As important as some of the messages in The social reckoning are, the film has drastically underperformed at the box office. By VarietyAaron’s Sorkin’s sequel to The Social Network It only grossed a measly $5.5 million last weekend against a budget that falls within the $30 to $42 million range. That would make it a certifiable flop that is costing Columbia Pictures (and Sony) quite a bit of money, especially compared to The Social NetworkOpening of 22 million dollars.
This isn’t entirely surprising given how lackluster reviews of the film have been. It currently has a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been widely criticized on social media. All of this could reflect that the public expects a proper sequel to The Social Networkwhich won three Oscars for its screenplay (written by Sorkin), editing and music. But I could talk about people who don’t quite fit Mikey Madison’s performance as whistleblower Frances Haugen or Jeremy Allen White’s turn as Wall Street Journal Reporter Jeff Horwitz. (Madison, for her part, indicated to The Hollywood Reporter that it was Sorkin’s vision as a director that prevented “authentically and faithfully representing[ing] a real person,” which he hopes to do in the future.) It probably didn’t help that Jesse Eisenberg, who played Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network – had no interest in being in the film, according to Sorkin himself.
Ironically, Blumhouse another mommy grossed an impressive $27.5 million this weekend, probably suggesting that people are more interested in horror novels than reminders of how social media has made everyone’s lives worse.
