Inferno

About the film

Inferno is a 2016 American action mystery thriller film directed by Ron Howard and written by David Koepp. It is loosely based on the 2013 novel by Dan Brown. The sequel to The Da Vinci Code (2006) and Angels & Demons (2009), it is the third and final film in the Robert Langdon film series. It stars Tom Hanks, reprising his role as Robert Langdon, alongside Felicity Jones as Dr. Sienna Brooks, Omar Sy, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Ben Foster, and Irrfan Khan.

Filming began on April 27, 2015, in Venice, Italy, wrapping on July 21 of that year in Budapest. Inferno premiered in Florence (one of its filming locations) on October 8, 2016, and was released in the United States on October 28, ten years after the release of The Da Vinci Code. The film received negative reviews from critics, and grossed $220 million against a $75 million production budget.

Plot

Some time after helping the Holy See deal with an antimatter threat, Harvard University professor Robert Langdon awakens in a hospital room in Florence, Italy. He has no memory of the last few days but is plagued with hellish visions. Dr. Sienna Brooks, the doctor attending him, reveals that he is suffering from amnesia caused by a bullet wound to the head. An orderly says the police are there to question Langdon but the officer turns out to be the assassin Vayentha, who shoots the orderly while coming up the hallway. Brooks helps Langdon to escape, and they flee to her apartment.

Among Langdon's personal belongings, Langdon and Brooks find a Faraday pointer, a miniature image projector with a modified version of Sandro Botticelli's Map of Hell, which itself is based on Dante's Inferno. They soon realize this is the first clue in a trail left by the radical, transhumanist genius scientist Bertrand Zobrist, who believed that rigorous measures were necessary to reduce the Earth's growing population, and who committed suicide three days earlier after being chased by armed government agents.

Langdon and Brooks figure out that Zobrist, who was obsessed with Dante, has created a biological superweapon he has dubbed "Inferno", with the potential of annihilating half the world's population. In the meantime, they have been traced by both Vayentha and government agents, who try to raid the apartment, forcing them to flee again. The agents are headed by Elizabeth Sinskey, a former lover of Langdon's. Vayentha reports to her employer Harry Sims, the CEO of a private security company called "The Consortium". He is acting on behalf of Zobrist, he then instructs her to kill Langdon, as he has become a liability.

Production

On July 16, 2013, Columbia Pictures set Ron Howard to direct Inferno, Dan Brown's fourth novel in the Robert Langdon series, with David Koepp writing the script. Imagine Entertainment was set to produce the film, while Tom Hanks was again set to reprise his role as Robert Langdon. On August 26, 2014, Sony had finalized the deal with Howard and Hanks, and set the film for April start of production in Italy. Brian Grazer was also set to produce the film with Howard.

On December 2, Felicity Jones was in early talks to join the film. On February 17, 2015, studio revealed the confirmed cast for the film, including Jones as Dr. Sienna Brooks, Omar Sy as Christoph Bruder, Irrfan Khan as Harry "The Provost" Sims, and Sidse Babett Knudsen as Elizabeth Sinskey, head of the World Health Organization. Ben Foster was set for an unspecified villainous role on March 10, 2015, which later revealed to be the role of Bertrand Zobrist.

Filming began on April 27, 2015, in Venice, Italy, and continued in Florence, Italy, starting at the end of April. Outdoor scenes featuring Hanks were filmed near the Palazzo Vecchio and elsewhere in the historic center of the city, starting on May 2, 2015. Some second unit stunts were filmed by Wade Eastwood at an apartment building close to the Ponte Vecchio, in Florence. Low-flying aerial shots of Florence landmarks, its river and bridges were filmed on May 11, 2015. A sequence displayed in an early trailer features a Padova railway station sign; locals of Padova immediately recognized the scene as recreated somewhere else. As of June 5, 2015, most of the film was planned to be shot in Budapest, Hungary, at Korda Studios. Filming wrapped on July 21, 2015.

Release

In July 2013, Sony set the film for a release on December 18, 2015. However, due to the date clash with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the release date was moved to October 14, 2016. In early 2016, the release date was pushed back two more weeks to October 28, 2016.

On May 9, 2016, Sony Pictures released the first teaser trailer for the film. The film premiered in Florence, Italy on October 8, 2016, at the New Opera Theater and also held a premiere in India on October 13, 2016, due to the popularity of actor Irrfan Khan.

Reception

Inferno grossed $34.3 million in the United States and Canada and $185.7 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $220 million, against a production budget of $75 million.

In the United States and Canada, Inferno was initially expected to top the box office with around $25 million from 3,546 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $800,000 from Thursday night previews and $5.6 million on its first day, lowering weekend projections to $15 million. It ended up opening to $14.9 million, finishing second at the box office behind Boo! A Madea Halloween and marked the fourth straight domestic disappointment for director Ron Howard.

Key details