The Social Reckoning: Aaron Sorkin's Facebook whistleblower film opens October 9

Sixteen years after The Social Network showed how Facebook was born, Aaron Sorkin is taking audiences back inside the company. His new film, The Social Reckoning, opens in theatres on October 9, and this time Sorkin is in the director's chair. David Fincher directed the 2010 film, and reports say Sorkin wrote its screenplay.

The new story follows Frances Haugen, a Facebook insider who teams up with journalist Jeff Horwitz to expose some of the company's most closely guarded secrets. Mikey Madison plays Haugen and Jeremy Allen White plays Horwitz. Jeremy Strong reportedly takes on the role of Mark Zuckerberg, and the cast also includes Bill Burr, Betty Gilpin and Billy Magnussen.

Some reports describe the film as a companion piece rather than a straight sequel. It looks at how Facebook grew into a huge force and what that power did to society. A key thread is the platform's algorithm, which reportedly was changed around 2018 to reward comments and shares over likes, even though angry and divisive posts drew the most reaction. Zuckerberg is said to be shown less as a simple villain and more as a founder whose creation grew far beyond his control.

The box office outlook is far quieter than the original's. Early estimates reportedly have the legal thriller tracking between $6 million and $10 million in its North American opening weekend, with little buzz so far. The Social Network reportedly opened to $22.4 million on a $40 million budget and went on to collect $97 million domestically. Even at the top of its projected range, the new film would earn less than half of that debut.

That means The Social Reckoning will need strong word of mouth to turn into a hit. Its central question is a big one: once a system built to connect people becomes this powerful, who answers for the good and the harm it causes?