MuskAlex Gibney’s four-hour documentary about the titular tycoon and his growing power, is coming to VOD earlier than expected – but has all but disappeared from the landscape.
While some headlines this weekend suggested the film was being “pulled,” distributor Bleecker Street is simply preparing to announce a new plan that will give the film a somewhat shorter track in theaters and a longer one on VOD.
Initially scheduled for November 24 on paid platforms, the film will now be available on paid VOD on November 6. It will continue to be shown in theaters until then; after being broadcast on 60 screens last weekend, it will be broadcast in as yet undetermined numbers this weekend. Simultaneous theatrical performances after the VOD release are also possible, a company representative said.
Bleecker Street also reports that VOD pre-orders are strong; Indeed, an overview of Apple’s top 50 VOD orders for the current week includes only two films that have not yet been released, The Odyssey at No. 10 and Musk at No. 24. These films rank 1 and 2, respectively, on the company’s pre-order chart.
The film has grossed $650,000 in theaters since its Oct. 9 release, which equates to about 40,000 tickets sold — a figure admittedly low compared to many theaters’ expectations, but hardly unexpected for a four-hour investigative documentary. The 28-day theatrical screening window for a documentary before it goes to VOD is also not unusually truncated.
The film remains on track to debut on HBO platforms this winter, even though Musk associate David Ellison has now acquired the channel. The rise of VOD also extends the time many Americans can see the film in the event there is an attempt to censor or stop this release.
Gibney’s film examines how its subject gained so much power and how he expanded it in the era of Donald Trump via DOGE cuts, surveillance, media and broadband buyouts, and donations to the Republican Party. With the announcement of his billion-dollar investment in Skydance and his unprecedented contributions to swing the midterm elections in favor of the Republicans, Musk has become an increasingly central figure in the American political and media landscape.
As it is rolled out in theaters, Musk was also hit by social media bans as well as competition on theater screens from the doc phenomenon You can see everything, although comparing the two films would be like comparing a smoothie to a Hershey bar; each offers benefits in different ways.
Gn entert
