A documentary tracking the final months of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes before her prison term has achieved one of the most stunning box office debuts in modern specialty film history. A24's "You Can See Everything," directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, captured $15 million across just 855 domestic screens during its opening weekend, finishing in second place nationwide despite playing in less than a quarter of the venues utilized by traditional Hollywood wide releases.
Heading into the weekend, industry projections had targeted a start of $7 million to $8 million, an amount that would have already registered as an exceptional result for a documentary not focused on a major pop star or a stadium concert tour. The nearly three-hour movie expanded well beyond those figures, driven by intense word-of-mouth following a stealth world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival and a wave of critical acclaim.
Domestic Box Office Weekend Top 5
| Film | Studio / Distributor | Weekend Gross | Theater Count | Production Budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street Fighter | Paramount | $30 million | 3,575 | $82 million |
| You Can See Everything | A24 | $15 million | 855 | ~$7 million |
| Other Mommy | Universal | $8.3 million | Not stated | $18 million |
| Whalefall | Disney / 20th Century | $8 million | 3,065 | $60 million |
| Sense and Sensibility | Focus Features | $7.2 million | 2,545 | $25 million |
Record-Breaking Metrics for a Non-Music Nonfiction Title
Produced secretly over three years on a modest budget of around $7 million, "You Can See Everything" logged more than 2,000 sold-out showtimes over its initial three days. According to exit polling, roughly 70 percent of the opening weekend audience was under the age of 35, with 90 percent indicating they would definitely recommend the release and 80 percent stating it exceeded their expectations.
Box office analyst David A. Gross of FranchiseRe pointed out that traditional wide-release documentaries appear perhaps once every other year and typically debut around $3 million. The $15 million total represents the largest domestic launch for any feature screening in fewer than 1,000 locations since 2006, when "Borat" bowed to $26 million in 837 venues. It also stands as the highest documentary opening weekend in more than two decades, trailing only the $24 million launch of "Fahrenheit 9/11" in 2004.
The feat is even more pronounced when set against this year's other high-profile nonfiction project, Amazon MGM's "Melania." While that $40 million look at former first lady Melania Trump initially posted a strong $7.1 million start in 1,778 theaters on its way to a $16.3 million lifetime gross, Fielder and Oppenheim's film has eclipsed nearly that entire domestic run in just three days on a fraction of the screens and cost.
Paramount's 'Street Fighter' Leads the Domestic Charts
While "You Can See Everything" generated the weekend's most notable theater averages, Paramount's live-action reboot "Street Fighter" topped the overall domestic box office by pulling in $30 million from 3,575 locations. Abroad, the video game adaptation collected $20.1 million, boosting its initial global haul to $51.1 million.
Directed by Kitao Sakurai and starring Noah Centineo alongside Andrew Koji as estranged martial artists forced into tournament combat, the production carries an $82 million price tag co-financed by Legendary and video game publisher Capcom. Paramount handles distribution duties on the title, which previously sat at Sony before a studio pact expired. Audience and critical reactions proved muted, reflected in a "B-" grade on CinemaScore and a 42 percent approval mark on Rotten Tomatoes.
Mixed Fortunes Across the Wider Theatrical Marketplace
Universal's holdover horror entry "Other Mommy" took the No. 3 position, adding $8.3 million during its sophomore outing despite suffering a steep 70 percent drop from its debut. Produced for $18 million, the film's cumulative domestic gross stands at $44.8 million.
New wide entries occupied the bottom half of the top five. Disney and 20th Century's $60 million survival adventure "Whalefall," starring Austin Abrams as an imperiled diver inside a sperm whale, stalled in fourth place with $8 million from 3,065 theaters. Exit polling awarded the film a "B" CinemaScore against a 71 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. In fifth, Focus Features debuted its $25 million literary adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility," starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles, which took in $7.2 million from 2,545 screens.
Following its initial run in limited distribution, A24 intends to roll out "You Can See Everything" into nationwide expansion in the coming weeks, seeking to capitalize on strong word-of-mouth and unprecedented audience demand for the nonfiction genre.
Related Stories
- Inside Amanda Seyfried's Meta Return as Elizabeth Holmes in New Documentary 'You Can See Everything
- ‘Street Fighter’ Tops Domestic Box Office With $13 Million Opening Day as Elizabeth Holmes Doc Surges
- TikTok Permanently Bans Ad Account for Alex Gibney's Elon Musk Documentary
Source: Variety
Post a Comment