The coronavirus is having a massive effect on the entertainment industry. A few weeks ago, we told you about the sudden surge in sales for the 2011 outbreak movie Contagion from Steven Soderbergh and now, Warner Bros. has announced that it’s become the second-hottest film in their library.
Late last year, the pic was the 270th hottest title in their catalog, but now, thanks to coronavirus, it sits behind only the Harry Potter movies as far as popularity goes. And if things keep up like this, it might just crack number one.
But there’s another bit of fiction with a prescient story that’s seeing a resurgence, too, as of late. The 1981 Dean Koontz novel The Eyes of Darkness has shot to No. 3 on the most-sold books chart on Amazon as of March 1st. For those unfamiliar, it follows a virus known as “Wuhan-400,” which gets its name from a Chinese city where the virus originated from. That’s oddly similar to the origins of the current virus called COVID-19 and explains a nearly 40-year-old book suddenly becoming popular.
While the coronavirus is boosting sales for media with a similar premise, it’s also affecting major blockbusters. Earlier this month, Sony decided to pull the plug on No Time to Die’s release in April. The final James Bond film to star Daniel Craig was originally going to jumpstart the summer movie season but has now been moved to November, where Craig’s previous Bond movies have typically been released. Following that, a slew of other big releases were delayed or pulled off the schedule completely, leaving the box office pretty bare for the next few months.
It’s definitely a strange time for Hollywood, and the world, but if you’re in the mood for some outbreak content, check out The Eyes of Darkness or Contagion and remember, wash your hands and take the necessary precautions to keep the coronavirus from spreading even further.