A new wave of films is putting Silicon Valley’s most influential figures under scrutiny. Through fictionalized drama and documentary, filmmakers are revisiting the people behind social media, high-profile technology companies and artificial intelligence—and asking how their decisions shape life beyond the companies they lead.
From complicated founders to critical portraits
Movies about ambitious technology founders are familiar, but the films arriving in 2026 take a sharper view of their subjects. Aaron Sorkin’s The Social Reckoning presents Mark Zuckerberg as a calculating figure whose drive for growth carries consequences for society. It draws on the warnings of whistleblower Frances Haugen, which The Wall Street Journal began reporting in 2021.
That focus gives the film a way to connect Facebook / Meta’s earlier internal decisions with issues that remain part of public debate. Its story addresses Instagram’s negative impacts on teens’ mental health and the relationship between Facebook’s algorithm and misinformation. The film’s concerns are rooted in the platform’s reach and the influence its choices can have on people’s lives.
The shift is clearer when set beside The Social Network, David Fincher’s 2010 film starring Jesse Eisenberg. That movie portrayed Zuckerberg as a complicated, misunderstood savant. The Social Reckoning instead centers on allegations about his leadership and the risks associated with an executive wielding control over a vast social media business.
Documentaries examine power and image
Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk looks back at Elon Musk’s career and considers how he gained influence across governments. Its release has also become part of the story. Musk called the project a “hit piece,” threatened legal action against Gibney, and X blocked the film’s advertising on the platform.
Ads for Musk were initially absent from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok as well. Meta’s subsidiaries and YouTube later reversed their decisions, while TikTok maintained its position. Those distribution issues show how a documentary about a powerful technology figure can encounter challenges on the platforms that help films reach audiences.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s You Can See Everything offers a different kind of access. The documentary follows Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes before she began serving her sentence. Fielder questions her about whether she believes she defrauded investors, while also living with Holmes and her partner William Evans in a rental home during the month before she was set to begin her sentence.
The film’s tension comes partly from uncertainty over who is guiding the encounter. Fielder wonders whether Holmes’s apparent openness is genuine or part of a public relations effort. Rather than settle that question for viewers, the documentary leaves them to judge how Holmes presents herself and whether she is using the filmmaker.
When distribution becomes part of the debate
Luca Guadagnino’s dark comedy Artificial takes aim at Sam Altman. Amazon had originally planned to distribute the film, then backed out of its deal in June, months after announcing a $50 billion investment in OpenAI. The article describes that timing as raising questions about whether studios with financial ties to AI companies would want to release films critical of technology’s creators.
The film’s path to release may have sharpened interest in its message. Artificial began screening after Amazon’s decision, and its wider release is set for December 25th. The article also points to OpenAI’s impending IPO as a reason the film’s portrayal of Altman could feel especially relevant to audiences.
In Musk, the question is whether platforms will carry promotion for a film critical of a prominent figure. In Artificial, it is whether a distributor with financial ties to an AI company wants its name associated with that kind of story. These cases make the business around a film part of its public meaning.
A broader change in the stories Hollywood tells
Taken together, the films suggest a change in how popular culture portrays technology executives. Earlier stories could emphasize the ambition and personal complexity of founders. This newer group gives more attention to the effects of concentrated power, corporate decisions and the public image built around a technology leader.
The projects also use different forms to reach those questions. A fictional drama can organize events around a central conflict; a documentary can place its subject in front of the camera and leave viewers to weigh what they see. Neither approach guarantees a final answer, but both invite audiences to reconsider figures once widely presented as visionaries.
That attention reflects a larger change in public attitudes toward Big Tech. As critical reporting and public concerns have accumulated, filmmakers have found stories in the distance between a founder’s image and the consequences associated with their companies. The films’ central subjects may differ, but their shared focus is how much influence technology leaders can hold—and what happens when that influence is challenged.