Moviegoers are unfriending "The Social Reckoning."
Aaron Sorkin's follow-up to "The Social Network" has disappointed at the box office. The Facebook drama, starring Mikey Madison, Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, grossed $5.5 million in North American theaters during its opening weekend, according to studio estimates released by Rentrak on Sunday, Oct. 11.
That's a big comedown from the $22.4 million that "The Social Network" grossed in its opening weekend in 2010, unadjusted for inflation. "The Social Network" also opened at No. 1 on the domestic chart when it came out, whereas "The Social Reckoning" debuted at No. 5, putting it below the older titles "Verity," "Resident Evil" and "Heart of the Beast."
'The house is on fire right now'
The Jessica Chastain horror movie "Other Mommy" won the weekend with a $27.5 million debut, an impressive start for a film that was almost universally panned by critics and didn't get much more love from audiences. Moviegoers polled by CinemaScore gave "Other Mommy" an average grade of D+.
"The Social Reckoning" serves as a companion piece to "The Social Network," which received eight Academy Award nominations in 2011 and won three, including the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.
But while the first movie was a character study of Mark Zuckerberg focused on the founding of Facebook, "The Social Reckoning" is a journalism thriller, which makes Zuckerberg more of a supporting character. Madison stars as Frances Haugen, the Facebook whistleblower who worked with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (White) for a series of damaging reports about how the company is aware its platform can cause harm.
"The Social Reckoning" received a mixed reception from critics: The film has earned 54% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, a big drop from the 96% rating of "The Social Network."
Strong stepped in to play Zuckerberg after "Social Network" star Jesse Eisenberg declined to return. Eisenberg has said he turned down the film because he no longer wishes to be associated with Zuckerberg. "The Social Network" director David Fincher also didn't return behind the camera because he was busy with the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" sequel "The Further Mis-Adventures of Cliff Booth."
"The Social Reckoning" is the second major box-office disappointment of the month after Tom Cruise's "Digger" tanked with a $8 million opening weekend. But "Digger" is the bigger box office calamity by far: Cruise's film cost a reported $125 million or more to make, according to The Hollywood Reporter, whereas Variety reports "The Social Reckoning" had a much more modest budget of $30 million.
"Digger" and "The Social Reckoning" were thought to be potential Oscar contenders, but underwhelming box office receipts could call their awards prospects into question.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Aaron Sorkin's 'The Social Reckoning' flops at box office
