Universal stays with Alex Gibney's Musk documentary for overseas release
Universal is holding its line on Alex Gibney's Elon Musk documentary "Musk" outside North America.
Sources familiar with the project told Variety, in a report published Sept. 18, that the studio is moving forward as planned with the international release, contrary to a report a day earlier that it was getting cold feet Variety. The sources said Universal has stayed enthusiastic about the film despite recent legal threats from Musk over its content.
The split is simple. Bleecker Street will open the nearly four-hour film in theatres in North America on Oct. 9. International rights, meaning cinemas outside the United States and Canada, sit with Universal Pictures Content Group, which picked them up in 2023 Variety. No date has yet been set for that overseas rollout.
The Sept. 17 report had said Universal had not yet committed to a non-North American release after paying millions for the rights Yahoo. The newer account positions that as outdated. Universal is proceeding.
"Musk" premiered at the Venice Film Festival. After the premiere, Musk posted on X that the film was "a hit piece." His attorney Alex Spiro then threatened a defamation lawsuit before the October release, centred on texts between Musk and Ashley St. Clair cited in the film.
St. Clair, a MAGA influencer who had a child with Musk, gives an interview in the documentary. The film portrays a text exchange between her and Musk about the 2024 presidential election.
The film is also set for streaming on HBO in the first quarter of 2027. Gibney has described the documentary as an examination of Musk's rise to power, his controversies and potential risks to democracy The Hollywood Reporter. He told Reuters that fear shadowed the making of the film and called Musk "extremely" dangerous to democracy Reuters.
For viewers, this means two separate paths to release. North America is dated. The rest of the world is confirmed but still without a calendar slot, with television to follow next year.
