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Parts Per Billion (2014) movie poster

Timeline

Parts Per Billion (2014) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Release, runtime and language
2014 · 98 mins · English
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Directed by
Brian Horiuchi
Starring
Teresa Palmer, Rosario Dawson, Gena Rowlands, Frank Langella, Josh Hartnett, Hill Harper

During a devastating war, three couples find themselves grappling with difficult choices that will change their lives forever. Len, Mia, Andy, Esther, Anna, and Erik are complex characters, flawed yet beautiful, as they confront a catastrophic, human-made biological disaster. The film explores whether love can endure even when the world is ending and profound sacrifices must be made.

Cast, crew & box office
On this page (5)
  1. 1 Where to watch
  2. 2 Events in order (13)
  3. 3 Timeline questions answered
  4. 4 Movie threads
  5. 5 Every angle
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13 events in order · contains spoilers

Parts Per Billion Timeline: Events in Chronological Order

Every key event of Parts Per Billion (2014) in order, scene by scene, with when and where it takes place. Use it to untangle flashbacks, time jumps and parallel storylines, to refresh your memory before the sequel or to find the exact scene you are thinking of.

  1. Anna and Erik's uneasy comfort

    Anna and Erik live a life cushioned by wealth, yet Anna grows anxious about how fragile their comfort feels. They clash over seemingly trivial details as Middle East headlines loom in the background. The tension pushes them to seek a shared anchor even as unease grows.

    When
    Present day
    Where
    Their home

  2. Erik drifts toward his music and circles

    Erik pours himself into composing and his social circle, often at the expense of the couple's day-to-day life. The distance between him and Anna widens despite their ongoing routines. He struggles to reconcile his artistic ambition with the relationship’s needs.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Erik's home and social circle

  3. Len confesses to his sister

    Len, depressed and unemployed, confesses to his sister Sarah that he has taken Mia for granted and longs for purpose again. Sarah, a nurse, offers practical support as she listens. The admission underscores the strain rippling through both couples.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Len's apartment

  4. Mia wins a significant case

    Mia, a capable lawyer, wins a significant case representing Andy, a scientist accused of selling trade secrets. The victory highlights Mia's professional success in contrast to Len's growing despair. The moment intensifies the tension between personal and professional pressures.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Courtroom

  5. Erik faces family pressure about wealth

    Andy's insistence that Erik rely on the family wealth creates a clash, with Erik insisting he wants to prove himself independently. Esther argues the money can be a safeguard, while Andy remains wary of how wealth shapes loyalties. The exchange deepens the rift between generations and sharpens the looming financial strain.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Family estate

  6. Global tensions bleed into daily life

    Biological weapons rumors turn to confirmation as the world teeters on the edge; the US urges calm while Europe suffers casualties and toxins drift west on the wind. The outside crisis bleeds into every home and conversation, heightening the sense of impending disaster.

    Where
    Global

  7. Basement shelter and communication collapse

    Sarah alerts Len, who escorts Mia into the basement to shield them from chaos as lines fail and panic spreads. The building's safety becomes the couple's immediate concern while the world outside spirals.

    When
    During crisis
    Where
    Len and Mia's basement

  8. Rick's desperate attempt ends in tragedy

    Rick, a determined survivalist, tries to purchase a survival kit but cannot secure the funds in time, and is shot by a looter as desperation overwhelms the city. The incident underscores the brutal stakes of scarcity and fear.

    When
    During crisis
    Where
    City

  9. Erik and Anna's trial by silence

    Back at home, Erik and Anna endure their crisis in tense silence; flashbacks reveal their carefree early days, flirtations, and Anna's pregnancy. The flashbacks culminate in a stark image of their apparent deaths, leaving the present unsettled.

    When
    Present with flashbacks
    Where
    Home

  10. Esther and Andy endure with oxygen

    Esther awakens to the hospital's oxygen crisis while Andy pushes forward, relying on oxygen tanks as a lifeline in a world where every breath matters. Their bond tightens as they navigate the crisis together.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Hospital

  11. Sarah's body found; hope tempered

    During a hospital run, Esther and Andy uncover Sarah's body, a stark reminder of the toll the crisis has taken. The grim discovery sobers them, yet it also steels their resolve to endure.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Hospital

  12. Len and Mia confront fracture and choose to fight

    Len, wounded by events, pleads with Mia to stay and fight for a future together. Mia admits she failed to protect a coworker who fell for her, and they tentatively decide to hold on and rebuild.

    When
    Present
    Where
    Len and Mia's apartment

  13. A glimmer of hope through a vision

    A final image shows a young girl—one of Anna's visions—discovering Anna's ring and presenting it to her mother, a fragile spark of hope that life can continue beyond danger.

    When
    Final image
    Where
    Unknown

Last updated: October 03, 2025 at 10:33

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Timeline questions answered

Parts Per Billion Timeline Explained: Your Questions Answered

When does it happen, and why in that order? The questions people ask about the chronology of Parts Per Billion (2014): time jumps, flashbacks, cause and effect between scenes and the correct order of events, each answered with spoilers.

Q1

Why does Anna become so anxious about the world?

Anna watches headlines about escalating conflicts in the Middle East and begins believing the world is increasingly volatile. She feels their comfortable life is fragile and pushes Erik to spend more time together as an anchor against impending disaster. This anxiety stems from her recognition that their privileged existence could be swept away by larger global forces beyond their control.

Foreshadowing: The Middle East headlines that loom in the background early in the film hint at the catastrophic biological attack that later unfolds.

  • anna
  • anxiety
  • world collapse
  • middle east
  • biological disaster
  • foreshadowing
Q2

What causes the biological disaster in the film?

Biological weapons are deployed during a devastating war, with rumors turning to confirmation as the film progresses. The United States urges calm while Europe reels from casualties as toxins drift west with the trade winds. The exact source or specific nation responsible remains unclear, but the consequences are catastrophic and global in scale.

Foreshadowing: The escalating Middle East conflicts that worry Anna foreshadow the actual biological weapons deployment that follows.

  • biological weapons
  • biological disaster
  • attack
  • toxins
  • war
  • global catastrophe
Q3

What happens to Erik and Anna in the ending?

The film ends with flashbacks showing Erik and Anna lying together in apparent death, their fates left uncertain. Flashbacks reveal their carefree early days together, Anna's pregnancy, and their final moments. Whether they actually die or survive remains ambiguous, though the stark imagery suggests they did not wake.

Foreshadowing: The increasing tension and distance between Erik and Anna throughout the film, combined with the biological disaster, foreshadows their tragic final state.

  • erik
  • anna
  • death
  • ending
  • pregnancy
  • flashbabks
  • fate
Q4

Why is Len struggling in his marriage to Mia?

Len is depressed and unemployed, feeling he has lost direction and taken Mia for granted. While Mia succeeds professionally as a lawyer winning significant cases, Len's personal despair creates distance between them. His confession to his sister Sarah about longing for purpose reveals his deep insecurity, which conflicts with Mia's professional success and personal stress.

Foreshadowing: Len's confession to Sarah early in the film establishes the emotional fracture that nearly destroys his marriage during the crisis.

  • len
  • mia
  • marriage
  • depression
  • unemployment
  • struggle
  • relationship
Q5

Why does Erik refuse his family's wealth?

Erik's grandfather Andy insists the family fortune could be a safety net during the growing crisis, but Erik refuses, determined to prove he can make it on his own. This choice sparks a misunderstanding with Andy, who accuses Erik of being patronized by the legacy of wealth. Erik's need for independence conflicts with the practical reality of surviving the coming catastrophe.

Foreshadowing: Erik's stubborn independence from family wealth sets up the tragic irony of potentially facing the disaster without that safety net.

  • erik
  • andy
  • wealth
  • family fortune
  • independence
  • grandfather
  • legacy
Q6

What happens to Sarah in the biological disaster?

Sarah, Len's sister who is a nurse, dies during the crisis. When Esther and Andy go on a hospital run, they discover Sarah's body, a stark reminder of the death toll surrounding them. Her death deeply impacts Len, who had relied on her as a connection during the initial chaos.

Foreshadowing: Sarah's earlier alert to Len about the crisis, prompting him to escort Mia to the basement, was one of her final acts before her own death.

  • sarah
  • death
  • nurse
  • hospital
  • len
  • body
  • crisis
Q7

What is the significance of the ring in the final scene?

The film's final image shows a young girl, one of Anna's visions throughout the film, discovering Anna's ring and presenting it to her mother. This represents a fragile, hopeful connection to a future life beyond the immediate danger. It suggests Anna's legacy persists even if she and Erik did not survive, offering a bittersweet symbol of continuity and hope.

Foreshadowing: Anna's recurring visions of a young girl throughout the film foreshadow this final image of hope and continuation.

  • anna ring
  • ending
  • hope
  • young girl
  • vision
  • future
  • legacy
Q8

Why does Mia feel she failed to protect her coworker?

Mia admits to Len that she failed to protect a coworker who fell in love with her. This painful failure becomes a point of tension in their reconciliation, as Mia grapples with professional guilt叠加 on top of personal stress. The confession reveals her sense of responsibility extends beyond the courtroom into her interpersonal relationships.

Foreshadowing: Mia's professional success as a lawyer, highlighted by her winning case for Andy, contrasts with her personal failure regarding the coworker.

  • mia
  • coworker
  • failure
  • lawyer
  • confession
  • protection
Q9

What happens to Rick during the crisis?

Rick, a determined survivalist, attempts to purchase a survival kit but cannot secure the funds in time. His desperation leads him to confrontation with a looter, who shoots him when his luck runs out. His tragic death underscores the brutal stakes of scarcity and panic during the societal collapse.

Foreshadowing: Rick's earlier determination to prepare for disaster sets up the tragic irony of his inability to secure survival for himself.

  • rick
  • survivalist
  • shot
  • looter
  • death
  • crisis
  • survival kit
Q10

How do Esther and Andy survive the biological disaster?

Esther and Andy survive by relying on oxygen tanks during the worst of the crisis, a small lifeline in a world where breathable air has become toxic. Their bond tightens as they navigate the crisis together, with Esther's eternal optimism contrasted against Andy's realist perspective. Their survival is marked by both hope and the grim reality of loss surrounding them.

Foreshadowing: The hospital setting and oxygen crisis they face foreshadows the desperate measures required to survive the biological attack.

  • esther
  • andy
  • oxygen
  • tanks
  • survival
  • hospital
  • crisis

Movie threads

More Movies Like Parts Per Billion, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes Parts Per Billion tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Apocalyptic relationship dramas like Parts Per Billion

Intimate character studies set against the backdrop of a collapsing world. For viewers seeking movies like Parts Per Billion, this thread gathers sci-fi and drama films where a world-ending event serves as the setting for intense character studies of couples and families. If you enjoyed the focus on strained relationships under catastrophic pressure, you'll find similar emotionally heavy stories here.

  • apocalyptic
  • somber
  • desperate
  • reflective
  • anxious
  • melancholic
  • Tone: dark, melancholic, bittersweet
  • Pacing: variable, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative typically follows one or more couples or families as a catastrophic event unfolds around them. The plot interweaves the large-scale disaster with intimate, personal conflicts, showing how external chaos exacerbates internal tensions and forces profound moral and emotional choices.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here because they share a primary focus on the human emotional response to apocalypse rather than the mechanics of survival. They blend high-stakes external plots with heavy, relationship-driven drama, creating a specific, melancholic vibe of love tested by the end of the world.

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End movie poster

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End

2024
Parts Per Billion movie poster

Parts Per Billion

2014
Doomsday movie poster

Doomsday

2008
Extinction movie poster

Extinction

2015
Daybreak movie poster

Daybreak

1993
The Returned movie poster

The Returned

2014
Where Have All the People Gone movie poster

Where Have All the People Gone

1974
Deadland movie poster

Deadland

2009

Bleak but hopeful sci-fi movies like Parts Per Billion

Stories of profound devastation where humanity's resilience still flickers. If you liked the devastating yet ultimately hopeful tone of Parts Per Billion, this list features similar sci-fi films. These movies explore dark themes like war and disaster but maintain a fragile undercurrent of hope, offering a bittersweet rather than entirely bleak viewing experience for fans of heavy emotional storytelling.

  • bleak
  • hopeful
  • somber
  • bittersweet
  • melancholic
  • desperate
  • Tone: bittersweet, bleak, somber
  • Pacing: variable, slow build
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative journey is one of overwhelming loss and confronting harsh truths about the world and oneself. Characters are pushed to their absolute limits, and many may not survive, but the story often concludes with a small, symbolic act or discovery that implies the potential for renewal or the enduring value of human connection.

Why they belong together: These films are grouped by their unique tonal balance: they are unflinchingly dark and heavy, yet they avoid a completely hopeless ending. This creates a specific, resonant emotional experience—bittersweet and contemplative—that distinguishes them from purely tragic or triumphantly hopeful stories.

Look to the Light movie poster

Look to the Light

2024
Future World movie poster

Future World

2018
Parts Per Billion movie poster

Parts Per Billion

2014
Daylight's End movie poster

Daylight's End

2016
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within movie poster

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

2001
Blade Runner 2049 movie poster

Blade Runner 2049

2017
Vesper movie poster

Vesper

2022
Cargo movie poster

Cargo

2011

Every angle

Parts Per Billion (2014) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about Parts Per Billion in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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