Liberal Disaster: The Social Reckoning BOMBS With $5 Million Opening! Hollywood Lecture Movies FAIL

Overview

The presenter argues that Hollywood continues to back films he considers politically preachy, while audiences are losing interest in them.

The Social Reckoning

He cites The Social Reckoning, marketed as a follow-up to The Social Network, as an example. According to the video, the film opened to about $5.5 million against a $40 million production budget and placed fifth at the box office. The presenter predicts its earnings will fall sharply the following week.

He argues that marketing the film as a sequel is misleading because it has a different director and cast. In his view, it is better described as a separate film about Facebook. He says its argument—that Facebook’s algorithms helped fuel political extremism and the January 6 Capitol riot—makes it feel like a lecture.

The presenter says the film’s small audience rated it more favorably than critics did, but notes that some viewers were disappointed because it was not the sequel they expected.

Hollywood and audience interest

The presenter uses the film’s performance to argue that viewers are tired of political messaging in entertainment and have more alternatives, including YouTube, anime, and video games. He also says that box-office successes such as Spider-Man and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey do not demonstrate that Hollywood’s broader approach is working, since a few hits account for much of the industry’s revenue.

The Brave and the Bold

The presenter criticizes Hollywood’s hiring practices, pointing to Christina Hodson—whom he associates with Birds of Prey and The Flash—being hired to write The Brave and the Bold. He questions why studios continue to promote writers whose previous work he considers unsuccessful and suggests the film could affect James Gunn’s future at DC.

Contributors

• Presenter: YellowFlash 2 (the speaker is not named in the subtitles)
• Other contributors: None identified