Audiences continued to flock to “You Can See Everything,” as the twisty documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes captured the zeitgeist and saw its grosses increase in its second weekend. The A24 film earned $19.5 million over its sophomore frame, a 25% improvement from its $15.6 million opening. Few movies see their grosses rise like that.
However, the film expanded its theater count, which helped lift ticket sales. “You Can See Everything” is playing in 2,655 theaters, up from the 855 it debuted on the previous weekend. Its popularity is remarkable considering that “You Can See Everything” is a three-hour documentary that is playing like a broadly commercial feature. It helped that A24 cloaked the film in secrecy, convincing audiences that the only way to avoid spoilers was to buy a ticket.
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Produced for a mere $7 million, “You Can See Everything” has grossed $45.1 million, positioning it to be one of the most successful non-fiction films in history. Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11,” an anti-Bush treatise released in the midst of the contentious 2004 presidential election, remains the highest-grossing documentary with just over $222 million in receipts. “You Can See Everything” has easily topped “Melania,” which had been the year’s highest-grossing doc with its $16.3 million gross. That look at the gilded life of America’s First Lady was a lot less profitable given that Jeff Bezos and Amazon MGM Studios shelled out $40 million for the rights (they love non-fiction filmmaking!).
Will the box office success propel “You Can See Everything” and its directors Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim into the Oscar race? The jury is still out on that, though awards prognosticators have written many, many, many words on the subject.
Even if the documentary branch shuts Fielder and Oppenheim out or “You Can See Everything” fails to be the first documentary to land a Best Picture nomination, it will go down as a massive hit for A24, extending a sizzling streak at the box office. This year, the studio released “Backrooms,” the biggest blockbuster in its history with a $400 million global haul, as well as winners like “Primetime” and “The Drama.” And it did by proving that audiences will turn up in theaters for more than just superhero flicks and sequels. Turns out, they’re interested in Silicon Valley flameouts too.