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Healthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.

Director:

Steven Soderbergh

Writer:

Scott Z. Burns
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Popularity
684 ( 158)
2 wins & 14 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gwyneth Paltrow ... Beth Emhoff
Tien You Chui ... Li Fai (as Chui Tien You)
Josie Ho ... Li Fai's Sister
Daria Strokous ... Irina
Matt Damon ... Mitch Emhoff
Griffin Kane ... Clark Morrow
Yoshiaki Kobayashi ... Japanese Bus Man
Laurence Fishburne ... Dr. Ellis Cheever
John Hawkes ... Roger
Jude Law ... Alan Krumwiede
Monique Gabriela Curnen ... Lorraine Vasquez
Teri McEvoy Teri McEvoy ... School Nurse
Sue Redman ... ER Nurse #1
Teri Campbell Teri Campbell ... ER Nurse #2
Stef Tovar ... Dr. Arrington
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Storyline

Soon after her return from a business trip to Hong Kong, Beth Emhoff dies from what is a flu or some other type of infection. Her young son dies later the same day. Her husband Mitch however seems immune. Thus begins the spread of a deadly infection. For doctors and administrators at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, several days pass before anyone realizes the extent or gravity of this new infection. They must first identify the type of virus in question and then find a means of combating it, a process that will likely take several months. As the contagion spreads to millions of people worldwide, societal order begins to break down as people panic. Written by garykmcd

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

The world goes viral September 9 See more »

Genres:

Drama | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing content and some language | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Gwyneth Paltrow was considered for Rose DeWitt Bukater in Titanic, which went to Kate Winslet. They both star in this movie. See more »

Goofs

When Alan Krumwiede is explaining what an R0 of 2 means on television, he claims that the number of cases daily will progress 2, 4, 16, 256, 65536 and so on. This is incorrect - this is the quadratic series, and would mean that by the fourth day each person is infecting 256 others, and by the sixth day 4,294,967,296 would have fallen ill. The correct progression would be the geometric; i.e. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32... He later claims that it would take a month for a billion people to fall ill - this number is clearly based on the geometric number series, not the quadratic. See more »

Quotes

Dr. Ellis Cheever: When was the last time you ate something that didn't come from a vending machine?
Dr. Erin Mears: [Hesitantly] Taco Bell
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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits. See more »

Connections

Featured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: Contagion (2011) See more »

Soundtracks

All I Want is You
Lyrics by Bono
Music by U2
Performed by U2
Courtesy of Island Records Ltd. under license from Universal Music Enterprises
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User Reviews

 
We're only now getting to terms with how realistic this portrayal was
11 April 2020 | by KoolCatReviewsSee all my reviews

A deep dive into the eventually of a pandemic. We get the story from the main point of veiw of several characters. A few of the side story's seem unnecessary but on the most part it all fits together like a jigsaw. The film is fast paced and at times can be hard to follow however it show cases its themes well and will keep you interested until the very end. The film does't really end, you just step into 2020.


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Language:

English | Mandarin | Cantonese

Release Date:

9 September 2011 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Contagion: The IMAX Experience See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$22,403,596, 11 September 2011

Gross USA:

$75,658,097

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$136,515,867
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Datasat | Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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