Don't Look Up (2021 Film)

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About

Don't Look Up (2021 Film) refers to the December 2021 movie released by Netflix. The film is a dark comedy directed by Adam McKay about a mass extinction event where two astronomers discover an asteroid that is set to hit Earth in six months. Don't Look Up stars notable actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill and Timothée Chalamet, among others.

History

Trailer Releases

The official teaser trailer for the movie was released on September 8th, 2021, posted in a tweet^[1] from Netflix. It was also uploaded to YouTube^[2] as its own video (shown below) that received roughly 14.3 million views over the course of three months. The tweet from Netflix, meanwhile, received 63,700 likes also over three months.

The first official, non-teaser trailer was uploaded to YouTube^[3] on November 16th, 2021, (shown below) where over the course of one month, it gained roughly 12.6 million views.

Overall, the two trailers outlined the plot of the movie, loosely based on a Donald Trump esque presidency dealing with the news of a mass extinction event discovered by two astronomers, Dr. Randall Mindy (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) and Kate Dibiasky (played by Jennifer Lawrence). Both struggle to communicate the severity of the asteroid approaching Earth with the president (played by Meryl Streep). Additionally, the director (Adam McKay) is a notable comedy filmmaker, having directed multiple Will Ferrell movies like Step Brothers and Anchorman. This newest movie of his had a more serious tinge to it, dealing with archetypes of late capitalism and climate change.

Online Presence

Reactions

Initial reactions to the movie happened on platforms like Twitter when the teaser was posted across platforms in September. A lot of internet users were initially intrigued by Ariana Grande's inclusion in the movie. For instance, Twitter^[4] user ponytalinator posted a tweet (shown below) that said Grande carried the entire trailer. Her tweet received roughly 1,800 likes in three months.

The online buzz surrounding the second trailer's release in November also circulated around Ariana Grande and her song within the movie called, "Just Look Up." People on Twitter, like user ScottDMenzel, posted tweets^[5] saying the film was set to have multiple Oscar nominations for DiCaprio, Lawrence and Grande. ScottDMenzel's tweet received roughly 1,000 likes over one month.

When the movie was released via Netflix on December 24th, 2021, talk of it online was both positive and negative. For instance, on Rotten Tomatoes^[6] the movie received a 55 percent critic score and a 77 percent audience score in three days. Top Critic Mara Reinstein from Us Weekly gave it a positive review, for instance, saying it had "so-sharp-it-hurts satire" (shown below, left). In contrast, Twitter^[7] user queersocialism criticized the movie for "not offering a path forward" in regards to its cultural criticism. Their tweet (show below, right) received roughly 3,000 likes in one day after being posted on December 28th.

Other Twitter users had more humorous reactions, like joshgondelman,^[8] whose tweet (shown below, left) made a funny point relating to the concept of a boring dystopia. His tweet received roughly 16,000 likes in one day. Twitter^[9] user cinephilejen tweeted a funny reaction too on December 28th, making a joke about Leonardo DiCaprio having an age-appropriate wife in the film. Her tweet (shown below, right) received roughly 186,300 likes in one day.

On December 28th, the official Twitter^[13] account of the movie posted a tweet announcing that the film was the number one movie on Netflix worldwide after being out for only four days. The tweet received 1,700 likes in one day.

More memes appeared about the movie on platforms like Instagram in the days following its release. For instance, Instagram^[10] page humi1iatemydick420 posted a meme (shown below, left) on December 28th, 2021, and received roughly 1,800 likes for it in one day. On December 27th, Twitter^[11] user DevyAbstrakt made a meme via a tweet (shown below, right) making a joke about Chalamet and Lawrence's characters' relationship in the movie. The tweet received roughly 6,700 likes in two days, as well as a repost to Instagram,^[12] where it received roughly 7,700 likes.