Box Office
Flop · 0.5xBudget$7M
Worldwide Gross$3.4M
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The Neon Demon
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The Neon Demon
movie·R·Jun 24, 2016·
Box OfficeFlop · 0.5x
$7M
Budget
$3.4M
Gross
Shop
Shop this title
The Neon Demon
We may earn a commission from purchases through these links.
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.
The Neon Demon
movie
R
June 24, 2016
Wokeometer Rating
3Based
0/10
Scale: 0 = not woke, 10 = maximally woke
TL;DR Verdict
The Neon Demon stays neutral with its stylized horror tale of the modeling world's youth obsession and rivalries, avoiding any activist framing or identity politics for straightforward story-driven entertainment.
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Detailed Analysis
The Neon Demon centers on 16-year-old Jesse (Elle Fanning) entering the LA modeling world, where her natural beauty sparks envy from older models Ruby (Jena Malone), Sarah (Abbey Lee), and Gigi (Bella Heathcote), culminating in her murder and cannibalistic consumption by the trio in a blood ritual.
The narrative functions as a stylized horror cautionary tale about the fashion industry's obsession with youth, narcissism, and commodification, with graphic elements including a necrophilia scene involving Ruby and a female corpse, erotic blood-bathing among the women, and female rivalry. Refn described the film as 'beyond feminist' and 'all about women,' with female co-writers, but the execution draws on classic showbiz exploitation tropes rather than activist framing of systemic patriarchy or identity politics.
Key Factors
- Female-centric cast and story exploring beauty industry envy without DEI casting or race/gender swaps of established characters
- Lesbian character Ruby and queer-coded horror elements (necrophilia fantasy, blood ritual) presented as dark/villainous rather than positive representation
- Critique of female narcissism and rivalry framed as timeless cautionary tale, not modern social justice messaging on oppression or norms
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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Privacy policyIs The Neon Demon Woke?
We've run a full content analysis on The Neon Demon 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 The Neon Demon?
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 The Neon Demon's overall score.
Is The Neon Demon family-friendly?
Wokeometer focuses on ideological content rather than traditional ratings (violence, language, etc.). The Neon Demon 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 →
