“You Can See Everything” achieved a real feat at the box office by becoming the rare must-see documentary on the big screen.
Director Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s high-profile take on Elizabeth Holmes generated a whopping $15 million from just 855 theaters. Those ticket sales were enough to land it second place behind another newcomer, Paramount’s video game adaptation “Street Fighter,” which opened to $30 million in 3,575 theaters. Heading into the weekend, “You Can See Everything” was targeting $7 million to $8 million, which would have been remarkable for a documentary, especially if it didn’t involve music or capture a wildly popular concert. Not to mention this one lasts almost three hours and wasn’t on. someone radar until two months ago.
After a surprise world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, “You Can See Everything” became a word-of-mouth sensation, bolstered by some of the best reviews of the year. A24, which produced the film in secret for three years for about $7 million, reported more than 2,000 sold-out screenings as audiences flocked to theaters to avoid spoilers about the Theranos founder’s stranger-than-fiction story before she began an 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors. People are clearly captivated by the drama surrounding Holmes, whose spectacular rise and fall from grace was depicted in the Hulu series “The Dropout,” starring Amanda Seyfried. But the turnout for “You Can See Everything” also speaks to the commercial appeal of Fielder, who has developed a talent for blending fact and fiction through works like HBO’s “The Rehearsal” and Comedy Central’s “Nathan For You.” Oppenheim, his co-director, recently directed another A24 hit, the Robert Pattinson-directed “Primetime,” which grossed nearly $50 million on a $15 million budget.
About 70% of opening weekend viewers were under 35 and liked what they saw on screen. According to exit polls, 90% of ticket buyers would “definitely recommend” the film and 80% said it was “even better than expected.” These reactions signal a long theatrical life for the film, which will expand nationally in the coming weeks.
“It’s a giant weekend for the genre,” says analyst David A. Gross, who publishes the FranchiseRe box office newsletter. “Documentaries rarely get a wide release – there’s only one every two years – and they gross an average of $3 million in their first three days.”
This year was an exception with two major documentaries, the other being Amazon MGM’s “Melania,” a look at first lady Melania Trump, with a budget of $40 million. That film opened to $7.1 million in 1,778 theaters – which at the time represented the biggest opening for a non-music or concert documentary in over a decade – and finished its run with $16.3 million. (“You Can See Everything” has a single-digit budget and will be a lot more profitable than “Melania”.)
Among its true opening weekend, “You Can See Everything” secured the biggest launch for a film released on fewer than 1,000 screens since 2006’s “Borat,” which grossed $26 million from 837 theaters (not adjusted for inflation). And it’s the biggest premiere for a documentary in more than 20 years, since 2004’s seminal “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which premiered to $24 million in 868 theaters (not adjusted for inflation). Ticket sales for “You Can See Everything” are remarkable, not just for a documentary, but for any arthouse release these days. For comparison, A24’s box office winner, “The Drama,” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, two of Hollywood’s biggest stars, opened earlier this year to $14.3 million in 3,087 theaters.
Elsewhere at the box office, “Street Fighter” raked in another $20.1 million overseas for a decent global debut of $51.1 million. Critics and audiences have been lukewarm on the video game reboot, which earned a “B-” grade in CinemaScore exit polls and 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and starring Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji, “Street Fighter” follows two estranged fighters who are recruited to participate in a tournament that requires them to compete against each other.
Legendary video game developer Capcom co-financed “Street Fighter” for $82 million, with Paramount solely responsible for distribution. The long-gestating film was originally filmed at Sony as part of Legendary’s pact with the studio and moved to Paramount once the original deal expired. It is the third film based on the Capcom video game series after the 1994 box office hit “Street Fighter,” starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the 2009 dud “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.”
“Whalefall” and “Sense and Sensibility,” two other newcomers, debuted in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Disney and “Whalefall,” a survival thriller starring Austin Abrams as a diver swallowed by a sperm whale, missed expectations with $8 million from 3,065 locations. The film also failed at the international box office grossing $9.5 million from 51 territories, for a global total of $17.5 million. Reception was mixed, with audiences giving it a “B” rating on CinemaScore and critical reviews averaging 71% on Rotten Tomatoes. “Whalefall” cost $60 million and requires considerable stamina, since theater owners keep about half of the ticket sales.
“Sense and Sensibility,” the latest remake of the Jane Austen classic, opened to $7.2 million from 2,545 screens. The highly acclaimed film grossed $11 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $18.5 million. Led by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles, the Focus Features film has a budget of $25 million and doesn’t have that high a hurdle to get out of the red.
Neither film was able to surpass Universal’s horror film, “Other Mommy,” which took third place with $8.3 million in its second weekend. Despite a painful 70% decline since its debut, “Other Mommy” is already a success with $44.8 million domestically and $78.7 million worldwide against a modest $18 million budget.
Among specialty releases, Netflix’s multigenerational drama “La Bola Negra” raked in $277,500 at four theaters in Los Angeles and New York, averaging $69,375 per location. These returns represent the second highest screen average ever for a non-English film behind 2019’s “Parasite,” which raked in $393,216 from three theaters, or an average of $131,072 per location. For a more recent comparison, Neon’s multilingual legal thriller “Fjord” debuted last weekend for $124,000 in four theaters, or $31,000 per location.
This weekend is notable because it’s the first time Netflix has reported box office revenue. The streamer plans to keep “La Bola Negra” in theaters for 45 days, a traditional window in post-pandemic times, before the film’s release on Netflix on December 2. Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known as Los Javis, “La Bola Negra” was greeted at the Cannes Film Festival with a 16-minute standing ovation and won the Toronto Film Festival’s Audience Award, which became a precursor to the Oscars.
Gn entert
