Has the Sydney Sweeney Hype Fizzled? The Sobering Box Office of Her Last Five Movies
Hollywood’s rising force Sydney Sweeney is hitting turbulence, with controversies mounting and box-office stumbles — capped by her turn in the biographical sports drama Christy — testing the Euphoria star’s momentum.
Sydney Sweeney has been on a tear the last couple years, popping up in everything from studio superhero weirdness to R-rated rom-coms. But her latest swing, the boxing biopic 'Christy,' just face-planted at the box office in a way that turns heads, even by January-dump standards.
'Christy' opens with a thud
Sweeney produced and stars as Christy Martin, the trailblazing boxer whose life is tailor-made for a movie. The buzz was big, the transformation was dramatic, and the rollout was wide. And then the numbers hit: roughly $1.3 million domestic in its first weekend from 2,184 theaters, which works out to about $646 per screen. That lands it among the worst-ever debuts for a movie opening in more than 2,000 theaters — ninth-worst, specifically — rubbing shoulders with curios like 'Hitpig' and 'The King's Daughter.' Not exactly the company you want.
How Sweeney's last five theatrical releases performed
- Anyone But You (2023) — $218,905,781
- Madame Web (2024) — $100,298,817
- Immaculate (2024) — $25,046,900
- Eden (2025) — $2,480,113
- Christy (2025) — $1,313,144 (and counting)
Sweeney responds to the flop
After the rough opening, Sweeney went to Instagram to make it clear she is not living and dying by the weekend grosses. She shouted out director David Michod and leaned into what the project meant to her personally.
I am so deeply proud of this movie. Proud of the film David made. Proud of the story we told. Proud to represent someone as strong and resilient as Christy Martin. We don't always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact. And christy has been the most impactful project of my life.
The critical read
Early on, 'Christy' had that buzzy, could-this-be-her-Oscar narrative building. The reviews that followed have been mixed: some knocks on the movie's tone, emotional punch, and how the story is put together, paired with a lot of praise for Sweeney disappearing into the role. Awards wise, the conversation feels a lot quieter now — the dream of nabbing a trophy at 28 was fun while it lasted.
The controversy factor
There is also the other thing following Sweeney around: headlines that have nothing to do with the work. The recent run includes the bathwater soap stunt, the internet dogpile over a family birthday that was accused of being MAGA-themed, and that American Eagle spot where the 'great jeans' tagline got read as 'genes' by some viewers, prompting eugenics accusations. She told GQ the outrage blindsided her and boiled her stance down to: she loves jeans, wears them daily, and knew the ad was about, well, jeans. On top of that, her proximity to Scooter Braun keeps her name in the discourse for reasons unrelated to movies. There have also been tabloid-y claims that Zendaya might avoid joint 'Euphoria' promo with her; nothing confirmed there, but the chatter adds to the noise.
What comes next
Next up, Sweeney plays Millie Calloway in 'The Housemaid.' Maybe that is the reset she needs; maybe it is just another swing in what has already been a very up-and-down box office streak. For now, 'Christy' is still in theaters if you want to see what the fuss (and the backlash) is about.
Was 'Christy' doomed by marketing, timing, the movie itself, or the discourse vortex around its star? Tell me where you land.