Critical documentary “Musk” removed from theaters after just two weeks

Despite his critical praise, Alex Gibney’s Musk documentary about the world’s richest man ends its theatrical run after just two weeks, according to entertainment news site Showbiz411.

When it was released on October 9, Musk was shown in just four theaters in two cities across the country, but that number grew to more than 450 by the second (and ultimately final) week of its theatrical run, although the total take, according to Gizmodowas a paltry $571,902, making it “a total flop.”

But could there be more at play here than simple box office math?

Musk Director Gibney is no stranger to taking on the rich and powerful in cinema, with previous credits including this one in 2005. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room – about one of the largest corporate fraud cases in American history. Gibney then released Citizen K in 2019, exploring the alliance between Vladimir Putin and a Russian expatriate billionaire.

And ahead of the film’s release, SpaceXAI CEO Elon Musk himself publicly attacked Gibney and the film, calling the director “horrible human” after calling the documentary a gathering of people with “an interest in working.” Meanwhile, Musk’s lawyer Alex Spiro sent the production team a threatening legal letterputting them “under formal notice” even before the film was released.

Meanwhile, on Reddit, users are speculating about abrupt cancellations of screenings: “I hate to say it’s a conspiracy, but what is it?“Inexplicably, TikTok also chose to deactivate the documentary’s advertising accountallegedly for “political content” contrary to their usage policies, but access was restored 48 hours later.

If you missed the abridged theatrical performance and want to watch Musk yourself, it’s now available to stream on Prime Video and Fandango.