Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is drawing packed theaters across North America, as the new documentary “You Can See Everything” brought in an estimated $15 million over the weekend despite playing on only 855 screens, according to studio figures reported Sunday.
The three-hour nonfiction feature from A24 notched more than 2,000 sellout screenings and finished in second place at the domestic box office behind Paramount’s video game adaptation “Street Fighter,” ABC News reported. The film’s $15 million gross marks the second-largest opening weekend ever for a documentary, trailing only Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which opened to roughly $24 million in 2004.
It also represents the highest domestic launch for any movie playing in fewer than 1,000 theaters since “Borat” earned more than $26 million in 2006, according to box office tracking data.
A secret project draws massive crowds
Co-directed by comedian Nathan Fielder and filmmaker Lance Oppenheim, the project was developed in total secrecy over three to four years, Deadline reported. The filmmakers gained extensive, intimate access to Holmes, her partner Billy Evans, and their two young children during the month before she reported to federal prison to begin an 11-year sentence for investor fraud.
The production reportedly cost less than $7 million to produce and less than $10 million to promote, ABC News reported. The studio unveiled the finished film without advance notice during a secret screening at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado in September, sparking an explosion of interest across social platforms.
Younger moviegoers drove much of the turnout. ABC News reported that more than 70 percent of opening-weekend patrons were under the age of 35, while Deadline noted heavy interest from Gen Z viewers and couples. Ticket buyers awarded the film a 91 percent “definite recommend” in PostTrak exit polling, and it maintained a 99 percent rating on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.
“Everybody underestimated the movie, because on paper this is like, wait, a three-hour documentary?” Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, told ABC News. “Elizabeth Holmes is just a character that you couldn’t even make up. It’s stranger than fiction, and that’s really compelling.”
Surreal storytelling and awards chatter
Unlike standard biographical retrospectives, “You Can See Everything” blends nonfiction access with surreal elements and stylistic re-enactments, TheWrap reported. The story traces Fielder’s month shadowing Holmes before shifting into metatextual territory, featuring an undisclosed actress whose surprise appearance in the second half has sparked early awards speculation.
While “Street Fighter” topped the domestic charts with $31 million from 3,575 theaters, other major autumn releases struggled against the documentary’s buzz. The survival thriller “Whalefall” took in $8 million from more than 3,000 theaters, and Alex Gibney’s four-hour documentary “Musk” managed only $306,702 across 472 locations, TechCrunch reported.
The critical and financial triumph has positioned “You Can See Everything” as an unusual contender for the upcoming awards season, according to TheWrap. Although the film has already garnered five Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations, industry analysts note that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ documentary branch historically disfavors comedic or heavily fictionalized storytelling. No documentary feature has ever secured an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
Whether the picture can overcome those institutional hurdles or sustain its commercial momentum remains to be seen. A24 plans to expand “You Can See Everything” into wider release next weekend.
