Turns out plenty of people are dying for the answer to a stark question – “Am I Racist?”
The Daily Wire’s satirical documentary opened in theaters nationwide this weekend. Deadline.com predicts the film will earn roughly $1.6 million today alone. The weekend’s haul? A likely $4 million bounty.
That means “Am I Racist?” will become the top-grossing documentary of 2024, according to The-Numbers.com. The second place finisher, “Jesus Thirsts,” topped out at $2.9 million earlier this year.
And those “Am I Racist?” numbers could rise thanks to a major word-of-mouth push. The film currently has a 99 percent “fresh” rating from audiences at Rotten Tomatoes.com.
Only four Rotten Tomatoes-certified critics have critiqued the film as of yet – four “Fresh” scores. Most mainstream critics lean to the Left and avoid conservative titles whenever possible.
Matt Walsh’s second feature with the Daily Wire, and the first not hidden behind the platform’s paywall, finds the podcaster going undercover in the DEI movement. That’s “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” for the uninitiated.
It’s worth noting “Am I Racist?” is opening in roughly 1,500 theaters. That’s more than a third less than many mainstream movies receive but far more than most documentaries.
The demand spoke for itself.
The far-Left DEI movement has consumed American culture in recent years, often lurking under the radar. Universities. Corporations. Non-profits.
Even Hollywood.
Remember “pale and male is stale,” the Disney mantra which excluded straight white males from prominent positions within the company? What about comedian Tyler Fischer, suing his former representative for saying it couldn’t get him work because he was a straight white male?
“Am I Racist?” banks on that frustration.
The film still faced unusual headwinds at the cineplex. The documentary originally was slated to appear on just 200 screens until pre-release ticket sales expanded that figure.
And at least one theater refused to screen the film after far-Left denizens demanded its cancellation.
The Del Oro Theatre in Grass Valley, Calif. has removed @MattWalshBlog‘s “Am I Racist?” from screening due to threats from leftists, as well as “concerns for the well-being” of staff. The film criticizes the DEI industry & its wealthy race grifters. Read: https://t.co/NmMve4Ouj1
— Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) September 13, 2024
Walsh weighed in on the challenges his team faced on X.
We have a tiny fraction of the marketing budget of most theatrical films. We’ve been completely ignored by mainstream film critics to this point. When you’re a low budget film made by people with unapproved political opinions, the obstacles to get into theaters and then have any success once you’re there are absolutely enormous. But it’s worth the effort and the risk. We can’t fight for the culture if we stay in our own bubble.
“Am I Racist?” director Justin Folk previously worked with Walsh on the 2022 documentary “What Is a Woman?” Folk’s previous film, “No Safe Spaces,” warned audiences about the threat to free speech on campuses nationwide.
“Am I Racist?” arrives at a time when some DEI programs are being shuttered. Conservative activist Robby Starbuck has led a one-person crusade against them. He’s forced major companies like Harley-Davidson and John Deere to backpedal on their DEI agendas.
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