Box Office
Flop · 1.0xBudget$32M
Worldwide Gross$31.9M
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Bad Times at the El Royale
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Bad Times at the El Royale
movie·R·Oct 12, 2018·
Box OfficeFlop · 1.0x
$32M
Budget
$31.9M
Gross
Shop
Shop this title
Bad Times at the El Royale
We may earn a commission from purchases through these links.
Digital video
Search US stores by format. Check the title and edition before buying.
Explore Prime Video — Opens in a new tab
Catalog availability and subscription terms vary.
Bad Times at the El Royale
movie
R
October 12, 2018
Wokeometer Rating
3Based
0/10
Scale: 0 = not woke, 10 = maximally woke
TL;DR Verdict
Bad Times at the El Royale stays laser-focused on classic neo-noir thrills like hidden crimes, moral duality, and redemption at a seedy motel. It earns its low 3/10 woke score by skipping identity politics entirely for straight-up story-driven entertainment.
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Detailed Analysis
Bad Times at the El Royale is a 2018 neo-noir thriller centered on seven strangers with criminal secrets converging at a rundown Lake Tahoe motel straddling the California-Nevada border in 1969.
Its core premise revolves around morality, faith, redemption, and duality, with plot points including a hidden heist bag, wiretaps, a Manson-like cult leader (Chris Hemsworth's Billy Lee), an undercover FBI agent (Jon Hamm), and violent confrontations. These elements follow classic crime-mystery conventions without identity politics as the foundation.
Key Factors
- Cynthia Erivo's Darlene Sweet as a prominent African-American soul singer who receives an extended monologue confronting the cult leader, developed with input from the actress and director to ensure the sole woman-of-color lead has a speaking moment
- Director Drew Goddard's comments linking the story's power-abuse themes to the #MeToo movement
- Incidental period-appropriate diversity in casting and a few reviews labeling gender dynamics around toxic masculinity or women's abuse as faux-woke subtext, though these remain secondary to the redemption and crime plot
Methodology: Each score synthesizes audience discourse, critic and aggregator reception, and press coverage — weighed against the work itself, not any single source.
Detailed BreakdownPro
Identity Politics & Racial Essentialism
Gender Ideology & LGBTQ+ Themes
DEI Casting & Representation Mandates
Preachiness & Message-First Agenda
Corporate & Creator Activism
See how this title scores across all 5 woke subcategories with detailed explanations.
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Is Bad Times at the El Royale Woke?
We've run a full content analysis on Bad Times at the El Royale and scored it 3/10 on the woke scale. Read our detailed breakdown above to see exactly what we found.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of woke content is in Bad Times at the El Royale?
Our analysis checks for themes like identity politics, race-swapping, gender ideology, environmental activism, anti-religious messaging, and other progressive agenda elements. The score breakdown above shows which specific categories were flagged and how heavily they factor into Bad Times at the El Royale's overall score.
Is Bad Times at the El Royale family-friendly?
Wokeometer focuses on ideological content rather than traditional ratings (violence, language, etc.). Bad Times at the El Royale is rated R. For a full picture, combine our woke analysis with the age rating to decide if it's right for your family.
How does Wokeometer score movies?
We evaluate media across multiple ideological categories on a 0–10 scale. Scores of 0–3 mean story-first, 4–6 have moderate elements, and 7–10 flag heavily agenda-driven content. Learn more about our methodology →
