The Real Reasons Why Sydney Sweeney’s New Movie Is A Box Office Disaster
If you are one of the five-teen people who’s boycotting Sydney Sweeney right now, then congrats! You did nothing. Her career is plateauing all by itself.
Her latest movie Americana hit theaters this month and barely made $500,000 across 1,100 theaters. Compare that to the $25 million of Weapons, which had already been out for a week before Americana burst into theaters in truly asthmatic fashion. OK, so we’re not being entirely fair. Americana is still going to make some money for its indie producers. But that hasn’t stopped the mainscream media from labeling it a box office disaster. What happened? Let’s break it down.
1. Americana was overshadowed by eugenics, ugh!
Tale as old as time. An imaginary controversy used a straw man argument to claim that the left believed Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle “good jeans” ad was about eugenics. Then everyone got mad. Even though the controversy was fake, the optics of the scenario still cut Americana’s marketing campaign at the knees. Sweeney’s listless vocal fry in the ad ultimately became louder than the person(s?) clamoring to see Americana.
2. Some old guy tweeted about her
As if the whole “good jeans” thing wasn’t distracting enough, some 79-year-old pal of Vladimir Putin decided to join the conversation and congratulate Sydney Sweeney for voting Republican. I forget the guy’s name, though. He’s like, in government and a convicted felon, I think? Anyway, his decision to publicly salivate over her, calling her “the HOTTEST,” became a massive point of contention among Sweeney’s fans. Those on the left, disappointed by her right-wing politics after seeing her work alongside queer men and trans women, became instantly turned off. None of them were about to see Americana.
3. Oh, Lionsgate didn’t actually intend to make money off of Americana
Septuagenarian salivating aside, Americana was never actually intended to make bank for its studio. After the film’s original studio, Bron Studios, went bankrupt, Lionsgate swept in and released Americana under its niche Lionsgate Premiere Releasing (LPGR) label for a low cost, all but writing it off as a weird movie with no hopes of finding a huge audience. But even with its $500K opening, the ultra-low budget Americana will still turn a profit thanks to video on-demand services and streaming.
4. But the movie isn’t perfect, either
If Americana were mind-blowingly good, it could have had staying power in theaters and even find a larger audience. However, it’s more of a Tarantino-lite attempt at a mind-blowing movie, and only has a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s by no means bad, but it’s also not enough to make it a cult classic. While some critics have praised its non-linear storytelling and thrilling violence, others have criticized its forced quirkiness and over-stylization.
5. We’ve reached Sweeney saturation point
There might be another reason why Sweeney’s fans didn’t bust down fences (Weapons reference) to catch her film. She’s been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. In addition to that good jeans ad, she recently made the news for selling bars of soap made from her bathwater. Is Hollywood just not paying its actors anymore or did she just want attention? Either way, fans responded to her Hot Capitalist Summer with a resounding “Wut” and collectively decided to take a Sweeney sabbatical for a bit. We have temporarily reached Sweeney oversaturation. Americana didn’t seem worth interrupting that.
6. Oh, and Americana didn’t have a marketing hook to begin with
Summer ‘25 has been defined by IP-led adaptations, remakes, re-quels, and reboots, as well as the occasional odd indie horror. There has been little room for small movies with ill-defined genres to break through the mold. Even so, Americana barely employed any marketing tactics to grab our attention, and couldn’t decide if it was a violent heist film, an eccentric character drama, or a satirical western. Americana had no viral angle.
7. And finally …
Sweeney has fully broken out and already has three more movies lined up for this year alone. If her fans skipped Americana because they simply didn’t want to spend $20 on a possibly mid movie, then they’re probably just holding out for one of Sweeney’s other impending projects: Christy, Eden, and The Housemaid. If I were to bet on one of those becoming a hit, I’d put money on The Housemaid. But if that movie doesn’t do well either, then I guess Sydney Sweeney’s career is just over forever. Sad!
