Video games pose a very real threat to Hollywood’s box office hopes.
Modern games are more interactive and snazzier than their predecessors, digitally enslaving Gen Z in the process. “Netflix and Chill” doesn’t come close.
Studios surveyed the landscape and said, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” Or, in this case, leverage their IPs for serious coin.
“A Minecraft Movie” earned a <a href="https://variety.com/2025/film/box-office/minecraft-movie-box-office-success-blockbuster-1236361148/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whopping $313 million</a> across the globe in its opening weekend, pumping life into 2025’s sad theatrical start.
<div id="attachment_906797" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906797" class="size-large wp-image-906797" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585-864x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 30: (L to R) Sebastian Hansen, Jennifer Coolidge, Jack Black and Jason Momoa attend the World Premiere of &quot;A Minecraft Movie&quot; at Cineworld Leicester Square on March 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/WireImage)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207107585.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Jed Cullen/Dave Benett/WireImage</div>
The smash comes on the heels of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” series, the burgeoning “Five Nights at Freddy’s” franchise, 2023’s “Super Mario Bros.” animated reboot and 2022’s “Uncharted” with Tom Holland. Let’s not forget 2021’s “Free Guy” with Ryan Reynolds as a lovable NPC (non-player character). The latter wasn’t based on any one video game but sprang from a sensibility gamers understood.
We’ve come a long way from wobbly video game adaptations like “Super Mario Bros.” (1993), “Max Payne” (2008) and “Alone in the Dark” (2005).
What changed? Studios started taking the source material seriously, expending big budgets to recreate the look and feel of the games in question. It helps that CGI advancements make it all possible, visually speaking. The sight of John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins fleeing rubbery dinosaurs in 1993’s “Super Mario Bros.” still makes us wince.
Studios have hired A-listers like Jack Black, Jim Carrey, Mark Wahlberg and Chris Pratt to bring video games to stunning life.
They also didn’t make them woke or forget the core audience in question – boys and young men. Disney spent years transforming the “Star Wars” saga into a feminist-friendly franchise with shows like “The Acolyte.”
How did that work out again?
<div id="attachment_906779" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906779" class="size-large wp-image-906779" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-1024x576.jpg" alt="Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Sebastian Hansen in ‘A Minecraft Movie’. Photo by Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures/Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. IMDB." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-1536x865.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-17-PM-8107-2048x1153.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures. Copyright 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. IMDB.</div>
It’s notable that “A Minecraft Movie” features two key female characters and gives them little to do. The film’s creative team checked those Identity Politics boxes but neglected to give the stars any sense of agency.
Still, the film’s cast and crew didn’t leave longtime fans behind. The new video game movies efficiently work elements of the games into the on-screen adventures. Those blocky swords in “A Minecraft Movie” are just one of many familiar sights for hardcore fans.
That, plus a wave of “easter eggs” make gamers feel seen. And they’re telling their friends all about it.
Black’s performance in “Minecraft” shouldn’t be overlooked. He’s like the Energizer Bunny on screen, but with even more energy. He also promoted the film without going full or even the semi-Zegler. He praised the feature as a fun, upbeat adventure that could heal a <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jason-momoa-jack-black-minecraft-movie-jennifer-coolidge-1236175713/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fractured nation</a>.
<blockquote>We’ve got to work together, my God. There’s so much violence and war and hatred. And that’s what I love about this movie — there’s a lot of love in it and there’s a lot of creativity. There is some anger and violence too, but in the end it’s about friendship and working together to make [the world] a better place.</blockquote>
Black has been a vocal Obama supporter in the past, even shooting a video to support the Democrat’s Iran policies – which haven’t aged well, to say the least.
He hasn’t been as loud about the political scene in recent years. He even <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/blindsided-jack-black-axes-tour-after-bandmate-cheers-trump-assassination-attempt" target="_blank" rel="noopener">temporarily shelved his Tenacious D band</a> when fellow rocker Kyle Gass wished for President Donald Trump’s assassination on stage.
<div id="attachment_906787" style="width: 859px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906787" class="size-large wp-image-906787" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384-849x576.jpg" alt="LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 30: Jack Black attends the World Premiere of &quot;A Minecraft Movie&quot; at the Cineworld Leicester Square on March 30, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures)" width="849" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384-849x576.jpg 849w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384-300x204.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384-768x521.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207617384.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 849px) 100vw, 849px" />Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures</div>
Carrey similarly <a href="https://news.artnet.com/art-world/art-industry-news-february-23-2021-1945969" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stopped his barrage of hard-Left, anti-GOP paintings</a> in recent years. Meanwhile, Reynolds and Pratt are known for their upbeat, mostly apolitical personas.
Not every recent video game movie snagged “Minecraft”-sized numbers. Last year’s “Borderlands” debacle got ignored by gamers and torched by film critics.
The smart 2023 drama “Grand Turismo” offered a novel way to bring the driving game to the big screen, but audiences didn’t bite in “Minecraft”-sized numbers ($44 million US).
Still, the recent hits have given Hollywood exactly what it needs – young movie goers eager to share their thoughts on social media. “A Minecraft Movie” became a meme sensation in real time, with users producing “Chicken Jockey” gags on TikTok and elsewhere.
If you have to ask, you either never played the game or don’t have children under the age of 16.
Those memes made “Minecraft” an “event,” much like the 2023 “Barbie” movie. Women gathered their friends together to see the film wearing their best, “Barbie”-like outfits.
Now, teens are devouring “Minecraft” movie memes and celebrating them in theaters en masse. That’s exactly what studios love to see, even if some young fans are getting <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/teen-boys-trashing-theaters-causing-mayhem-at-a-minecraft-movie-showings?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=Entertainment&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Teen+Boys+Trashing+Theaters%2C+Causing+Mayhem+At+%E2%80%98A+Minecraft+Movie%E2%80%99+Showings">carried away with their exuberance</a>. Those viral clips, ironically, will only build on the film’s popularity.
<div id="attachment_906791" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-906791" class="size-large wp-image-906791" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332-864x576.jpg" alt="THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON -- Episode 2117 -- Pictured: (l-r) Actor Jack Black and host Jimmy Fallon during the &quot;Minecraft Claw Machine Challenge&quot; on Monday, March 31, 2025 -- (Photo by: Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2207397332.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty Images</div>
There’s another factor here, one that plugs in seamlessly to the “Minecraft” ethos. Many modern video games offer a canvas for inspired young minds. “Fortnite,” for example, allows gamers to choose from any number of “skins” and weapons. Players can team with friends across the street – or the globe – to create their own adventures.
They’re not just part of the action, they’re making the games up as they go. “Minecraft” might be the ultimate example of that ethos. The pixel-friendly game demands creativity from start to finish.
Movies aren’t interactive, at least for now. Films like “A Minecraft Movie” tap into that sense of self-directed adventure, the kind that makes video game adaptations into blockbuster hits.
The only downside for Hollywood? Studios will learn the wrong lessons from “A Minecraft Movie” and we’ll suffer through a few more “Borderlands” in the coming years.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-11-Apr-2025-03-09-PM-2616

‘A Minecraft Movie’ Smashes Box Office … And A Few Theaters

'A Minecraft Movie' Smashes Box Office ... And A Few Theaters

Entertainment

Gaming

Hollywood

Jack Black

Jason Momoa

Movie Theaters

Movies

Video Games

As “A Minecraft Movie” continues to dominate at the box office heading into its second week, there are reports of disorderly conduct as teen boys flock to theaters and act out trends circulating on social media.
These videos include moviegoers filming themselves throwing popcorn and other food and drink items and, in one instance, being kicked out for bringing a live chicken to a showing, per <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/minecraft-audiences-trashing-theaters-chaos-1236187217/">The Hollywood Reporter</a>.
This behavior has led to warnings from theaters about conduct, including threats of involving law enforcement. One New Jersey theater forbade anyone under 18 from attending any showings without an adult present despite the film being rated PG. 
“Large groups of unsupervised boys engaged in completely unacceptable behavior, including vandalism. We also received multiple complaints from other moviegoers who were trying to enjoy the film with their families,” Township Theatre in Washington Township, New Jersey, posted in a social media update. 
“Moving forward: Any minors wishing to see The Minecraft Movie MUST be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. Unaccompanied groups of boys will not be admitted,” the statement concluded.
The bad behavior is usually aligned with the viral “chicken jockey” scene, which features Jack Black’s character Steve yelling “chicken jockey!” when a baby zombie appears on screen riding a chicken like a horse. This precedes Jason Momoa’s character, Garrett “The Garbage Man” Garrison, fighting the zombie.
This moment has inspired moviegoers to shout the line while jumping on theater seats, screaming, and throwing popcorn, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/10/entertainment/minecraft-obsessed-teen-boys-are-destroying-movie-theaters/">noted</a>.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Minecraft Movie is Ruining Theaters 😳" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7ZzIq9D3OqA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Theater employees have also been posting images of what theaters look like after a movie showing. “These teens trashed every single theater playing this movie and since we have so many showings we had to clean them in less than 30 minutes as we had crowds outside the theater lined up to go inside!” one person <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZzIq9D3OqA">shared</a> in a YouTube video posted earlier this week, noting that some attendees are being kicked out or being forced to clean up their own messes.
“A Minecraft Movie” has grossed more than $185 million domestically and $380 million globally in just six days, outperforming expectations and putting it on pace to surpass “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
Warner Bros. has not issued a statement on the chicken jockey mayhem as of Friday.

Minecraft Movie

Teen Boys Trashing Theaters, Causing Mayhem At ‘A Minecraft Movie’ Showings

Teen Boys Trashing Theaters, Causing Mayhem At 'Minecraft Movie' Showings

teens

U.S.

MixCollage-01-Mar-2025-01-46-PM-7816

‘Brothers After War’: An Interview With Gary Sinise And Jake Rademacher

Afghanistan

Documentaries

Gary Sinise

interview

Iraq War

Marines

Morning Wire

PTSD

Soldiers

U.S. Army

U.S. Military

U.S. Navy

Gone are the days of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/entertainment">It’s a Wonderful Life</a>” wholesomeness for Christmas Day in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hollywood">Hollywood</a> community. 
This year’s theatrical releases for December 25 include a film being touted for its explicit sexual content and a gothic horror <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/movies">film</a> remake about a vampire who becomes obsessed with a young woman and takes over her sleep, giving her graphic nightmares.
First up, “Babygirl” starring Nicole Kidman has been generating buzz ever since it was first released following the Toronto International Film Festival in September. The movie’s <a href="https://www.babygirlfilm.com/synopsis/">description</a> says, “A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern.”
Kidman, 57, has talked at length about filming the erotic movie. She said the sheer number of sex scenes became overwhelming. “There was an enormous amount of sharing and trust and then frustration. It’s like, ‘Don’t touch me,’” she said, per <a href="https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/films/news/nicole-kidman-babygirl-interview-harris-dickinson-antonio-banderas-b2634689.html">The Independent</a>. 
“There were times when we were shooting where I was like, ‘I don’t want to orgasm any more. Don’t come near me. I hate doing this. I don’t care if I am never touched again in my life! I’m over it.’ It was so present all the time for me that it was almost like a burnout,” Kidman added.
The actress <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/nicole-kidman-erotic-thriller-babygirl-freeing-didnt-feel-exploited-1236124981/">said</a> “Babygirl” is &#8220;obviously about sex, it’s about desire, it’s about your inner thoughts, it’s about secrets, it’s about marriage, it’s about truth, power, consent&#8221; while speaking at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
“This is one woman’s story and this is, I hope, a very liberating story. It’s told by a woman, through her gaze — Halina [Reijn] wrote it and she directed it — and that’s to me what made it so unique because suddenly I was going to be in the hands of a woman with this material. It was very dear to our shared instincts and very freeing.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Babygirl | Official Trailer 2 HD | A24" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9XXoNB0lVGo?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Another movie having a Christmas Day release is “Nosferatu,” a horror film starring Johnny Depp’s 25-year-old daughter Lily-Rose Depp. 
The movie, written and directed by Robert Eggers, is a remake of the 1922 silent film by the same name and both are based on Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” novel from 1897.
The description calls it, “A gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.”
Depp described how she prepared for the leading female role, telling <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/lily-rose-depp-nosferatu-demonic-sexual-awakening-bible-1235075698/">IndieWire</a> that Eggers encouraged her to read the short story “Péhor” by French author Remy de Gourmont to understand the character.
The actress said de Gourmont’s occult writing was like a “Bible” for her.
“Rob is incredibly well-researched, famously, and so he sent me a lot of references, a lot of movies that had inspired him for the role. He also gave me this text to read, which is called ‘Péhor’, and it’s kind of like a story about a young religious girl who has a sexual awakening love story with a demon,” Depp told the outlet. 
“So, of course, that was quite pertinent for me. I used that kind of like a Bible and found myself reading it again and again as we were shooting.”
<a class="c-link" href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" data-sk="tooltip_parent">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a>
There are other, less provocative offerings at the movie theater during the Christmas holiday for families hoping for some leisure time, including Disney’s newly released “Mufasa” and Paramount&#8217;s action-adventure comedy “Sonic 3.” 
But it’s all too telling that sex and horror movies are being released on one of the most important Christian holidays of the year.

Nosferatu

Hollywood’s Christmas Day Releases: Glorified Porn And A ‘Sexy Vampire’ Horror Film

Hollywood's Christmas Day Releases: Glorified Porn And A 'Sexy Vampire' Horror Film

Christmas

Horror Movies

Christmas traditions never change.
Open presents. Sip steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Suffer through your wayward uncle’s off-color jokes. And, when the festivities have drawn to a close, hit the local theater.
Hollywood uncorks its “Oscar-bait” films this time of the year, and the December crop is heartier than usual. The best of the best? A look back at the singer/songwriter who shaped the soundtrack of the 1960s.
<h3>“<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11563598/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Complete Unknown</a>” (December 25)</h3>
<div id="attachment_847611" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-847611" class="wp-image-847611 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-22-AM-4289-1024x576.jpg" alt="Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown” (2024). Photo by Macall Polay. Searchlight Pictures. Veritas Entertainment. The Picture Company. IMDB." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-22-AM-4289-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-22-AM-4289-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-22-AM-4289-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-22-AM-4289-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-22-AM-4289-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Timothée Chalamet in “A Complete Unknown” (2024). Photo by Macall Polay. Searchlight Pictures. Veritas Entertainment. The Picture Company. IMDB.</div>
Musical biopics became so clichéd, they even made a movie about it. “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” shredded the genre, and rightfully so. Director James Mangold’s “A Complete Unknown” can’t help but recreate a few of those tics, like key characters turning on the TV just in time to hear, “President Kennedy has been shot.” What timing!
That’s where the Dewey Cox comparisons come to a screeching halt.
Timothée Chalamet studied for six years to sound like folk icon Bob Dylan, and those sessions more than paid off. He brings the inscrutable star to life without feeling like a cheap impersonation. 
The title teases we may never know what makes Dylan tick, but the biopic captures why he mattered to the roiling ‘60s. It’s the music, of course, plus beguiling lyrics that resonated with a generation. it’s refreshing to watch an artist stay true to his principles no matter the era, not bend to the pop culture winds. How many modern stars can say the same?
<h3>“<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8999762/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_1_tt_7_nm_0_in_0_q_the%2520brut" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Brutalist</a>” (December 20)</h3>
<div id="attachment_847561" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-847561" class="wp-image-847561 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-29-AM-8302-864x576.jpg" alt="Guy Pearce and Adrien Brody in “The Brutalist” (2024). A24 Films. Brookstreet Pictures. Kaplan Morrison. Intake Films. IMDB." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-29-AM-8302-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-29-AM-8302-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-29-AM-8302-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-29-AM-8302-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-29-AM-8302-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-29-AM-8302-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-29-AM-8302-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce in “The Brutalist” (2024). A24 Films. Brookstreet Pictures. Kaplan Morrison. Intake Films. IMDB.</div>
Quick — who wants a three-plus hour look at an architect’s combustible life? As sales pitches go, it’s a dud. Yet director Brady Corbet (“Vox Lux”) brings so much energy to the fictional life of László Tóth that the film proves mesmerizing.
Adrien Brody’s Tóth, a Hungarian Jew who escapes the Nazi’s clutches, comes to America eager to forge a new life. His beloved wife (Felicity Jones) awaits back home, leaving him to create a career that will allow them to reunite.
He’s aided by a mercurial millionaire (Guy Pearce, excellent), but their bond fractures over time. Tóth’s journey speaks volumes about the immigrant experience and the artistic mindset, not to mention the egos behind the characters.
The word “epic” is tossed around glibly in Hollywood, but “The Brutalist” is one of the few modern tales that deserves the label. Yes, that running time factors in, but it’s the scope of Corbet’s storytelling ambition that matters.
Brody is spectacular, suggesting he could add a second Best Actor trophy to his mantle come Oscar night. His performance anchors a fiercely original tale not soon forgotten.
<h3>“<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1262426/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wicked</a>” (In Theaters Now)</h3>
<div id="attachment_847565" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-847565" class="size-large wp-image-847565" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-37-AM-2933-864x576.jpg" alt="Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked” (2024). Photo by Universal Pictures. Copyright: Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. Universal Pictures. Marc Platt Productions. SKY Studios. IMDB." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-37-AM-2933-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-37-AM-2933-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-37-AM-2933-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-37-AM-2933-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-37-AM-2933-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-37-AM-2933-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-37-AM-2933-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in “Wicked” (2024). Photo by Universal Pictures. Copyright: Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved. Universal Pictures. Marc Platt Productions. SKY Studios. IMDB.</div>
Forget that <a href="https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2024/11/27/holding-space-and-hefty-tears-why-are-people-talking-about-the-wicked-press-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cringe-worthy press tour</a>. 
Forgive how the film’s title hides that this is but part one of a two-part saga. (“Wicked: For Good” arrives next November)
“Wicked” offers everything we love about big-screen musical adaptations. It all starts with Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, who bring bold, Broadway-worthy voices to Glinda and Elphaba, AKA the Wicked Witch of the West.
The story remains provocative given the “Wizard of Oz” source material. That wicked witch wasn’t always so foul. How she curdled into the film’s signature ghoul is a tortured path with a touch of heartbreak.
The Broadway musical supplied the memorable songs, but director Jon M. Chu adapted the show with energy, wit, and memorable moments. No, the great Jeff Goldblum’s voice isn’t up to the challenge as Oz, but in every other way “Wicked” deserves applause.
<h3>“<a href="https://bestchristmaspageantever.movie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Best Christmas Pageant Ever</a>” (In Theaters)</h3>
<div id="attachment_847577" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-847577" class="size-large wp-image-847577" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-05-AM-1575-1024x576.jpg" alt="The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024). Dallas Jenkins. Lionsgate. Media Capital Technologies. Kingdom Story Company. IMDB." width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-05-AM-1575-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-05-AM-1575-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-05-AM-1575-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-05-AM-1575-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-05-AM-1575-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024). Dallas Jenkins. Lionsgate. Media Capital Technologies. Kingdom Story Company. IMDB.</div>
The best Christmas movies forget one critical element: Christ. Think “A Christmas Story,” “Elf” and “Christmas Vacation.” We love ‘em all, but it’s refreshing to see a holiday comedy acknowledge the reason for the season.
“Pageant,” based on the 1972 book of the same name, follows a group of wayward kids as they commandeer a small town’s Christmas gala. It’s a recipe for disaster, unless one uber-patient mom (Judy Greer, marvelous as always) can teach the kids why Christmas matters in the first place.
<h3><a href="https://get.dailywire.com/gift-guide/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CHECK OUT THE DAILY WIRE HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE</a></h3>
Sweet and soulful, “Pageant” delivers early laughs that set the story in motion. From there, look to young Beatrice Schneider as Beth, the unofficial leader of the cruel Herdman clan. Her transformation supplies “Pageant” with its big, beating heart.
<h3>“<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21823606/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1">A Real Pain</a>” (In Theaters) </h3>
<div id="attachment_847593" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-847593" class="size-large wp-image-847593" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-13-AM-4859-864x576.jpg" alt="Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in “A Real Pain” (2024). Searchlight Pictures. Topic Studios. IMDB." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-13-AM-4859-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-13-AM-4859-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-13-AM-4859-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-13-AM-4859-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-13-AM-4859-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-13-AM-4859-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-10-13-AM-4859-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg in “A Real Pain” (2024). Searchlight Pictures. Topic Studios. IMDB.</div>
Actor-turned-director Jesse Eisenberg has his finger on the zeitgeist. His second directorial effort follows two Jewish cousins as they travel to Poland to visit their late grandmother’s hometown.
They’re part of a tour designed to connect Jewish travelers to their cultural past, which includes stops at a concentration camp among other emotionally charged locations.
Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play the squabbling cousins. Culkin is the wild child, someone who loves to stir things up no matter the setting. Eisenberg adores his cousin but simultaneously wants to wring his neck.
Audiences can relate, although Culkin’s performance is sparking awards consideration, and for good reason.
“A Real Pain” is bittersweet, moving, and filled with gentle truths about the human condition. Eisenberg performs a balancing act throughout, letting us care for two very different souls without shoving the real-life trauma of their heritage into the background.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-20-Dec-2024-09-13-AM-9997

‘Tis The Season: 5 Films To Watch This Christmas

'Tis The Season: 5 Films To Watch This Christmas

Christmas movies

Film Reviews

movie

Actor, producer, and writer Allen Covert says he spent his “entire adult life” working at Happy Madison, the Adam Sandler shingle that gave us “Happy Gilmore,” “Grown Ups” and more comic hits.
“It’s the only real job I’ve ever had,” said Covert.
Now, following his 60th birthday, he’s decided it’s time to branch out on his own. Covert has a new Hollywood goal after breaking free from Happy Madison – bring back the bawdy comedy.
Covert’s expansive credits include “Little Nicky,” “The Wrong Missy,” “Murder Mystery,” “Hubie Halloween” along with his many comic cameos in Sandler smashes like &#8220;The Wedding Singer,&#8221; “Happy Gilmore,” and “The Waterboy.”
<div id="attachment_829489" style="width: 460px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-829489" class="wp-image-829489 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/MV5BMTg3OTUwNzA3M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNjY0MzA3._V1_.jpg" alt="Allen Covert, Adam Sandler, and Drew Barrymore in &quot;The Wedding Singer.&quot; (1998). Juno Pix. New Line Cinema. Robert Simonds Productions. IMDB." width="450" height="302" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/MV5BMTg3OTUwNzA3M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNjY0MzA3._V1_.jpg 450w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/MV5BMTg3OTUwNzA3M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNjY0MzA3._V1_-300x201.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px" />Allen Covert, Adam Sandler, and Drew Barrymore in &#8220;The Wedding Singer.&#8221; (1998). Juno Pix. New Line Cinema. Robert Simonds Productions. IMDB.</div>
Covert’s comedy resume speaks for itself, but he also has a focus group of four to fall back on. His children.
“They watch old comedies. They literally say to me, ‘Why don’t they make movies like this anymore?’” he said.
They can’t blame Daddy for the comedy drought. Even though fans tell him how much they love his comedies, Covert says, “Not one studio is making one right now. They’re not making comedy, period.”
It’s an exaggeration, but only a slight one. Big-screen comedies are on the decline, with most of the funny stuff heading straight to streaming. Think this year’s “Ricky Stanicky” (Prime Video) or the upcoming “Dear Santa” (Paramount+).
<div id="attachment_829503" style="width: 495px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-829503" class="wp-image-829503 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/MV5BMTM4NDk2NDY5MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMDg1MDU3._V1_.jpg" alt="2536. Alex (Allen Covert) shows his grandma Lilly (Doris Roberts) how to play &quot;Demonik,&quot; the video game he has secretly created. Photo Credit: Darren Michaels. TM and copyright 2005 Level 1 Entertainment LLC. All rights reserved. Not for sale or duplication. Twentieth Century Fox. Happy Madison. IMDB." width="485" height="314" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/MV5BMTM4NDk2NDY5MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMDg1MDU3._V1_.jpg 485w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/MV5BMTM4NDk2NDY5MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwMDg1MDU3._V1_-300x194.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 485px) 100vw, 485px" />Allen Covert and Doris Roberts in &#8216;Grandma&#8217;s Boy&#8217;. Photo Credit: Darren Michaels. TM and copyright 2005 Level 1 Entertainment LLC. All rights reserved. Twentieth Century Fox. Happy Madison. IMDB.</div>
Covert grew up on bawdy teen comedies like “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” Their rebellious shtick made Covert and his pals howl. It also gave them a common cultural touchpoint. Now, the veteran film producer laments that Gen Zers lack a similar release valve.
“My daughter just graduated high school. [Her generation] hasn’t had a single comedy that’s theirs. Four years of high school. Not one movie they can look back on and go, ‘Remember when we all saw, ‘Can’t Hardly Wait?’ Now, they get ‘Kissing Booth.’”
The latter is a Netflix original. Covert has no problem with the streaming giant, having worked repeatedly with the platform in recent years. He says nothing can replace the theatrical experience.
“There’s something very bonding about sitting in a room with strangers and laughing your a**es off,” he said. “It’s different than sitting at home with three of your friends.”
<div id="attachment_829473" style="width: 877px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-829473" class="wp-image-829473 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-1306440-867x576.jpg" alt="" width="867" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-1306440-867x576.jpg 867w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-1306440-300x199.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-1306440-768x510.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-1306440.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 867px) 100vw, 867px" />Allen Covert and Beefy act in a scene from &#8220;Little Nicky.&#8221; (Photo by M. Aronowitz/New Line/Newsmakers)</div>
The veteran comedy producer (“Grown Ups”) and occasional star (“Grandma’s Boy”) wants to do something about it.
So, where did all the comedies go? Covert points the finger at several culprits, including the invincible Iron Man.
“IP and big-budget blockbusters,” he said. “Everyone is like, we want Marvel films where we can create our universe and every movie makes $500 million to a billion dollars,” he said. “Comedies fell by the wayside at studios.”
The Hollywood groupthink stifles genres that fall out of favor, or as he put it, a “small group of people who pick what gets bought.”
Another reason for the big screen comedy vacuum is obvious to most cultural observers. The new woke rules prevent certain jokes and topics from making the final cut.
“That’s 1,000 percent true,” Covert said without hesitation.
<div id="attachment_829481" style="width: 871px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-829481" class="wp-image-829481 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-509577442-861x576.jpg" alt="" width="861" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-509577442-861x576.jpg 861w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-509577442-300x201.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-509577442-768x514.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-509577442.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 861px) 100vw, 861px" />THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO &#8212; Episode 3062 &#8212; Pictured: (l-r) Comedian Allen Covert during an interview with host Jay Leno on December 16, 2005 &#8212; (Photo by: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)</div>
That explains why some comedy actors, like <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2024/09/12/will-ferrell-snl-drag-janet-reno/75192512007/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Will Ferrell</a> and <a href="https://variety.com/2019/film/festivals/berlin-film-festival-jonah-hill-wants-to-challenge-traditional-masculinity-1203134534/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jonah Hill</a>, have apologized for their jokes in recent years.
“If you made a really horrible joke in the past that’s blatantly racist and discriminatory everyone should apologize for that,” he said. “If you made a comedy that’s maybe gotten a little less palatable to the community over time, who cares? I’ll never apologize for a joke.”
“If you do something wrong you get your ass out there and apologize,” he added.
Covert is that rare Hollywood conservative, but he’s been able to produce, write, and co-star in films for years without punishment.
“I’ve never experienced any type of, ‘He’s a conservative. We can’t work with him.’ I was never the lead guy … I was part of a company that was hugely successful,” he said of Happy Madison and his longtime collaborator, Sandler. “My experience in Hollywood as a conservative is probably different than others.”
<div id="attachment_829483" style="width: 819px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-829483" class="size-large wp-image-829483" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-456306578-809x576.jpg" alt="" width="809" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-456306578-809x576.jpg 809w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-456306578-300x214.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-456306578-768x547.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/11/GettyImages-456306578.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 809px) 100vw, 809px" />MALIBU, CA &#8211; SEPTEMBER 28: Actors Adam Sandler and Allen Covert attend Rock4EB, Malibu, with Jackson Browne &amp; David Spade sponsored by Suja Juice &amp; Sabra Hummus at Private Residence on September 28, 2014 in Malibu, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)</div>
Covert has several scripts in near-ready shape for his new endeavor, but he’s still meeting some resistance behind the scenes.
“’What’s the hook?,’ they ask. ‘It’s kids having fun in high school. That’s the hook,” he said. “Kids need this … kids are depressed and anxious. Everyone’s telling them the world’s ending. I wanna tell kids, ‘Have fun … worry about the world ending when you’re 25.”
He still faces an uphill battle despite his comedy resume.
“A lot of people are ready for this. I just don’t think the people in charge are right now,” he said, noting the swirling winds of change in Hollywood haven’t helped. “It’s such a confusing upheaval time in the business. I don’t think they’re able to concentrate on what people wanna see.”
Covert, whose cult hit “Grandma’s Boy” has him recognized in places as far away as South Africa, said he’s ready to meet the pent-up demand for the next great teen comedy.
“I make raw, crazy movies. I make sweet movies — whatever kind of movie needs to be made.”
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
<h3><a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*jtghwp*_gcl_au*ODQ1NjYzNTg2LjE3Mjg5MDk3OTE.*_ga*MTc2NzM0NDQ2NS4xNzI4OTA5Nzkx*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTczMDEyMDgwOS40OS4xLjE3MzAxMjA4MzkuMzAuMC4w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MATT WALSH&#8217;S &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; NOW STREAMING ON DAILYWIRE+</a></h3>

Netflix Special Screening Of “”The Out-Laws””

‘Grandma’s Boy’ Star Wants Raunchy Comedies Back On The Big Screen

'Grandma’s Boy' Star Wants Raunchy Comedies Back On The Big Screen

actors

Adam Sandler

Comedy

Netflix

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/matt-walsh">Matt Walsh</a>’s documentary on the grift of the DEI industry remained in the top ten at the box office this weekend, coming in at number seven nationwide as compared to other major studio films. “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/am-i-racist">Am I Racist?</a>” debuted last weekend at number four.
The movie also broke $9 million in total gross revenue, according to <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/2024W38/">Box Office Mojo</a>. The Daily Wire podcaster posted about this achievement on X, noting that despite the film’s huge success, not a single mainstream critic has reviewed “Am I Racist?” yet.
“After our second weekend: &#8216;Am I Racist?&#8217; remains in the box office top 10, it’s the top grossing documentary of the year, top 5 political doc in the last decade, earned 3x its production budget, and our total gross moves us into the top 40 for all docs, all time. And counting,” Walsh shared. 
“Still not a single review from a single mainstream publication though,” he continued in a follow up. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
After our second weekend: “Am I Racist?” remains in the box office top 10, it’s the top grossing documentary of the year, top 5 political doc in the last decade, earned 3x its production budget, and our total gross moves us into the top 40 for all docs, all time. And counting.
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1838013539002282075?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Every film that came out ahead of “Am I Racist?” this weekend was playing on more screens, sometimes twice as many as Walsh&#8217;s film. 
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726313279401000&amp;usg=AOvVaw115_qPFFEePDP86-Fvo-Vd">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
The documentary currently has a 98% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes from more than 1,000 verified users, making it Certified Hot per the review website’s parameters. It has a 73% critic’s score from the reviewers who dared to make their opinions known. YouTube star Jeremy Jahns came under fire from fans when he posted his positive review. 
“Matt Walsh is surprisingly funny,” Jahns said in his <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/youtuber-jeremy-jahns-ripped-for-daring-to-review-am-i-racist">review</a>, adding that he had he had a “good time and some good laughs” while watching it.
Podcast host Joe Rogan had a similar reaction. “Your movie is really funny. It’s really funny,” Rogan told Walsh during an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/joe-rogan-tells-matt-walsh-that-am-i-racist-was-laugh-out-loud-hysterically-funny">interview</a> last week. “By myself, laughing out loud hysterically today,” he went on. “I watched it in the sauna, I watched it in the gym. … It’s one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a long time because there’s so many moments in it that are so uncomfortable.”
In an X post last week, Walsh detailed some of the reactions he got from mainstream critics who were sent advance copies of the movie to review. He described getting “a flurry of unprofessional emails from independent critics who were enraged we’d even ask them to review the film.”
“One of them wrote that he won’t waste any ‘professional time’ on a movie opening in over 1,500 theaters because I was involved,” Walsh wrote alongside a screenshot of the reply.
Another critic replied, “You’d have to strap me to a chair like Malcolm McDowell to get me to watch this thing,” while a third said, “Ew. Take me off of this list.”
“This isn’t a mistake. You’d be hard-pressed to find another film that opened in &gt;1,500 theaters that was completely snubbed by mainstream critics. If ‘Am I Racist?’ were terrible, these outlets could have reviewed it &amp; trashed it. But the reality is they’re afraid of it,” he concluded.
“Am I Racist?” is currently showing in theaters. Get your tickets now at <a href="http://amiracist.com">amiracist.com</a>.

Am I Racist?

‘Am I Racist?’ Still In Top 10 At Box Office, Surpasses $9M In Earnings

'Am I Racist?' Still In Top 10 At Box Office, Surpasses $9M In Earnings

Am I Racist

Matt Walsh

Politics

The Daily Wire

Aside from taking my word for it, there are a few different ways you can decide whether my new film &#8220;<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Am I Racist?</a>&#8221; is worth seeing in theaters. You can look at the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, where we&#8217;re sitting at 99% audience rating — what Rotten Tomatoes calls &#8220;Verified Fresh.” That means that 99% of the people who actually watched the movie — the verified audience — liked it. So, you can look at that or you can look at the box office returns, which put us in the top 5 of all films in the genre released in the past decade, and the top 4 this weekend. Or you could watch the interviews and trailers and behind-the-scenes videos.
But if you really want to know how effective the film is, there&#8217;s an even better, much simpler option. You can just take a look at what professional, mainstream movie critics are saying about the film. You can go to websites like Time and The New Yorker and IndieWire and Rolling Stone and The New York Times and the AP, head over to their movie reviews section, and search for &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221;. And what you&#8217;ll find is … absolutely nothing. None of these outlets have said a word about the film. In fact, as of today, there is not a single mainstream movie critic who has reviewed &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221;, two days after the film&#8217;s opening weekend.
As far as I can tell, &#8220;<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Am I Racist?</a>&#8221; is the only top-5 box office film that hasn&#8217;t had a single mainstream critic review by the end of its opening weekend. I am not aware of a single other case of this happening, ever. To get a sense of how unusual this is, consider a couple of other movies that also debuted in theaters this weekend — like &#8220;The Killer&#8217;s Game&#8221; for example. It was playing in 1,000 more theaters than our film. It also grossed 2.6 million dollars against a budget of $30 million. 
For comparison, &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221; grossed more than 4.5 million dollars against a budget of $3 million. So our movie performed a lot better, despite having a smaller budget and appearing in fewer theaters. We also have a much higher audience score. And yet, &#8220;The Killer&#8217;s Game&#8221; has an official critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, coming in around 38%. There are more than 30 critic reviews for the film. 
Meanwhile, the film called &#8220;My Old Ass,&#8221; which apparently is not a Biden biopic, also came out September 13. It was only in seven theaters this weekend, as part of a limited release, and made $170,000. So it didn&#8217;t even rank in the box office top-10 this weekend. But it has an official Rotten Tomatoes critic score as well, with more than 85 critic reviews.
If &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221; were a bad film — if we didn&#8217;t succeed in doing what we set out to do — then this wouldn&#8217;t be happening. We&#8217;d be getting panned by every mainstream outlet. They&#8217;ve done that to a lot of other media created by people outside the Hollywood bubble. Usually if they have an opportunity to rip a piece of “conservative” entertainment to shreds, they are more than happy to take advantage of it. But they&#8217;re not doing that here. Instead, they&#8217;re ignoring &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221; entirely, as if it doesn&#8217;t exist. They&#8217;re terrified to even mention a film that mocks the DEI industry because they know that the DEI industry can only survive if no one is allowed to question it. 
<h4><a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a></h4>
Also, our movie is actually good. I think that’s what scares them the most. I know that sounds self-serving. Saying that critics aren’t reviewing my movie because it’s too good sounds like some grade-A, hardcore cope. But in this case it’s true. I invite any critic to challenge me on that point. 
So this is why they won&#8217;t write about our film, even to condemn it. It&#8217;s the same approach we saw with &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is a Woman?</a>&#8220;, except it&#8217;s even more flagrant this time. They can&#8217;t hide behind the excuse that the film is only available on a streaming platform anymore. These mainstream reviewers, in this case, are deliberately ignoring a theatrical release in more than 1,500 theaters. 
At the same time, as I outlined last night on Twitter, we did receive a handful of reactions from independent critics when we sent out screeners for the film back in mid-August. And many of the responses from these critics strongly suggested that the mere presence of the screener in their inbox had triggered a full-on mental breakdown. 
One critic wrote, &#8220;You&#8217;d have to strap me to a chair like Malcolm McDowell to get me to watch this thing.&#8221; 
Another responded with this: &#8220;Ew. Take me off of this list.&#8221;
As for more mainstream outlets, some of them did indicate some potential interest in writing a review. One of those outlets was Variety — which actually wrote a pretty fair article covering our film&#8217;s expansion into 1,500 theaters about a week ago. But they still haven&#8217;t reviewed the film. In fact, they wrote in an article that The Daily Wire, “did not screen [the movie] for critics.” That&#8217;s an odd claim to make, especially since we sent Variety a screener of the film. We asked them to correct that error, and they didn&#8217;t. 
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone was one of the first outlets to request a screener all the way back in July. But they still haven&#8217;t published a review either, which is too bad, because I was really looking forward to their take. They went on a tirade about my last film, labeling it &#8220;transphobic,&#8221; so I can&#8217;t wait to see their meltdown over &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221;. Maybe that&#8217;s coming. We can only hope.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1444-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h4>
But there are some independent critics who aren&#8217;t this cowardly. Jeremy Jahns is one of them. He has a large fanbase on YouTube, with about two million followers. He&#8217;s the single biggest independent reviewer who&#8217;s reviewed our film. I encourage you to watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh3p_MsIW_A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the whole thing</a>, because he makes a lot of smart observations. Here&#8217;s part of it:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Am I Racist? - Movie Review" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hh3p_MsIW_A?start=99&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
The introduction to that review is maybe the most interesting part. It&#8217;s clear that Jeremy Jahns understood that, by reviewing my film, he&#8217;d get a lot of backlash from the Left. That&#8217;s not because anyone on the Left has actually seen the film. It&#8217;s because activists on the Left can&#8217;t tolerate any kind of mockery of their ideology. They know that nothing they believe survives any scrutiny, and it certainly doesn&#8217;t survive satire. That&#8217;s the case with gender ideology, which is why they were so outraged by &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/what-is-a-woman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">What is a Woman?</a>&#8220;. And it&#8217;s true of DEI as well.
The simplest thing to do, if Jeremy Jahns wanted to avoid this inevitable backlash, would have been to ignore the film like everyone else. Then he wouldn&#8217;t have a horde of angry, unhappy people attacking him on social media. But Jahns decided that the film looked interesting, so he reviewed it. 
In fact, he says that his hesitation about reviewing the film ultimately made it more interesting to him. And that makes sense. Forbidden topics are more interesting than the usual, rote corporate propaganda. For making that decision, Jahns has been subjected to a smear campaign over the last 48 hours. 
A guy named Jeff Zhang, for example, <a href="https://x.com/strangeharbors/status/1835727281131507978" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>: &#8220;Mainstream criticism is in pretty dire straits, but most critics can still recognize dog whistle tripe when they see it. Also, Jeremy Jahns hasn’t leveled-up his film analysis once in almost two decades.&#8221; 
For the record, Jeff Zhang calls himself a &#8220;film critic,&#8221; and here, he&#8217;s demeaning another critic for reviewing a film. Jeff Zhang has not seen &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221;, but he&#8217;s calling it &#8220;dog whistle tripe,&#8221; and then he&#8217;s launching into a personal attack on someone who has seen the film. And then, for good measure, Jeff Zhang laments the state of &#8220;mainstream criticism.&#8221; It&#8217;s maybe the least self-aware post ever made on X, which is really saying something.
Zhang illustrates a major underlying problem with the movie industry very well, which is that the role of &#8220;film critic&#8221; has changed a lot in recent years. They now think that their job is to enforce ideological orthodoxy, not to review films. In that sense, film critics are no different from the swarm of online Left-wing activists who relentlessly attacked Jeremy Jahns all day yesterday. There were hundreds of posts accusing him of &#8220;embracing full-blown racism&#8221; and taking money from The Daily Wire and so on. Reddit was especially furious. There were posts saying Jahns was &#8220;openly racist and fascist&#8221; and was &#8220;preparing to become a right-wing grifter.&#8221; 
Matt Jarbo, who runs some kind of film podcast, <a href="https://x.com/mjarbo/status/1835382105909731515" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>: &#8220;Midlife crisis Jeremy Jahns is not the villain origin story I was expecting.&#8221; Yes, for reviewing a film, a film critic is having a &#8220;midlife crisis.&#8221; He&#8217;s become a &#8220;villain.&#8221;
This is how they&#8217;re enforcing the near-total blackout of mainstream reviews for &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221;. They don&#8217;t want anyone to even mention the film. Fortunately, not every reviewer is going along with it. The folks at FilmThreat also just posted <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0wj0lJYgjI" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a lengthy and quite interesting review</a> of the film. Here&#8217;s part of it:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="002 Film Threat" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6MhSXo6VokI?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
&nbsp;
It would be interesting to see what &#8220;Jeff Zhang&#8221; and &#8220;Matt Jarbo&#8221; think of FilmThreat&#8217;s review. Is everyone at FilmThreat having a mid-life crisis too, because they reviewed a movie? Are they also villains for liking it? Is that guy a fascist white supremacist for laughing about the Jussie Smollett scene? 
These kinds of mob tactics stop working the moment people stand up to them. As soon as people disregard the activists and actually watch the movie, or watch some of these independent reviews, then they immediately realize how absurd the smears really are. That&#8217;s why their real goal has been to prevent anyone from seeing the movie in the first place. They don&#8217;t want theaters to show this film — and at least one theater in Northern California relented a few days ago.
The Del Oro Theater / Prime Cinemas in California posted this message on September 12th. This is a paragraph that belongs in a museum of cowardice. It should be a monument to Left-wing censorship, to show to future generations how desperately the Left seeks to censor anything — even a film — that they find objectionable. 
<blockquote>&#8220;Due to the strong reactions from our community (for and against the film), and concerns for the well-being of our staff, we will not be playing the film Am I Racist as originally intended. Please know that it was not our intention to cause such division by playing this film. We noticed that many of the theaters in the Sacramento area were booked to play this film and quite frankly this reaction caught us off guard. The safety of our staff is our number one priority. Please accept our apologies.&#8221;</blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
As reported by <a href="https://twitter.com/robbystarbuck?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@robbystarbuck</a>, left wing activists are bullying theaters into dropping our film. This theater just issued an apology. 
The only way to stop the Left from shutting down the film is to support the theaters that are showing it. Tickets here: <a href="https://t.co/iJv1cNRoWV">https://t.co/iJv1cNRoWV</a> <a href="https://t.co/JCpR7Ft8tf">pic.twitter.com/JCpR7Ft8tf</a>
&mdash; Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1834633679391408405?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2024</a></blockquote>
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So there&#8217;s the usual vague claim that people&#8217;s &#8220;safety&#8221; is in danger if they screen a film that Left-wing activists don&#8217;t like. And in this context, it&#8217;s a pretty ironic claim if you&#8217;ve seen the film. I won&#8217;t spoil anything but suffice it to say, this is such a stock complaint of insane Left-wing activists that it found its way into a prominent scene towards the beginning of &#8220;Am I Racist?&#8221;. And as usual, it doesn&#8217;t stand up to any scrutiny. It&#8217;s a laugh line, actually, because of how melodramatic and neurotic the claim is. No one on the Right is threatening anyone because of this film. This film does not endanger anyone&#8217;s safety. 
<h4><a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR &#8216;AM I RACIST?&#8217; — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a></h4>
What they&#8217;re really suggesting in that theater in Northern California, if that statement means anything at all, is that Left-wing activists might get violent if the film is shown. That&#8217;s the implicit statement that they&#8217;re making, whether they believe it or not. That&#8217;s how enraged these activists are, all because of our film.  They&#8217;re furious because of a documentary that allows the foremost fake experts in DEI to speak, at length, without any unfair editing whatsoever. And they&#8217;re enraged by this conceit for a few reasons. One of them is that the modern Left is intellectually bankrupt. They can&#8217;t defend any of their nonsense with an actual argument, so they have to resort to threats and hysteria.
The other reason they&#8217;re furious is that, right now, we are insurgents in the movie industry. The Left believes that it owns the entire art form of film. I’ve even gotten comments calling me a “grifter” for making this movie. In their world, any conservative who makes a movie must be a con artist running some kind of scam. It can’t possibly be that we love film, too, and want to use it to tell our own stories. That&#8217;s not something that these activists even consider within the realm of possibility. But it&#8217;s the truth. The film industry has been dominated by one ideology for so long that these people have come to expect that every film, and every artistic work in general, will mirror their world view. The Left in Hollywood have maintained a monopoly for a very long time. They&#8217;ve successfully pressured distributors and studios into producing the same narratives over and over again, all in the service of weeding out any semblance of competition. But after the success of &#8220;Am I Racist?,&#8221; it&#8217;s clear that — whether mainstream critics and publications want to hide from it or not —  competition has finally arrived.

Why Critics Are Running Scared From My Movie

Anti-Racism

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Opinion

MixCollage-15-Sep-2024-07-08-AM-5558

Matt Walsh’s Personal Journey Through The DEI Industry In ‘Am I Racist?’

Matt Walsh's Personal Journey Through The DEI Industry In 'Am I Racist?'

Racism

Robin DiAngelo

The Daily Wire’s “Am I Racist?” starring Matt Walsh was the third-highest-grossing film on Friday, out-earning a major studio release showing in more than 2,500 theaters.
“Am I Racist?” which premiered Friday, outgrossed Lionsgate’s “The Killer’s Game,” and was the second-biggest new release of the day. “Am I Racist?,” one of only 15 documentaries ever to open in over 1,500 theaters, also had the third-highest opening day gross for a documentary in the last decade.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
Audiences are raving about the film, in which Walsh goes deep undercover to expose the inner workings of the diversity, equity, and inclusion industry. The film has a <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/am_i_racist" target="_blank" rel="noopener">99%</a> Rotten Tomatoes audience score, and earned an <a href="https://www.cinemascore.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“A” rating from CinemaScore</a>, which grades movies based on audience response. No other new release received an A.
By the end of its second day in theaters, “Am I Racist?” will already be the biggest documentary of the year.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Off to a very strong start. Top three in the box office on opening day, coming in third and easily beating “The Killer’s Game.” That’s a mainstream Hollywood film that opened in a thousand more theaters. Thank you to everyone who supported the film. Let’s keep the momentum going.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1834994105736192413?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2024</a></blockquote>
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Ninety-five percent of audience members said “Am I Racist?” met or exceeded their expectations, according to PostTrak exit polling. Nearly 70% of viewers said the film was “excellent,” and 57% said they would tell their friends to see it in a theater.
Just over 40% of opening day viewers were under 35. And nearly 40% of the opening day audience was non-white, a fact that may come as a shock to anti-racist activist Saira Rao, who has privately <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/saira-rao-privately-slams-am-i-racist-as-nazi-white-supremacy-film?topStoryPosition=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slammed</a> “Am I Racist?” as a “Nazi White Supremacy Film.”
Rao is one of several anti-racist activists featured in the film. Another, “White Fragility” author Robin DiAngelo, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/robin-diangelo-breaks-am-i-racist-silence-says-she-got-played-by-borat-style-mockumentary" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told followers</a> that she got played by the “Borat-style mockumentary.” In the film, Walsh convinces DiAngelo to pay his black producer $30 out of her purse as reparations for slavery.
DiAngelo says that “Am I Racist?” is “designed to humiliate and discredit anti-racist educators and activists.” Walsh responded to her critique on X, saying, “She couldn’t be more correct in that assessment.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Robin DiAngelo has issued a statement denouncing our film. She claims that the movie is “designed to humiliate and discredit anti-racist educators and activists.” She couldn’t be more correct in that assessment. Thank you, Robin!<a href="https://t.co/xOvMUFnuTk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://t.co/xOvMUFnuTk</a>
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1834351644198289717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">September 12, 2024</a></blockquote>
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The Daily Wire entered the entertainment space in 2021 with a mission to disrupt Hollywood. The company has since released six films, including the acclaimed “What Is A Woman?” starring Walsh, one of the most-viewed documentaries of all time. “Am I Racist?” is The Daily Wire’s first theatrical release and is already defying industry expectations with its box office performance.
“Am I Racist?” is <a href="https://www.amiracist.com/?_gl=1*1orjxp8*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE3MjE3NTYxNzAuQ2p3S0NBandxZjIwQmhCd0Vpd0F0N2R0ZFgyTkE1Z3RmazgwZXNuY1QyRVVvMXBOZEhxRzAwdWRGS0ozTFMzWWNsUzVnVkswSmFtdTlCb0M5R1FRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*MTU5NzI4NjQ0Ny4xNzIxMTYzNDAz*_ga*MTY5NTQ0MDk1Ny4xNzIxMTYzNDAz*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*MTcyNjMzMzM0Ni4xMDEuMS4xNzI2MzM0NDQyLjU5LjAuMA.." target="_blank" rel="noopener">now playing</a> in over 1,500 theaters.

MixCollage-13-Sep-2024-06-00-PM-700

‘Am I Racist?’ Opens As Third-Highest Grossing Film In The Country

Rotten Tomatoes

Matt Walsh&#8217;s new movie, “<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/">Am I Racist?</a>” is out and causing seismic waves throughout the DEI community.
Apparently, there are members of the movie theater employee community who are attempting to stop people from actually seeing the film. One movie theater employee reportedly put out a post saying, “I will be making the transaction as difficult as possible for anyone seeing the Matt Walsh movie.” Another person said, “Can you take the good seats out of service without anyone noticing? Only sell the creatures that crawl out of the mud to see this thing the crap seats.”
The Left is doing its best to prevent people from seeing the film, even at the lowest levels. But it is not stopping the fallout.
One of the funniest scenes in the film is the scene in which Matt sits down with Robin DiAngelo. It is hysterical.
Robin DiAngelo is the author of an incredibly best-selling book titled “White Fragility.” In 2020, during the Black Lives Matter summer, Robin DiAngelo became a big item. Her book sold like hotcakes; it was at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for weeks and sold hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of copies.
And it is complete and utter tripe. It is an awful piece of trash.
I did a 30-minute <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWgnX84KD7A" target="_blank" rel="noopener">takedown</a> of it on YouTube, point by point, through her entire trash book. The book makes no sense. It is selfish. It is self-defeating. The entire book contradicts itself. It is logically incoherent.
It happens to be also particularly ugly because the basic idea is that if you are white, then you are inherently sinful and there is no way to escape that sin except for doing what DiAngelo wants you to do, politically speaking.
<h4><a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726341993845000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2A3UDZrRtOzE-t4IwSC1SJ">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a></h4>
So there&#8217;s a scene in the film where Matt and his producers somehow got DiAngelo to sit down with Matt. The premise of “Am I Racist?”is that Matt is a very woke guy who falls into the philosophy of DEI and chases it all the way down the rabbit hole. It’s kind of like a Nathan Fielder movie.
In this particular scene with DiAngelo, he’s sitting with her and let&#8217;s just say that he manipulates her into doing something so insane on camera that it should be career-ending — and she knows it, which is presumably why she has now basically deactivated her Twitter account.
DiAngelo has released <a href="https://www.robindiangelo.com/about-that-film/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a statement</a> slamming Matt Walsh. She vowed in a statement not to watch the film. Here&#8217;s what she said:
<blockquote>Back in 2023, I was contacted by a group who claimed to be making a documentary film called Shades of Justice, about efforts to address racism in the United States. They planned to interview anti-racist activists, authors and thought leaders in service of supporting the cause of racial equity. They offered me between $10-20,000 for an interview. I said let’s meet in the middle with $15,000 and agreed to participate (I have since donated that sum to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund).</blockquote>
I&#8217;m sure that she donated that sum after she found out she was in the film and realized, oh, boy, this is going to be bad.
And it’s weird that she only agreed to be in the film for $15,000, except for the fact that, as Matt&#8217;s movie exposes, this whole thing is a giant grift. DiAngelo has been picking up checks from some of the biggest corporations in America for years to teach absolute horse crap to people. In exchange, she receives the money and the credibility, and then she takes those credentials, “Hey, I taught at Google,” moves on to Apple, and picks up a big stack of cash from them.
<h4><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2047-matt-walsh-destroys-the-dei-industry-member-exclusive" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h4>
So she took $15,000 to sit down for the documentary “Shades of Justice,” an anti-racist documentary. 
<blockquote>When I arrived for the interview, a few things felt off. The grips would not make eye contact with me and the interviewer, who was introduced as “Matt,” appeared to be wearing an ill-fitting wig. Matt presented himself as someone new to antiracist work and seemed earnest, and his questions did not come across as adversarial. By the end, however, things got weird.</blockquote>
That’s the whole point: When doing something like what Matt did, the whole point of it is, what do these people say to each other behind closed doors? You can&#8217;t do that if you enter in an adversarial way. So he asked her questions, and she couldn&#8217;t tell what was going on.
<blockquote>Matt asked what I thought about reparations for Black Americans. I said that I agreed with reparations but that it was not my area of expertise. He then pulled up a chair and invited a Black crew-member who went by “Ben” to sit with us, took out his wallet and handed Ben some cash. He said that if I believed in reparations, I should also give Ben cash. While some Black people have asked white people to engage in reparations by giving directly to individuals, reparations are generally understood as a systemic approach to past and current injustice. The way Matt set this up felt intended to put Ben and I on the spot.</blockquote>
There&#8217;s a problem with this particular statement. Ben happens to be a producer on the film. So it didn&#8217;t put Ben and you on the spot; it put you on the spot because you&#8217;re a hypocrite.
<blockquote>Because Matt was pushing this on us, I expressed my discomfort and checked in with Ben, to be sure he was okay with receiving cash in this way. Ben reassured me that he was, so I went to my wallet and handed him my cash and the interview ended. I was so unsettled by the way Matt manipulated this last scene that I emailed the contact person – who went by the name of “Lee Hampton” – to explain that this scene was not an example of reparations and could mislead viewers. I asked that they not use it in the film and shared several resources overviewing legitimate systemic efforts for reparations. He assured me that he understood and that they had not yet decided whether to address reparations. He never again contacted me or answered an email.
After reviewing the sequence of events and discussing it with colleagues, I realized that they had lied about their agenda and I had been played. I spread the word on my networks. Unfortunately, last month I started receiving hateful and misogynistic emails. Some referenced the Daily Wire (Ben Shapiro’s website), which announced that the film is indeed being released. It is not titled Shades of Justice nor is it meant to support the anti-racist cause.</blockquote>
Yes, because you won&#8217;t speak to anybody who doesn&#8217;t support the anti-racist cause.
<blockquote>It is a Borat-style mockumentary titled Am I Racist? and designed to humiliate and discredit anti-racist educators and activists.</blockquote>
Yes, that&#8217;s accurate. That&#8217;s true.
<blockquote>Their deception was carefully planned and well-funded. The website they had sent me was fake, as were their identities, the project title used in the legal waiver, their description of the project, and the last name they gave for Matt. The interviewer was in fact, Matt Walsh, a far-right provocateur backed by Shapiro and Daily Wire+ (and yes, wearing a wig).
The co-CEO of the Daily Wire has stated: “I can’t think of a more appropriate film for the Daily Wire’s first original theatrical release than Am I Racist? What Is a Woman? changed the national conversation on radical gender theory, effectively killing the issue and DEI is the next pillar of the woke mind virus that’s about to topple. DEI culture is one of the most toxic plagues in American life.”
Am I A Racist? is not only about me and I was not the only one who fell for their deception. Sadly, many of those being mocked are women of Color.
I have not seen the film nor do I plan to watch it, so I don’t know what they have used of my interview or how they have edited it, but if you see clips or the full film, consider the source: Matt Walsh. So, who is Matt Walsh and what is his – and his backers’ – agenda? Luckily for us, he has clearly answered that question, without shame, time and time again. …
Shapiro and Walsh’s previous film Lady Ballers, is filled with misogyny, racism and transphobia. Shapiro also sponsored a film denigrating George Floyd. </blockquote>
Oh, wait, you mean that we said that maybe George Floyd wasn&#8217;t killed by Derek Chauvin, that maybe he died of a drug overdose that was induced by high stress? Wait, you mean like checking the medical evidence? Or maybe we pointed out that George Floyd, in fact, led a pretty checkered criminal life?
<blockquote>This experience has reinforced for me how critically important it is to do in-depth background research before making yourself vulnerable to people you don’t know, or believing and sharing what you see online. They will not prevail in their efforts to stop the work for racial justice.</blockquote>
Well, it seems like we prevailed just a little, since you deactivated your Twitter account. So that’s a little awkward for you.
Matt <a href="https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1834351644198289717" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>, “Robin DiAngelo has issued a statement denouncing our film. She claims the movie is ‘designed to humiliate and discredit anti-racist educators and activists.’ She couldn&#8217;t be more correct in that assessment. Thank you, Robin!” <a href="https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1834351941717295182">Then</a>, “My favorite part of this wonderful statement is that she says she noticed my ‘ill fitting wig’ when she first sat down with me. And yet for some reason, she still did the interview.”
Maybe it was the $15,000. Matt also noted that people are very angry at him: “He used methods of deception.”
You mean in a mockumentary in which you expose people? So Matt <a href="https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1834570026428375240" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>, “Many on the Left are criticizing the tactics we use to make our film. Notice how they make no such criticisms about Borat. The difference is that Borat was meant to embarrass normal working class Americans. Our film embarrasses DEI, grifters, academics and upper class liberals. <a href="https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1834571047502286951" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Even Nathan Fielder</a>, who I think is hilarious and brilliant, usually uses these kinds of methods to humiliate average people who haven&#8217;t done anything to deserve the humiliation. The Left is fine with that, too. With our new film, and our last film, we&#8217;re actually punching up. But somehow we&#8217;re the ‘unethical’ ones. Interesting.”
That is exactly right.
The film is already in roughly 1,500 theaters across the country. It has not been reviewed a single time at Rotten Tomatoes. Zero reviews. None. In fact, if you go to the Rotten Tomatoes page, brought to you by Fandango, they have a sort of scrolling wheel here saying, “New &amp; now in theaters,” and it lists every movie except for Matt’s movie. It’s not there. 
They&#8217;re going to try to ignore this the same way they tried to ignore “What Is A  Woman?”
Don&#8217;t let them ignore it.
Go out and see it.

Matt Walsh Destroys The DEI Industry

Ben Shapiro

White Fragility

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/matt-walsh">Matt Walsh</a>’s documentary “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/am-i-racist">Am I Racist</a>?,” The Daily Wire’s first ever theatrical film, will be released on an expanded 1,500 screens beginning today, Friday, September 13.
This is a massive accomplishment for any film that’s not being released by a major studio. While originally it was only coming to <a href="https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1833599788136468987">200 screens</a>, fans rallied and purchased their tickets in advance, leading to the comedy being released at a larger number of venues from coast to coast.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Our new film “Am I Racist?” has now been expanded to over 1,500 theaters nationwide. We started with about 200 when the movie was announced just a few weeks ago. The response has been tremendous so far.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog/status/1833599788136468987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 10, 2024</a></blockquote>
Walsh previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/roseanne-barr-talks-am-i-racist-with-matt-walsh-im-glad-god-gave-you-the-gift-of-humor">discussed</a> how theaters didn’t necessarily object to the content of the film, but instead cautioned that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/documentary">documentaries</a> are the hardest movie genre to sell tickets for. Other documentaries released on more than 1,500 screens include Disney’s “Monkey Kingdom,” “Born in China,” and &#8220;Penguins,” along with Angel Studios’ “After Death” and Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 11/9.”
This achievement was celebrated by Bryce Kesler, Head of Theatrical Distribution for SDG Releasing.
“‘Am I Racist?’ has earned elite status as one of only 6 documentary films in the past decade to reach 1,500 locations in its first week in theaters. It&#8217;s a landmark achievement made possible by the support of dedicated fans purchasing tickets early, and by our partners in exhibition giving the film an opportunity on big screens nationwide,” he said.
“We&#8217;re elated that Matt Walsh and The Daily Wire&#8217;s creation will be enjoyed in the large format it deserves. &#8230; The future, and maybe the fate of the country, will be decided in less than 2 months. Take a much-needed break from the seriousness (while helping put the final nail in the coffin of DEI). Let&#8217;s Make-America-Laugh-Again this weekend.&#8221;
“As a theatrical film distributor, we can guarantee you two things: First, that studios are notoriously agenda-driven. Conservative content need not apply. Second, that audiences &#8212; and the exhibitors (meaning the owners of your local theater, whether it&#8217;s a big chain or a mom-and-pop operation) don&#8217;t share that agenda,&#8221; Kesler and Cary Solomon added. &#8220;Daily Wire understands that. And so they&#8217;re bringing forward entertainment designed to appeal to real people, not studio executives. And the audience will be the winner.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726313279401000&amp;usg=AOvVaw115_qPFFEePDP86-Fvo-Vd">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
Walsh also talked about how Hollywood is making a big mistake by ignoring half the country with their increasingly progressive and preachy films. “They’re leaving plenty of money on the table, and we’re happy to come in and take some of it. Because, at a minimum, you are explicitly refusing to serve 50% of the audience,” the Daily Wire podcaster said, per <a href="https://variety.com/2024/film/news/matt-walsh-am-i-racist-daily-wire-gamble-1236142545/">Variety</a>.
Filmmaker and “Am I Racist?” producer Dallas Sonnier agreed. “Hollywood is focused on its own problems internally and can’t even contemplate what would resonate with an audience in the South or the Midwest today,” he said, per the outlet. “Conservative audiences have simply checked out of what Hollywood is making outside of the tentpoles.”
“Am I Racist?” seeks to expose the grift of the DEI industry. It features Walsh going deep undercover, attending seminars and interviews with some of the biggest names in the industry, including “White Fragility” author Robin DiAngelo.
The film is hilarious, but it’s also meant to shed light on an important topic. Walsh said some of his goals for the film are to inspire real change similar to what happened after the release of his 2022 documentary “What Is a Woman?,” which explored the topic of transgenderism.
“Well, there are political solutions, some of which, you know, Donald Trump has talked about. Outlawing programs that exclude people on the basis of race, which are already supposed to be outlawed,” Walsh told Ben Shapiro during an interview for his “Sunday Special.”
“Most of that stuff is flagrantly illegal already. So shutting that down, which a lot of that could be done on a policy level,” he continued. “A lot of the other changes I think could be made relatively easily with just lawsuits. But people that are affected by this stuff need to file lawsuits. And we’ve seen a little of that happening already.”
“Let’s have a culture that is totally intolerant to that kind of madness,” he said later.
This achievement of expanding to 1,500 screens is historic &#8212; but the fight’s not over yet. The way the industry works, if a film doesn&#8217;t perform opening weekend, it will be gone. Do not assume you can see it next week. If you plan to see “Am I Racist?,” it’s vital to go now, bring everyone you can, and laugh together with a crowd.
This weekend offers a unique opportunity to show that conservative films deserve a voice in theaters. The more support “Am I Racist?” receives, the easier it will make the path for all future conservative content.
Pre-sales are the lifeblood of successful theatrical releases &#8212; especially for independent films. Daily Wire&#8217;s faithful showed up in large numbers, buying tickets and selling out auditoriums weeks ahead of time. This meant theater owners upgraded the film to larger auditoriums and additional screens. Comedy never plays better than with a packed house, on opening weekend, and this weekend, The Daily Wire faithful have a chance to enjoy the best night out they&#8217;ve had in a long time as they explore the question: “Am I Racist?”
“Am I Racist?” is showing in theaters nationwide beginning today. Fans can purchase tickets at <a href="http://amiracist.com">amiracist.com</a>.

Matt Walsh’s ‘Am I Racist?’ Expands To 1,500 Screens Nationwide As Ticket Sales Soar

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