Comments
Throughout Hollywood history, there have been many films, particularly those in the sci-fi genre, that are eerily prescient. When watching those titles years after their original premieres, you can’t escape the feeling that the director must have had a crystal ball in order to craft a story that was so predictive of what would transpire in the world. One semi-recent film that unfortunately fits into this category is Steven Soderbergh’s thriller Contagion, which was a decent hit in its day ($136.5 million worldwide against a $60 million budget) but only became more relevant at the start of this decade. Now, a handful of years later, it’s become a streaming hit once again.
According to FlixPatrol, which measures the popularity of titles on various streaming services, Contagion is currently the No. 1 movie on HBO Max in the United States. It’s ahead of films such as Tomb Raider and Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World) to secure its spot on the chart.
Why Contagion Has Become More Relevant This Decade
Considering the plot of Contagion (the film examines the fallout of a rapid epidemic of a deadly virus), it’s very easy to understand why it found a large audience in the 2020s. During the COVID-19 pandemic, that was a surge in interest in Contagion as people drew parallels between the movie and what was happening in the real world during that time. During crises like the pandemic, some people prefer to watch movies and TV as a source of escapism, but Contagion became a draw for entirely different reasons. Contagion earned praise from members of the scientific community for its accuracy, adding to its appeal.
Read Next 5 Awesome Disaster Movies to Watch After Greenland 2: Migration
We are past the pandemic now, but Contagion is a streaming draw today for other reasons. For starters, it’s a new addition to the HBO Max catalog this month. Fresh arrivals typically score high viewership figures because subscribers are always browsing to see what’s been added. A high-profile title like Contagion, which was back in the news only a handful of years ago, is definitely going to stand out from the crowd — especially taking into account the star-studded ensemble that includes the likes of Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more. Soderbergh has always been a master of assembling talented ensembles and getting the best out of them.
It also helps that Contagion is simply a well-made film that’s worth watching, regardless of whether or not it’s sadly relevant today. At the time of its release in 2011, Contagion was well-received (85% on Rotten Tomatoes), with much praise being given to its gripping narrative and smart storytelling approach. It doesn’t fit the profile of your typical streaming movie success (usually some kind of comedy or action movie people throw on to unwind at the end of a long day), but the fact that it’s a high-quality production gives it an edge over everything else in the HBO Max library right now.
Interestingly, there was a point in time when Soderbergh was developing a “philosophical sequel” to Contagion, but earlier this year, he shared that the project was unlikely to happen because he didn’t want to repeat himself. As a director, Soderbergh is always challenging himself with different types of projects. He even attempted to get a Star Wars movie off the ground. Contagion will likely forever remain a standalone film, but its legacy has been cemented as Soderbergh turns to other things.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the Forum!
9 Sci-Fi Movies That Eerily Predicted the Future
