by Alex Billington
June 2, 2026
Source: YouTube
“Our planet is on fire. People who thought that they were untouchable – but they’re not.” Get a load of this. Vertical released an official US trailer for the intriguing dark thriller titled Rich Flu, an apocalyptic virus movie from Spain and the UK. You might not be surprised to learn that Rich Flu is from the same director as The Platform and The Platform 2 – the famous Spanish films criticizing greed and modern society and all of that. Yet it has taken 2 years to release. Just Laura’s career peaks, a deadly virus targets the rich. As panic erupts and society turns on the 1%, she must fight to protect her family in a world where wealth becomes a death sentence. Strange plot. How does the virus know which people are rich? How does that work? It’s an obvious gimmick story where the world falls apart after the rich are gone, but I also think this is why it has mixed reviews and will be dumped on VOD this month. Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars as Laura, with Rafe Spall, Lorraine Bracco, Dixie Egerickx, César Domboy, Timothy Spall, Jonah Hauer-King. It premiered in 2024 at the Sitges Film Festival, and played at Beyond Fest & TIFF. Might be worth a look.
Here’s the official US trailer (+ poster) for Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s film Rich Flu, direct from YouTube:
A strange and unexpected disease is taking the lives of the world’s wealthiest and most influential people. First, the billionaires die, then the multi-millionaires, and so on progressively. The pandemic threatens to reach anyone with any kind of massive fortune. No one knows where the limit is… At first, the masses joyfully welcome the disappearance of these great fortunes, but as the collapse of their economic empires affects the stock market, employment, and economic stability, chaos takes over the First World. Rich Flu is directed by acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Munitxa, director of the films The Platform and The Platform 2 previously, plus a few other shorts. The screenplay is written by Pedro Rivero Aurre and Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Munitxa and Sam Steiner and David Desola. Produced by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia Munitxa, Adrián Guerra, Carlos Juárez, Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Albert Soler Cuyàs, Núria Valls. This first premiered at the 2024 Sitges Film Festival a few years ago. Vertical debuts Gaztelu-Urrutia’s Rich Flu in select US theaters + on VOD starting June 5th, 2026 this summer. Anyone into this?
