Sydney Sweeney can land a punch, but maybe not at the box office. Her latest film, Christy, a biopic about trailblazing boxer Christy Martin, landed a hard blow but barely connected with the audience, opening to a paltry $1.3 million.
That’s not just a loss; it’s a technical knockout in the “worst wide release openings ever” category, according to Box Office Mojo. For films debuting in over 2,000 theaters, Christy ranks at No. 12 overall and No. 9 when excluding rereleases.
This follows the actress’s post-Euphoria hot streak with Anyone But You, her rom-com opposite Glen Powell, which turned her into a meme-worthy Hollywood darling.
But box office darling? Not so much.
Sweeney, 28, took to Instagram with a heartfelt defense that might as well have come with a side of soft lighting and a Florence + The Machine soundtrack:
“I am so deeply proud of this movie. Proud of the film [director] david [Michôd] made. proud of the story we told.”
The film chronicles the rise and trauma of Christy Martin, the first female boxer signed by Don King, portrayed by Sweeney with enough grit to earn a few method bruises. But even with all that muscle and a producing credit via her Fifty-Fifty Films banner, audiences weren’t biting.
Sweeney doubled down:
“So yes I’m proud. why? because we don’t always make art for numbers, we make it for impact. and christy has been the most impactful project of my life.”
You can view the controversial post here:
It’s a noble sentiment, though critics might note that art without numbers usually means investors without returns. Still, she’s not wrong that Christy isn’t alone in its stumble. Recent biopics like Dwayne Johnson’s The Smashing Machine and Jennifer Lopez’s Kiss of the Spider Woman also barely made a dent.
Boxing movies are proving a tough sell in 2025; even Ryan Destiny’s The Fire Inside only managed a modest run. And yes, Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby once went the distance, but that was 20 years, three Oscars, and zero Instagram controversies ago.
Sweeney’s reputation, however, has taken a few more hits than her character did in the ring. Her crime comedy Americana grossed less than $500,000 on a $9 million budget; Ron Howard’s Eden flopped harder than a missed jab; and then came the ad.
That would be the now-infamous American Eagle campaign, which described Sweeney as having “good genes,” a slogan critics called “eugenics-coded” and “weirdly alt-right chic.”
When asked about the backlash in a GQ interview last week, Sweeney gave an answer that could generously be described as, well, a non-answer:
“I did a jean ad. … I mean, the reaction definitely was a surprise, but I love jeans. All I wear are jeans. I’m literally in jeans and a T-shirt every day of my life.”
Nothing says damage control like doubling down on denim.
Asked whether she worries about the American Eagle campaign or other controversies causing people not to attend her movies, Sweeney maintained that she would not let those kinds of reactions impact her.
She replied:
"If somebody is closed off—because of something they read online—to a powerful story like Christy, then I hope that something else can open their eyes to being open to art and being open to learning, and I’m not going to be affected by that."
This girl’s vibe is very much “it’s not the movie that failed, it’s society.”
You can view the awkward interview here:
- YouTubeGQ
Unfortunately, the internet disagreed. The clip went viral for all the wrong reasons, and even her Euphoria co-star Zendaya reportedly refused to do joint press afterward.
Meanwhile, actress Aimee Lou Wood commented a vomiting emoji under the interview video, musician SZA liked a scathing critique, and content creator Jupiter Baal accused Sweeney of “knowing exactly what she was doing.”
Sweeney’s Instagram defense post sparked its own round of digital chaos:
@girliesogrooovy/Instagram
@albiefb/Instagram
@mold3.2/Instagram
@valeorrca10/Instagram
@tr2119/Instagram
@daysha_hinojosa/Instagram
@empowhersisterhood/Instagram
@mulholland_drive_by/Instagram
@diorsb3lla/Instagram
@touchofgray5/Instagram
@chelyjauregui10/Instagram
@americaneagle/Instagram
Then, just when it seemed the pile-on was winding down, Ruby Rose yes, OG Batwoman—entered the ring. The Orange Is the New Black actress claimed she had auditioned for the Christy role before it went to Sweeney.
Rose posted a knockout of her own on Threads:
So, is Christy’s box office collapse a casualty of low interest in sports biopics, or of Sweeney’s increasingly bruised public image? Hard to say. But one thing’s sure: when Sydney Sweeney said she was making an impact, she wasn’t wrong. It just might not have been the kind she had in mind.
Now taking bets on when she’ll finally disable the comments, because even a heavyweight can only dodge punches for so long.
@chandlerparry/Threads
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
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