A new documentary chronicling the final days before Elizabeth Holmes entered federal custody arrived in theaters on Friday, Oct. 16, generating substantial attention and early ticket sales. “You Can See Everything,” directed by Lance Oppenheim alongside comedian Nathan Fielder, collected $1.75 million across 855 screens during Thursday night preview showings, IndieWire reported.
The three-hour film from studio A24 is projected to gross between $7 million and $8 million during its opening weekend, according to box office tracking reported by IndieWire. Such figures place the release among the strongest domestic debuts for a non-music documentary since the pandemic, competing against major studio releases such as Paramount’s “Street Fighter.”
An Unorthodox Pitch
The documentary originated approximately one month before Holmes surrendered to authorities in 2023 to serve an 11-year sentence for criminal fraud, TechCrunch reported. Holmes, the founder of the collapsed blood-testing startup Theranos, and her partner Billy Evans approached A24 with an offer to grant cameras unrestricted access to their private lives ahead of her incarceration.
Oppenheim and Fielder took on the production, which screened secretly in early September at the Telluride Film Festival before A24 unveiled a promotional teaser. Speaking on the “All-In” podcast, Evans defended the decision to allow cameras into their home, explaining that they intended to let audiences evaluate Holmes away from previous media coverage. Evans noted that close acquaintances regularly altered their perspectives on Holmes after spending casual time with her, Variety reported.
However, Evans acknowledged that the marketing rollout created tension. Commenting on the promotional clip in which Holmes asks Fielder why she would deceive him, Evans remarked, “She looks insane,” adding that he had not yet viewed the completed documentary, according to Variety and TheWrap.
Examining Personas and Reality
Inside the film, Fielder confronts Holmes directly regarding her public legacy. “The world believes a reality about me that isn’t true,” Holmes told Fielder, according to TechCrunch. “I know I didn’t commit any crime.”
The documentary also examines disputes over Holmes’ public image, including fallout from a profile published by The New York Times shortly before her surrender. When Holmes entered custody, Fielder faced restrictions barring recording equipment inside the prison facility. To document their ongoing interactions, Fielder scripted their conversations from memory, TechCrunch reported.
To help analyze the material, Fielder recruited actress Amanda Seyfried, who previously won acclaim portraying Holmes in the Hulu miniseries “The Dropout.” The film shows Seyfried rehearsing Fielder’s recalled transcripts and reacting to footage of Holmes viewing Seyfried’s television performance, TechCrunch detailed. The documentary also depicts Evans placing a life-sized artificial intelligence display of Holmes at the family dinner table to interact with their children during her absence.
Whether the documentary shifts broader public perception of Holmes remains uncertain as the release expands into theaters across the country.
