These aren't the fictional figures that open
Songbird, but the actual real-life toll of the COVID-19 pandemic as of December 10. It's a number that will only rise in the coming weeks and months, despite the fact the first COVID-19 vaccine is being used in the UK.
Songbird actually opens with a fictional figure of 110 million deaths globally as the world enters its fourth year of lockdown, with the COVID-23 virus mutated to be even deadlier with a mortality rate of more than 50%.
The movie had already received a significant backlash when it was first announced and we had expressed our own concerns over its timing and sensitivity. However, what we should have actually been concerned about was whether it was actually going to be a good movie, regardless of the wider context.