The Daily Wire’s “Am I Racist?” starring Matt Walsh was the third-highest-grossing film on Friday, out-earning a major studio release showing in more than 2,500 theaters.
“Am I Racist?” which premiered Friday, outgrossed Lionsgate’s “The Killer’s Game,” and was the second-biggest new release of the day. “Am I Racist?,” one of only 15 documentaries ever to open in over 1,500 theaters, also had the third-highest opening day gross for a documentary in the last decade.
Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!
Audiences are raving about the film, in which Walsh goes deep undercover to expose the inner workings of the diversity, equity, and inclusion industry. The film has a 99% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, and earned an “A” rating from CinemaScore, which grades movies based on audience response. No other new release received an A.
By the end of its second day in theaters, “Am I Racist?” will already be the biggest documentary of the year.
Off to a very strong start. Top three in the box office on opening day, coming in third and easily beating “The Killer’s Game.” That’s a mainstream Hollywood film that opened in a thousand more theaters. Thank you to everyone who supported the film. Let’s keep the momentum going.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 14, 2024
Ninety-five percent of audience members said “Am I Racist?” met or exceeded their expectations, according to PostTrak exit polling. Nearly 70% of viewers said the film was “excellent,” and 57% said they would tell their friends to see it in a theater.
Just over 40% of opening day viewers were under 35. And nearly 40% of the opening day audience was non-white, a fact that may come as a shock to anti-racist activist Saira Rao, who has privately slammed “Am I Racist?” as a “Nazi White Supremacy Film.”
Rao is one of several anti-racist activists featured in the film. Another, “White Fragility” author Robin DiAngelo, told followers that she got played by the “Borat-style mockumentary.” In the film, Walsh convinces DiAngelo to pay his black producer $30 out of her purse as reparations for slavery.
DiAngelo says that “Am I Racist?” is “designed to humiliate and discredit anti-racist educators and activists.” Walsh responded to her critique on X, saying, “She couldn’t be more correct in that assessment.”
Robin DiAngelo has issued a statement denouncing our film. She claims that the movie is “designed to humiliate and discredit anti-racist educators and activists.” She couldn’t be more correct in that assessment. Thank you, Robin!https://t.co/xOvMUFnuTk
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 12, 2024
The Daily Wire entered the entertainment space in 2021 with a mission to disrupt Hollywood. The company has since released six films, including the acclaimed “What Is A Woman?” starring Walsh, one of the most-viewed documentaries of all time. “Am I Racist?” is The Daily Wire’s first theatrical release and is already defying industry expectations with its box office performance.
“Am I Racist?” is now playing in over 1,500 theaters.
