NEW YORK — The weekend that widens Alex Gibney’s “Musk” documentary from four theaters to more than 470 screens began with its distributor shut out of TikTok’s paid advertising. Bleecker Street was told on Friday afternoon that a “permanent suspension” was coming for any ads it tried to buy, and could not place them shortly afterward, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Saturday.
The film’s native, unpaid TikTok account remains active. What Bleecker Street lost is the ability to pay for reach, a key tool studios use to spread the word about a movie that is in theaters. A TikTok representative did not comment, according to the report.
A Bleecker Street spokesperson confirmed that TikTok had informed the company of the suspension and noted “disappointment” in the timing, saying an appeal is under way. The Hollywood Reporter adds that even a reversal could prove costly if it does not arrive during a weekend when many people are likely to see the film. The documentary grossed $70,000 in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles in its first weekend, per the same report.
The Hollywood Reporter described email correspondence between the two companies that shows a cycle of rejections and appeals. An official said the trailer would “continue to get pulled from the platform” over political content. An official message to Bleecker Street noted a “level of severity with political-policy violations” and said “some violations trigger immediate suspension.” Another spot, built around a quote from a review, was stopped for a “static image.” Bleecker Street was unable to pay for placement of about a half-dozen pieces of content in recent days.
Meta and YouTube first rejected ads for the trailer and later allowed them, with Meta blaming “an error,” TechCrunch reported. X, which Musk owns, has refused to carry ads for the film. TikTok did not follow Meta and YouTube, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which also notes that TikTok has no official affiliation with Musk but is partly owned by Larry Ellison. A text from Ellison offering to help finance Musk’s Twitter purchase appears in the film, and Ellison’s son David is set to release it on HBO in 2027. Neither report says Ellison had any role in the suspension.
Which violations TikTok means is the open question. The Hollywood Reporter said that was unclear, and neither account says when the appeal will be decided.
