You Can See Everything, the Elizabeth Holmes documentary from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, has made an estimated $15 million (£11.2 million) at the US and Canadian box office during its opening weekend.
Released by A24 in just 855 cinemas, the film took approximately $17,544 per venue. That performance makes it the second-biggest opening for a documentary, behind Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, which began with $23.9 million from 868 screens in 2004.
A24 said more than 2,000 screenings sold out over the weekend. The result was about twice the $7 million to $8 million forecast by Variety.
You Can See Everything outperforms wider releases
The documentary finished second overall at the weekend box office, behind Street Fighter, which opened with $31 million across 3,575 cinemas. However, You Can See Everything generated more than twice as much per location, with Street Fighter averaging $8,671.
It also outperformed the other major new releases. Whalefall took $8 million, while Sense and Sensibility made $7.25 million.
The opening was also nearly double the $8 million made earlier this month by Digger, the Tom Cruise-led dark comedy directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu. In its third weekend, the film grossed only $920,000 and finished 15th.
Digger was reportedly approved with a budget of $125 million, with production costs later rising to between $160 million and $180 million. Its projected theatrical loss has been put at about $245 million.
By contrast, the combined production and marketing budget for You Can See Everything has been reported at less than $20 million. The documentary also finished ahead of several other narrative studio films, including Other Mommy, Verity, Resident Evil, Heart of the Beast, Forgotten Island, The Social Reckoning and A24’s Primetime.
A rare documentary box-office success
The film more than doubled the opening of Amazon MGM Studios’ Melania, which launched on around $7 million across 1,778 cinemas in late January. The studio reportedly paid $40 million for the rights and spent about $35 million on marketing.
Documentaries rarely receive such substantial theatrical distribution. The most successful examples remain unusual: Fahrenheit 9/11 ultimately made $119.2 million domestically, while March of the Penguins expanded from an opening on four screens to take $77.4 million. Michael Jackson’s This Is It earned $72 million in 2009.
You Can See Everything premiered unexpectedly at the Telluride Film Festival on 6 September. Its subject, Holmes, is the founder of Theranos and is serving a federal prison sentence of more than 11 years for fraud.
The film’s publicity has focused on the relationship between Holmes and Fielder, whose comedy frequently blurs performance and reality. Discussion of possible surprises and spoilers helped build interest before its cinema release.
The documentary currently has a 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.8 average rating on Letterboxd, described by Boxoffice Pro as the highest ever recorded on the platform. Its reception has also prompted discussion over whether it could become the first documentary nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
