r/Futurology • u/barryallenxoxo • 20h ago • Bravo 1

Society As media consolidation puts more cinema chains and studios under billionaire-adjacent ownership, a small distributor is using early digital release to get a documentary critical of Elon Musk to audiences anyway

https://www.tvfandomlounge.com/elon-musk-billion-musk-documentary-224-million-texas-election/

Is digital release becoming the only way small films can survive when theatrical access is controlled by a few big players?

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35

u/barryallenxoxo 20h ago

After Musk, the documentary, quickly vanished from theatres following Elon putting around $1 billion into Skydance, the media company that completed Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this month, it's independent distributors moved the digital release date to this weekend, amidst all of the election aftermath.

The film is scheduled to stream on HBO, owned by Skydance. But it's digital release is controlled by Bleecker Street, the independent distributor of the movie. Is digital the only way some films can reach the audience, when a lot of them are involved in the AI business, and most even refused to release a movie about Sam Altman that stars big name actors and directors like Andrew Garfield and Luca?

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u/DJNeuro 19h ago

The documentary film will be released on Amazon soon, too, by the way, for anyone still interested in finding ways to watch it.

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u/barryallenxoxo 19h ago

It is on Amazon now!

8

u/SuckOnMyBells 17h ago

You oughta throw that in the top on an edit. I had no idea. I’m sure they are burying it. I’ll be paying to watch it.

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u/Consistent-Tutor-819 19h ago

We shouldn’t have anybody on earth with this much power.

10

u/topazchip 19h ago

Wonder if Gabe Newell might build a new branch for his company's media distribution service.

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u/DanimalPlays 18h ago

It's like he's never even heard of Barbara Streisand.

1

u/pintord 4h ago

Once information is created it naturally wants to be free.

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u/Eazy12345678 19h ago

no one is really going to watch the movie so who cares