The Social Reckoning puts Facebook controversies back on the big screen

Sony Pictures' (SONY) The Social Reckoning opens globally in theaters on October 9. Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed the companion film to The Social Network. The film tells the story of how Facebook engineer Frances Haugen (played by Mikey Madison) enlists Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz (played by Jeremy Allen White) to expose some of the company's most guarded secrets. The role of Mark Zuckerberg was played by Jeremy Strong.

The film is not expected to be a smash box office hit, with projections for the opening weekend ranging from $6M to $13M, which would fall well short of The Social Network's opening weekend of $22.4M. The expectation is that the film will not crack the $100M box office threshold. Theater chains such as AMC (AMC) and Cinemark (CNK) will get a change of pace with adult-skewing counterprogramming to the steady run of films aimed at younger audiences.

Of course, the film also puts a bright spotlight on Meta Platforms (META) and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. However, since the brand risk to Meta (META) looks minimal since the film dramatizes revelations that have been public since 2021. The WSJ reporting exposed Facebook's harmful effects on teens and its role in spreading misinformation. Analysts have also noted that Meta's (META) business depends far more on advertising demand and AI spending than on public sentiment about missteps by Facebook.

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