Hollywood films in 2026 take a more critical view of Big Tech

In short: A wave of 2026 films is focusing on the downsides of major tech companies and the people who run them.

What's going on

Several high-profile movies and documentaries released in 2026 put Big Tech under a harsher spotlight than older films did. The Verge points to four titles leading this trend: Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning, You Can See Everything, Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk, and Luca Guadagnino’s dark comedy Artificial.

The projects focus on well-known figures and recent controversies. The Social Reckoning centers on Mark Zuckerberg and ties Meta’s decisions to issues like teen mental health and misinformation, meaning false or misleading posts spreading online. You Can See Everything follows Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes as she prepares for prison, and it leans on unusually close access during a month when filmmaker Nathan Fielder stayed with her.

Two films also faced friction around promotion and distribution. The Verge reports that ads for Musk were blocked on X, and were initially missing on other major platforms before some reversed course, while TikTok reportedly did not. Separately, Artificial was dropped by Amazon as a distributor after Amazon announced a large investment in OpenAI, the company linked to the film’s subject, Sam Altman.

What to watch

More movies may follow this tone if audiences keep showing interest in stories that question tech power. Watch for whether social platforms and studios tighten or loosen rules around marketing films that criticize the companies that also buy ads, fund projects, or control distribution. It is similar to a store deciding whether it will promote a book that criticizes the store’s biggest supplier.

Source: The Verge AI