Distributor moves 'Musk' documentary's VOD date up to Nov. 6 while it stays in theaters
Bleecker Street has moved the paid VOD release of Alex Gibney's four-hour documentary "Musk" from Nov. 24 to Nov. 6, after a weekend of reports that the film was being "pulled." Coverage so far comes from two left-leaning entertainment outlets.
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The story, neutrally told
Left · 2Bleecker Street, the distributor of Alex Gibney's four-hour documentary "Musk," is moving the film's paid video-on-demand release up from Nov. 24 to Nov. 6, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Hollywood ReporterLC “Originally scheduled for a Nov. 24 debut on paid platforms, the movie will now come to paid VOD on Nov. 6.” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “Originally set to land on VOD on November 24, Bleecker Street moved the date to November 6.” Read at The A.V. Club ↗ Left · 2The change followed a weekend in which some headlines suggested the film was being "pulled"; The Hollywood Reporter said it is not being removed and that the distributor is preparing to announce a shorter theatrical run and a longer VOD run, while The A.V. Club described the weekend as one of "conspiracy theorizing" over the film's hobbled theatrical rollout. The Hollywood ReporterLC “While some headlines this weekend had suggested the movie was being “pulled,” distributor Bleecker Street is simply preparing to announce a new plan” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “After a weekend of conspiracy theorizing over the hobbled theatrical rollout of Musk” Read at The A.V. Club ↗ Left · 2The film will keep playing in theaters until the VOD date. It played on 60 screens last weekend, down from 472 the week before, and the number of screens this coming weekend has not been set; a company representative said simultaneous theatrical plays after the VOD release are possible. The Hollywood ReporterLC “after playing on 60 screens this past weekend it will be in an as-yet undetermined number this weekend. Simultaneous plays in theaters after the VOD release are also possible, a company representative said.” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “Musk played on 60 screens last weekend, down from 472 the week before” Read at The A.V. Club ↗
Left · 2The Hollywood Reporter says the film has grossed $650,000 in theaters since its Oct. 9 release, about 40,000 tickets, and calls a 28-day documentary window not unusually short; The A.V. Club calls the nationwide expansion disappointing, saying it opened against another tech-CEO documentary, "You Can See Everything," which beat box-office expectations. The Hollywood ReporterLC “The film has grossed $650,000 in theaters since its release on October 9, which works out to admissions of about 40,000 tickets sold” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s documentary shattered box-office expectations” Read at The A.V. Club ↗ Left · 2Bleecker Street says VOD preorders are strong: according to the Hollywood Reporter, in Apple's weekly top 50 VOD orders "Musk" is at No. 24 and "The Odyssey" at No. 10, the only two unreleased films, and they rank 1 and 2 on Apple's preorder chart. The Hollywood ReporterLC “Musk at No. 24. Those films land at 1 and 2, respectively, on the company’s preorder chart.” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “The distributor claims the movie is doing quite well in preorders.” Read at The A.V. Club ↗ Left · 2Both outlets note the film is still due on HBO platforms, now owned by David Ellison's company, and that the subject, Elon Musk, is reportedly investing $1 billion in Skydance; The Hollywood Reporter says the earlier VOD date lengthens the time Americans can see the film if any attempt to stop its release materialised, and The A.V. Club says concerns about the HBO Max debut remain. The Hollywood ReporterLC “The VOD move-up also extends the amount of time many Americans can see the film should any attempt to censor or stop that release materialize.” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗ The A.V. ClubLC “concerns about Musk‘s planned HBO Max debut remain” Read at The A.V. Club ↗
Left · 2The film has also met advertising obstacles: The A.V. Club reports it was barred from paid ads on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, with TikTok issuing a "permanent suspension," before the platforms restored the ads and said moderation systems had erred; The Hollywood Reporter refers to "social-media bans." Gibney's comment on the schedule was "See it while you can." The A.V. ClubLC “Musk was banned from running paid ads on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, the last of which hit the film with a “permanent suspension.””““See it while you can.”” Read at The A.V. Club ↗ The Hollywood ReporterLC “Musk has also been hit by social-media bans” Read at The Hollywood Reporter ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left2 outlets
- Framing
- Both outlets present the schedule change as a distributor strategy shift, not a suppression, while noting political and platform pressures around the film.
- Emphasis
- Hollywood Reporter stresses box-office context, strong preorders and the film's availability; The A.V. Club stresses the disappointing expansion, ad bans and lingering HBO Max concerns.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Neither gives Bleecker Street's own on-record statement beyond a representative and preorder claims; no right or centre outlets are included, and neither independently verifies the preorder figures.
- Charged language
- “conspiracy theorizing”“hobbled theatrical rollout”“permanent suspension”
- For example
-
“hardly being disappeared from the landscape” — The Hollywood Reporter
“Still, the conspiracy theories were somewhat deserved.” — The A.V. Club
Centre0 outlets
No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Right0 outlets
No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
What every side reports
- VOD release moved from Nov. 24 to Nov. 6
- Film played on 60 screens last weekend, down from 472
- Bleecker Street says preorders on Apple are strong
- Film is still slated for HBO platforms
- Film faced social-media ad restrictions
Where accounts differ
-
Whether the theatrical run was a failure or normal
- Left
- Hollywood Reporter: small but unsurprising for a four-hour doc, and the window is not unusually short; A.V. Club: a disappointing nationwide expansion.
Left2 articles
-
Yes, You Can Still See ‘Musk’ — Here’s What’s Happening With the Film’s Release Plan
Mixed Corrects the 'pulled' narrative by presenting the VOD move-up as a normal release adjustment, while hinting at censorship risk and political context.
-
Bleecker Street explains why Musk left theaters so quickly
Mixed Relays the distributor's explanation but says suspicions were 'somewhat deserved' given ad bans and HBO ownership worries; uses sardonic language about the subject.
Centre0 articles
No coverage yet.
Right0 articles
No coverage yet.
- 26 Oct 21:11 First The Hollywood ReporterLC Yes, You Can Still See ‘Musk’ — Here’s What’s Happening With the Film’s Release Plan
- 27 Oct 11:00 +13h 49m The A.V. ClubLC Bleecker Street explains why Musk left theaters so quickly
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.
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