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The Film Maven
The 'Ballerina' Embargo Said the Quiet Part Loud About the Role of Critics Today

The 'Ballerina' Embargo Said the Quiet Part Loud About the Role of Critics Today

How an AI slip ended up showing what we already knew.

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Kristen Lopez
Jun 12, 2025
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The Film Maven
The Film Maven
The 'Ballerina' Embargo Said the Quiet Part Loud About the Role of Critics Today
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“Journalism is Fucked and We’re All Doomed” is my ongoing column looking at issues affecting entertainment journalism writers. It’s an offshoot of my series The Trade, an examination and exploration of topics in the entertainment industry. If you want to read the full story consider becoming a paid subscriber. Why is it important to get a paid subscription? Not only do you get access to the awesomeness below, but you’ll be able to read every paid post including our monthly watch diaries, disability articles, and more. I also cross post these over at The Film Maven Patreon where you can subscribe, at the same price, without supporting Substack itself. Subscribe and show your support for independent journalism.

Ballerina, the latest spin-off in the John Wick franchise, hit theaters at the beginning of June. The movie with a $90 million dollar budget opened to just $24.5 million domestically where it came in behind the live-action remake of Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. As of this writing the movie has only amassed $55.6 million and causing sites to question whether the Keanu Reeves-starring franchise has played itself it. But I’m not here to talk about Ballerina (a movie I haven’t seen…alongside the rest of the John Wick universe). Instead, I want to talk about something that happened leading up to Ballerina’s release that got movie critics in an uproar.

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