“The American Society of Magical Negroes,” a race-based satire film that describes White people as “the most dangerous animal on the planet,” bombed at the box office during its opening weekend, bringing in a paltry $1.3 million and abysmal critical ratings.
Intended as a scathing comedic takedown of the film trope that sees gifted Black characters appear to solve problems for struggling Whites, “The American Society of Magical Negroes” follows protagonist Aren (played by Justice Smith) as he joins a secret society of superpowered Black people who “dedicate their lives to a cause of utmost importance: making white people’s lives easier.”
The film’s controversial trailer highlighted an exchange between Aren and Roger, another magically inclined Black man:
Roger: What’s the most dangerous animal on the planet?
Aren: Sharks.
Roger: White people. When they feel uncomfortable. White people feeling uncomfortable precedes a lot of bad stuff for us. That’s why we fight white discomfort every day, because the happier they are, the safer we are.
In the film, Society members use a “White Tears” metric to track the White population’s overall discomfort—with high levels posing an existential threat to Blacks.
But according to metrics from the film’s opening weekend, audience discomfort was at an all-time high as well.
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In showings across 1,147 US theaters, “The American Society of Magical Negroes” pulled in just $1,304,270, taking home 9th place for the weekend. “Kung Fu Panda 4,” “Dune: Part II,” and “Imaginary” topped the box office despite having opened earlier.
Critics also panned the film, with Rotten Tomatoes critics giving it a “certified rotten” rating of 30 percent and describing it as “a promising premise, but is too timid to fully engage with its most provocative ideas.”
Even outlets sympathetic to the film’s political message felt that it missed the mark.
“’The American Society of Magical Negroes’ is funny, but who is this satire for?” asked USA Today.
“‘The American Society of Magical Negroes’: A bloodless satire that’s too eager to please,” ruled the Washington Post.
CNN, with a lighter critique, merely said that it “falls short of achieving its satirical mission.”
Social media reactions to the film were decidedly more forthright in their criticism.
Super racist movie!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 19, 2024
It wasn’t made in order to turn a profit. It was made to promote black racial grievance mongering and spread anti-whiteism.
— Pox Populi (@poxesfoxes) March 20, 2024
Original title: "White People are the Enemy: A Feel-Good Hollywood Story"
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) March 20, 2024
This movie is magical alright, it literally made the entire audience disappear.
Impressive.
— Brandon T (@BrandontGoat) March 19, 2024
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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