Inferno turns 10 this week. Ron Howard directed the 2016 American action mystery thriller, written by David Koepp and loosely based on Dan Brown’s 2013 novel. For Hindi cinema fans, it’s also the film where Irrfan Khan took the role of Harry “The Provost” Sims. Here are eight things you may not know.
Star Wars pushed it off Christmas
Sony first scheduled Inferno for December 18, 2015. A date clash with Star Wars: The Force Awakens moved the film to October 14, 2016. In early 2016, the studio pushed it back two more weeks to October 28, 2016.
India got a premiere for Irrfan Khan
The film premiered in Florence, Italy on October 8, 2016, at the New Opera Theater. It also held a premiere in India on October 13, 2016, due to the popularity of Irrfan Khan. Khan was confirmed on February 17, 2015, as Harry “The Provost” Sims, alongside Felicity Jones, Omar Sy and Sidse Babett Knudsen.
The production codename was “Headache”
During location filming, the production codename was “Headache”. It was a reference to the concussion suffered by Robert Langdon early in the story, when he awakens in a Florence hospital with no memory of the last few days.
Padova locals caught a recreated station
An early trailer showed a Padova railway station sign. Locals of Padova immediately recognised the scene as recreated somewhere else. The film otherwise leaned into real locations: filming began on April 27, 2015, in Venice and continued in Florence at the end of April.
Hans Zimmer recorded in Vienna
The score was composed and arranged by Hans Zimmer. It was recorded at Synchron Stage Vienna in Austria. The shoot had already captured low-flying aerial shots of Florence landmarks, its river and bridges on May 11, 2015.
It ruled 45 overseas markets
Internationally, Inferno opened two weeks ahead of its North American debut across 53 overseas markets, about 66% of its total international market. The early move was designed to avoid competition from Doctor Strange. It finished first at the box office in 45 of those countries, opening to $49.7 million, including $2.6 million from IMAX theaters.
Domestically, it lost to Madea
In the United States and Canada, the film opened to $14.9 million, finishing second behind Boo! A Madea Halloween. It made $800,000 from Thursday night previews and $5.6 million on its first day. That marked the fourth straight domestic disappointment for director Ron Howard.
It recovered to $220 million worldwide
Inferno grossed $34.3 million in the US and Canada and $185.7 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $220 million, against a production budget of $75 million. China opened at number one with $13.3 million; India’s debut was $1.9 million. Italy delivered the biggest opening with $5 million.
Which fact surprised you most? Tell us your favourite Inferno detail, from Irrfan Khan’s Harry Sims to Zimmer’s Vienna score.
Facts from Wikipedia: Inferno (2016 film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.