The Social Reckoning drops 85% in third weekend after Sony pulls it from 2,000 theaters

Mixed · 2Aaron Sorkin's The Social Reckoning fell 85% at the domestic box office in its third weekend, dropping out of the top 10. 1 2 Centre · 1Collider reports that the film was removed from 2,000 theaters this week after underperforming in its first two weeks, and that Sony pulled it. 1 Mixed · 2Both outlets put the total gross at about $15 million worldwide, of which $9 million is domestic; Breitbart gives the overseas share as $6 million. 2 1

Centre · 1Collider says the film added around $210,000 over the weekend, less than Sony's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which took $230,000 despite playing in half as many theaters and having spent an additional 70 days in release. 1 Mixed · 2The budget is reported differently: Collider cites a reported $40 million, while Breitbart's John Nolte, in an opinion column, says Sorkin spent $50 million of Sony's money and that with promotion the cost is probably nearer $120 million, so Sony could lose about $100 million. 1 2 Mixed · 2Both compare it to the 2010 film The Social Network, which Collider says earned nearly $100 million domestically and more than $225 million worldwide, and which holds a 96% Rotten Tomatoes score and won Sorkin the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. 1 2

Centre · 1Collider says The Social Reckoning has a 54% Rotten Tomatoes score and mediocre reviews despite being pitched as an awards contender, and that audiences were surprised by how little screen time Jeremy Strong's Mark Zuckerberg gets; the leads are Mikey Madison and Jeremy Allen White. 1 Right · 1Nolte, writing in an opinion piece, calls the film "fascist" propaganda that urges corporations to censor ordinary people's opinions, an interpretation Collider's report does not share. He also groups it with Alex Gibney's documentary Musk, which he says has grossed $643,000 in three weekends, and contrasts both with You Can See Everything, a Theranos documentary that he says earned $45 million in two weekends. 2