns, it follows the story of a fictional illness that kills 26 million people worldwide.

Other directors like Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) have also become a fan of the film. Both reportedly took to their twitter accounts and told their fans that they watched the film after isolating themselves indoors.

Jenkins told The New York Times, "I paid $12.99 to watch a 10-year-old movie, I've never done that before. It felt like I was watching a documentary that has all these movie stars playing real people."

Meanwhile, Wright wrote on Twitter, "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, starring Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and Jennifer Ehle, has been trending on both, Amazon Prime Video and iTunes for the past few weeks. According to reports, the film is also one of the top four most downloaded films on torrent sites.

Gwyneth Paltrow, last month while travelling to Paris for the Fashion Week, first brought to light how much the film was similar to Coronavirus pandemic. In Contagion, Paltrow plays the patient zero who brings the virus to the US and is the very first leading cast member to die.