2011

Release poster

***2011*** is a 2028 American science fiction disaster film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Roland Emmerich and starring Patrick Wilson, Keri Russell, Michael Peña, David Oyelowo, Jon Favreau, Naomie Harris, Matthew Perry, Ernie Hudson, Crispin Glover and Robert Redford. It is a standalone spin-off of the 2009 film *2012* and the second installment of the *2012* franchise. Loosely based on the 2011 and Good Friday phenomena, the film depicts eschatological sequence of events including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, megatsunamis, and a global flood.

After a lengthy advertising campaign, which included the creation of a website from its main characters' point of view and a viral marketing website on which filmgoers could register for a lottery number to save them from the ensuing disaster, *2011* was released in the United States by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 23, 2028, to commercial success, grossing over $792 million worldwide against a production budget of $200 million, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 2028. Filmed in Montreal, it was the highest-grossing Hollywood film made in Canada at its time of release. The film received mixed reviews, with praise for the special effects and the cast's performance, but criticism for the impossibility of the cataclysmic events, and for the script and length. This was one of Matthew Perry and Johan Leysen's final projects before they died, and the film is dedicated in memory of them and they are commemorated during its closing credits.

## Plot

Earth's billions of inhabitants are unaware that the planet has an expiration date. With the warnings of an American scientist, world leaders begin secret preparations for the survival of select members of society. When the global cataclysm finally occurs in 2011, failed writer Curtis Prescott tries to lead his family to safety as the world starts falling apart.

## Cast

* Patrick Wilson as Curtis Prescott, a struggling writer and a father of three children.
* Keri Russell as Brenda Prescott, a medical student and Curtis's estranged wife.
* Michael Peña as Robert Gonzalez, a plastic surgeon and Brenda's boyfriend.
* David Oyelowo as geologist Tom Ridmond, chief science advisor to the U.S. President.
* Jon Favreau as Martin Spraggins, the White House Chief of Staff.
* Christopher Gorham as Will Hartson, an Alaska Fire Department helicopter-rescue pilot and Brenda's brother.
* Rade Sherbedgia as Moriz Biryukov, a Russian billionaire and former boxer.
* Beatrice Rosen as Galina Nikitin, Moriz's girlfriend.
* Naomie Harris as Serena Kershaw, First Daughter and Tom's love interest.
* Matthew Perry as Dr. Dylan Joseph, a Caltech seismologist
* Ernie Hudson as Brian Kershaw, the President of the United States and Serena's father
* Crispin Glover as Nigel Fadley, a fringe science conspiracy theorist and radio talk-show host.
* Dexter Hobert as Jack Prescott, Curtis and Brenda's second born son.
* Joey King as Maggie Prescott, Curtis and Brenda's first born daughter.
* Gunnar Sizemore as Adam Prescott, Curtis and Brenda's first born son.
* Zackary Chalifoux as Max Hartson, Will's son.
* Mirabel Schwartz as Lilly Prescott, Curtis and Brenda's second born daughter.
* Isabella Abiera as Olivia Chen, a middle school student and Adam's friend.
* Robert Redford as Avery Young, a jazz singer
* Albert Kingston as Paul Ridmond, Tom's father and Avery Young's vocal partner.
* Nico Pignataro and Cesco Pignataro as Lev and Mikhail Biryukov, Moriz's twin sons.
* Jan Uuspold as Aleksandr, Moriz's pilot.
* Chin Han as Jiantai, an ark worker who attempts to save his family.
* Simu Liu as Kang, a Buddhist monk and Jiantai's brother.
* Tian Hua as Grandmother Delun, their grandmother.
* Lau Siu Ming as Grandfather Delun, their grandfather.
* Lara Pulver as Jenna Moody, a news reporter
* Sung Kang as Dr. Kim Hyuk, a Caltech seismologist, and Dylan's research partner and closest friend
* Ronny Jhutti as Zahir Trivedi, an Indian seismologist.
* Johan Leysen as Noel Mercier, the director of the Louvre who is killed with a car bomb by the U.S. government
* Michael McNally as Captain Sanders, the captain of Ark 4.
* Rachel Bilson as Debra Gonzalez, Robert's sister
* Kareem Alleyne as Marcus Lane, a fellow Alaska Fire Department member
* Gil Pacheco as Hugh Briggs, a colleague of Tom.
* Kyle Switzer as Stuart, Tom and Hugh's assistant.
* Nicholas Hoult as Bronson, Dylan's student
* Frank Marrs as Shane Cowlings, a fellow Alaska Fire Department helicopter-rescue pilot
* David Bouchard as George Mitchell, a fellow Alaska Fire Department helicopter-rescue pilot
* Blake Lively as Zoey, Dylan's student
* Sabrina Reeves as Sgt. Karen Wilcher, a military captain.
* Jim Connell as General O'Leary, a United States Air Force Four-Star General who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
* Vito De Filippo as Colonel Isenberg, a soldier.
* Bronwen Mantel as Gertrude Prescott, Curtis' mother.
* Harry Standjofski as Ron Beck, the redneck truck driver.
* Claire Caron as the German Chancellor.
* David Oppliger as Sean Parnell, the Governor of Alaska.
* Miodrag Kojadinovic as Vitomir Yurievich, the President of Russia.
* Russell Yuen as a Chinese colonel.
* Sylvain Buffoni as the Italian Prime Minister.
* Nassim Sharara as the Saudi Arabian Prince who helps to pay for the construction of the Arks.
* Elizabeth Richard as Queen Elizabeth II.
* Frank Fontaine as Preacher.

## Production

### Development

*2011* was inspired by both Lauren Tarshis' book, *I Survived the Great Alaska Earthquake, 1964* and Graham Hancock's book, *Fingerprints of the Gods*, and Hancock and Tarshis both collaborated on writing the film's novelization. To choose a studio, writer Michael Wimer created an auction, with a copy of the script being sent to all major studios along with a term sheet. They had a 24-hour window to decide whether to produce the movie with Roland Emmerich directing, and Warner Bros. Pictures was the only studio to accept the terms.

### Filming

Principal photography began on July 6, 2022. The film was entirely shot in Montreal. Some filming also took place in Alaska, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Washington, D.C., New York City, and Paris. Filming lasted through June 15, 2023. With a potential SAG-AFTRA strike looming, the film's producers had a contingency plan in case of a walkout by actors.

### Post-production

The visual effects were made by Industrial Light & Magic, MARZ, Crafty Apes, Atomic Arts, Folks VFX, Fin Design + Effects, Jellyfish Pictures, Outpost VFX, Misc Studios, Territory Studio, and VFX Los Angeles, with Peter G. Travers as the visual effects supervisor. Adam Wolfe and Ryan Stevens Harris served as co-editors on the film.

## Music

The film's music was composed by Thomas Wander and Harald Kloser. The soundtrack also contains "Time for Miracles", performed by Adam Melchor, "End of the Beginning", performed by Tantric and "It's Not Over Till We Say So", performed by Robert Redford and Albert Kingston. The soundtrack was released on June 16, 2028 by WaterTower Music.

## Release

*2011* was released to cinemas on June 23, 2028, in Indonesia, Mexico, Sweden, Canada, Denmark, China, India, Italy, the Philippines, Turkey, the United States, and Japan. According to Warner Bros. Pictures, the film could have been completed for a fall 2027 release, but a delay allowed more time for production.

The DVD and Blu-ray versions were released on September 5, 2028. The two-disc Blu-ray edition includes over 90 minutes of features, including Adam Melchor's music video for "Time for Miracles" and a digital copy for PS5, PC, Mac, and OPlayer Lite. A 3D version was released in Cinemex theaters in Mexico in August 2028. It was later released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on January 16, 2029.

### Marketing

*2011* was marketed through the fictional Institute for Human Continuity, at a viral marketing website that was created by the movie studio. The website featured main-character Curtis Prescott's book *Goodbye Pavlopetri*, streaming media, blog updates, and radio broadcasts from zealot Nigel Fadley on his website, *This Is the End*. On June 14, 2027, the studio released the first trailer for *2011*, which ended with a suggestion to viewers to "find out the truth" by entering "2011" on a search engine. *The Guardian* called the film's marketing "deeply flawed", associating it with "websites that make even more spurious claims about 2011".

At the website, filmgoers could register for a lottery number to be part of a small population that would be rescued from the global destruction. David Morrison of NASA, who had received over 1,000 inquiries from people who thought the website was genuine, condemned it. "I've even had cases of teenagers writing to me saying they are contemplating suicide because they don't want to see the world end", Morrison said. "I think when you lie on the internet and scare children to make a buck, that is ethically wrong." Another marketing website promoted *Goodbye Pavlopetri*.

Comcast organized a "roadblock campaign" to promote the film in which a two-minute scene was broadcast on 450 American commercial television networks, local English-language and Spanish-language stations, and 89 cable outlets during a ten-minute window between 10:50 and 11:00 pm Eastern and Pacific Time on April 1, 2027. The scene featured the destruction of Alaska and ended with a cliffhanger, with the entire 5:38 clip available on Comcast's Fancast website. According to *Variety*, "The stunt will put the footage in front of 90% of all households watching ad-supported TV, or nearly 110 million viewers. When combined with online and mobile streams, that could increase to more than 140 million".

## Reception

### Box office

*2011* grossed $167.2 million in North America and $604.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $770.7 million against a production budget of $200 million, making it the first film to gross over $700 million worldwide without making $200 million domestically. Worldwide, it was the fifth-highest-grossing 2028 film and the fifth-highest-grossing film distributed by Warner Bros.-Cartoon Network, (behind *Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi* and *Adventure Time: The Kingdom of Ooo*). *2011* is the second-highest-grossing film directed by Roland Emmerich, behind *2012* (2009). It earned $230.6 million on its worldwide opening weekend, the fourth-largest opening of 2028 and for Warner Bros.-Cartoon Network.

*2011* ranked number one on its opening weekend, grossing $66,238,615 on its first weekend (the fourth-largest opening for a disaster film). Outside North America it is the 28th-highest-grossing film, the fourth-highest-grossing 2028 film, and the second-highest-grossing film distributed by Warner Bros.-Cartoon Network, after *Generator Rex: M.I.N.T.*. *2011* earned $166.2 million on its opening weekend, the 20th-largest overseas opening. In total earnings, the film's three highest-grossing territories after North America were China ($69.8 million), France and the Maghreb ($45.1 million), and Japan ($43.7 million).

### Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 40% based on 247 reviews and an average rating of 5.21/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Roland Emmerich's *2011* provides plenty of visual thrills, but lacks a strong enough script to support its massive scope and inflated length." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 50 out of 100 based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 78% of filmgoers gave it a positive score, with 58% saying they would definitely recommend it.

## Trivia

* Dexter Hobert (*We Bare Bears* and *Summer Camp Island*), Joey King (*Robot Chicken*), Gunnar Sizemore (*Clarence*, *Ben 10*, *Craig of the Creek* and *We Baby Bears*), Isabella Abiera (*Infinity Train*) and Ernie Hudson (*Superman: The Animated Series*, *Robot Chicken*, *Infinity Train* and *Hot Streets*) have all starred in other Cartoon Network projects.
* Patrick Wilson appeared in Midway (2019) and Moonfall (2022). Joey King appeared in White House Down (2013), Stonewall (2015) and Independence Day: Resurgence (2016). Michael Peña appeared in Moonfall (2022).
* The film has received a "PG-13" rating for intense disaster sequences and some language. This marks the fifth and most recent film from Cartoon Network Studios to receive that rating.
* Joey King and Roland Emmerich previously worked together on White House Down, Stonewall and Independence Day: Resurgence.
* The great disasters of the "doomsday comet/galactic alignment" in 2011 were supposed to have occurred on October 16th, the day of the solstice. The filmmakers decided to move those events up a few months, to midspring. This relieved them of having to decorate the sets for the fall holidays.
* Some theaters started the film at 20:11 (8:11 p.m.).
* Was originally going to be produced by Cartoon Network's partner, HBO Films, but has transferred its rights to Cartoon Network Studios.
* Gunnar Sizemore's second Cartoon Network movie role after Craig Before the Creek (2023).
* Filming of additional scenes took place in early 2023 in Montreal, Canada.
* This is one of the most expensive majorly-financed movies ever produced, with a budget estimated at $200 million. It is also one of the biggest highest-grossing films of all time.
* The movie is dedicated to actors Matthew Perry and Johan Leysen, who both appear in 2011, and passed away in 2023. The film's closing credits dedication reads: "In Memoriam: Matthew Perry & Johan Leysen".
* This movie features more Infinity Train voice actors than any other project besides Infinity Train (2019) itself: Ernie Hudson and Isabella Abiera.
* Bronwen Mantel and director Roland Emmerich previously worked together on Stonewall (2015).
* Roland Emmerich pointed out around the one hour mark the numerous scenes that are just actors working against an LED screen. "That's how you shoot modern films and most of the time the extras in the background are CG."
* Very similar plot to 2012 (2009) which was also directed by Roland Emmerich.
* In the movie, New York City was flooded in spring 2011. In real life, parts of New York City flooded due to the effects of Hurricane Irene in August 2011.
* Dr. Charles Hapgood, spoken about in Nigel Fadley's video, later died on December 21, 1982. Despite what is said in the film, Hapgood is something of a fringe figure, and his views have been denounced as pseudoscience by his detractors.
* The highest grossing film to be made in Canada.
* This film received controversy since its release. Due to the fact that this film was produced by Cartoon Network Studios, which is targeted for a family audience, many viewers, parents, and critics have criticized the film's adult humor, profanity, and use of drugs and alcohol, which is not very usual for any Cartoon Network production.
* Reunites Michael Peña with David Oyelowo after A Wrinkle in Time (2018).
* Roland Emmerich started writing the screenplay while he was filming Moonfall (2022).
* Patrick Wilson and Joey King previously worked together on The Conjuring.
* Professor Hugh Briggs bears a visual and vocal resemblance to author Graham Hancock, whose book "Fingerprints of the Gods" mostly inspired the movie.
* The song "It's Not Over Till We Say So" that Paul and Avery were singing on the cruise ship was actually co-written and performed by Albert Kingston and Robert Redford, both talented musicians as well as actors.
* Roland Emmerich told MTV the cover-up name for this film was "Goodbye Pavlopetri", which is the title of lead character Curtis Prescott's book.
* Roland Emmerich was paid $10 million for his work on the film. He also had a 10% stake in the overall gross.
* Michael Peña (Robert Gonzalez), Jon Favreau (Martin Spraggins), Robert Redford (Avery Young) and Simu Liu (Kang) work in Ant-Man (2015), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), all from the MCU, a Marvel franchise.
* Hawaii is depicted as being destroyed by volcanoes. In Roland Emmerich's previous disaster film "The Day After Tomorrow", Hawaii was hit by an extremely destructive hurricane in a scene that was deleted from that film.
* The filmmakers took most of the inspiration from the work of Graham Hancock, particularly his book "Fingerprints of the Gods" in which he argues that a possible crustal displacement event wiped out a past epoch of human civilization, and is responsible for the world's various flood legends. Hancock has since abandoned this notion with the discovery of the Younger Dryas impact event, which is now regarded as having caused the global disaster Hancock previously blamed on crustal displacement.
* Warner Bros. Pictures and Cartoon Network Studios delayed the announcement of the film's MPA rating and began selling tickets of the movie anyway in hopes that families and Dexter Hobert's fans will see the movie because of the Cartoon Network label and Hobert's presence (as his show Summer Camp Island was still airing in the network). They only announced the PG-13 rating on May 5 via the TV spots, two Fridays before the film's theatrical release.