Sydney Sweeney took a swing at a boxing biopic and, financially, the movie got counted out before the first round ended. Her film 'Christy' opened wide and still came up painfully short. Let’s break down what happened and why the math here is rough.
So, how did the opening go?
Not great. Despite rolling out on more than 2,000 screens, 'Christy' pulled in about $1.3 million over its first three days, according to Daily Mail. That shakes out to roughly $649 per screen, per The Wrap, which is the kind of number that gets whispered about in studio hallways. It landed low on the weekend chart and basically vanished in the crowd of other wide releases.
Sweeney pushed hard. There was real online buzz and a personal plea from her on Instagram that made it very clear how much this story means to her.
"I am so deeply proud of this movie. Thank you to everyone who saw, felt, and believed and will believe in this story for years to come... if Christy gave even one woman the courage to take her first step toward safety, then we will have succeeded."
That emotion is sincere, and the film has compelling ingredients on paper: an iconic athlete in boxer Christy Martin, trauma, resilience, and the grind that comes with real-life fights. It just didn’t translate into ticket sales.
The money problem in plain English
The budget is reportedly in the $30–40 million range (World of Reel). In movie math, you don’t just make that back at the box office — you usually need a lot more worldwide to break even after marketing and distribution. For 'Christy', the breakeven target is floating somewhere in the $75–120 million neighborhood. Starting at $1.3 million is, to put it kindly, not the launch you want.
- Opening weekend (3 days): about $1.3 million
- Screens: 2,000+
- Per-theater average: about $649
- Reported production budget: $30–40 million
- Estimated worldwide breakeven: $75–120 million
Why it matters
That per-theater average places 'Christy' among the weaker wide openings in recent memory. Even with Sweeney’s star power and a story built to inspire, the audience didn’t show up. Could it leg out a recovery? Anything’s possible — word of mouth can be weird — but it would take a serious turnaround to make a dent in that breakeven target.
If you’re curious, 'Christy' is in theaters now. Whether it finds its crowd later or fades fast, the early scoreboard is brutal.