NEW YORK, Oct. 18 -- The weekend that widens Alex Gibney's "Musk" documentary from four theaters to more than 470 screens began with its distributor shut out of TikTok's paid advertising. Bleecker Street was told on Friday afternoon that a "permanent suspension" was coming for any ads it tried to buy, and could not place them shortly afterward, The Hollywood Reporter reported on Saturday.

The film's native, unpaid TikTok account remains active. What Bleecker Street lost is the ability to pay for reach, a key tool studios use to spread the word about a movie that is in theaters. A TikTok representative did not comment, according to the report.

A Bleecker Street spokesperson confirmed that TikTok had informed the company of the suspension...