Audiences can’t get enough of Elizabeth Holmes.
Eight years after Theranos’ blood-testing startup collapsed spectacularly, “You Can See Everything,” a gonzo documentary about Holmes, opened to a whopping $15 million on 855 screens. It’s the second-highest opening for a non-music documentary in history, trailing only 2004’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which debuted to $23.9 million. Remember, however, that Michael Moore’s takedown of Bushism was published in the hothouse atmosphere of an election year. “You Can See Everything” comes after Holmes has been everywhere for nearly a decade, appearing on podcasts, in documentaries like Alex Gibney, in bestsellers and on television, where she was memorably played by Amanda Seyfried.
Yet A24 was able to maintain its interest in the convicted fraudster, revealing the secrets that Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s documentary promised to reveal, without ever revealing its surprises. The public, keen not to spoil it, snapped up tickets, with A24 reporting that there were more than 2,000 tickets sold.
The film’s success is a testament to a clever marketing campaign that, by revealing almost nothing, made “You Can See Everything” even more of an event. It’s also a credit to Nathan Fielder, the film’s co-director, who has cultivated a strong following through shows like Comedy Central’s “Nathan for You” and HBO’s “The Rehearsal,” which push the meta to the breaking point. His goofy energy seemed perfectly suited to what Holmes was offering through his impassive eyes. Fielder’s co-director Lance Oppenheim is also in fine form, having recently directed another A24 hit, the Robert Pattinson drama “Primetime.” This look at “To Catch a Predator” host Chris Hansen grossed nearly $45 million on a budget of $14.5 million. “You Can See Everything” has a budget of $7 million, making it very, very profitable.
This time last year, the A24 was in poor condition. It had raised $75 million in 2024 from Thrive Capital, which valued the company at $3.5 billion. Then he used that money to invest in some real duds, including “The Smashing Machine,” which cost $50 million and was supposed to bring Dwayne Johnson an Oscar until it sank like a rock at the box office, grossing a paltry $21.1 million. Other costly failures included Ari Aster “Eddington,” who proposed a return to the COVID era that audiences roundly rejected.
But since “Marty Supreme” opened in December 2025, A24 has been on an epic streak. The drama about a ping-pong player became A24’s highest-grossing release ever, grossing $192.4 million on a $70 million budget. But this record didn’t last long. “Backrooms” premiered this summer and grossed more than $400 million on a $10 million budget. There were still failures (justice to “Mother Mary”), but A24 hits like “Tony” and “The Drama” outnumbered its failures. While major studios like Warner Bros. and Fox are sold or disappear, A24 and its $3.5 billion valuation stands as a beacon of hope for authors like Fielder and Oppenheim, promising them both artistic freedom and a chance to reach a wider audience than they might otherwise have dreamed of attracting.
Of course, it helps to have a killer marketing hook. Starring Holmes as a former entrepreneur who deceived Beltway executives and captains of industry before igniting billions of dollars, “You Can See Everything” demonstrates once again that nothing is as compelling as a fall from grace.
Gn entert
