Elizabeth Holmes Documentary "You Can See Everything" Passes $80 Million in North America
A24's documentary "You Can See Everything" has grossed $80 million in North America after four weekends in cinemas, according to Variety. North America means the United States and Canada, and that total makes it the second-highest grossing non-music documentary ever in the region.
The film trails "Fahrenheit 9/11," Michael Moore's 2004 documentary, which took $119 million domestically. It is ahead of "March of the Penguins," the 2005 nature film, which grossed $77 million in North America. Those two titles set the benchmark that this film has now passed.
The film is about Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the blood-testing company Theranos. It was directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, and it had a surprise world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in the United States.
Its box-office run started in mid-October. It opened to $15 million from 855 theatres, according to Variety's opening-weekend report. The second weekend brought in $19.5 million from 2,655 theatres, and the film then passed $45 million domestically by late October.
The fourth weekend was a quieter one. Studio estimates put the film at $8.8 million from 2,473 theatres, a fall of 23 percent from the weekend before. Studio estimates are the first, unofficial weekend numbers, and the final figures are published the following Monday.
For A24, the company that distributed the film, the result is a notable one. Variety reports that "You Can See Everything" is now the third-biggest domestic release in A24's history. It sits behind "Backrooms" at $197 million and "Marty Supreme" at $96 million, and ahead of "Everything Everywhere All at Once," which took $77 million. Variety also reports that the film is on course to pass $100 million in North America.
Overseas, the picture is still to come. The film has not yet opened in other countries, and it will roll out in stages from the end of November. For comparison, "Fahrenheit 9/11" took $103 million outside North America, for a worldwide total of $222 million. "March of the Penguins" took $49 million overseas, for $127 million worldwide.
Those figures are a reminder of how far a documentary can travel when audiences choose to go. They also show why the overseas release schedule matters. The film's home-market total will be set by its ticket sales in the coming weeks, and its international numbers will start to arrive once cinemas open in each territory.
