Sydney Sweeney‘s new biopic, Christy, was released in over 2000 theaters, but she wasn’t prepared for the box office smackdown it received. The movie opened to an embarrassingly low box office figure of $1.3 million (via IndieWire). Many believed that Sweeney’s controversial choices off the set caused the movie to flop.
Fans aren’t just talking about her controversial ad with American Eagle, where she talked about having “great jeans”. Even after the backlash, Sweeney continued to defend her side of the story. Her other controversies also included her bathwater soap, her alleged MAGA association, and her public relationship with Scooter Braun.
Sweeney broke up with her fiancé, Jonathan Davino, in March. After several online speculations about her new romance, fans found out that she was dating Braun. Interestingly, the music producer has managed to garner many haters due to his feud with Taylor Swift.
Fans also noted how Sweeney’s other films at the box office this year, Americana and Eden, both failed to make an impact. They believed that it was a major shift after she managed to churn out hits like Anyone But You and Immaculate.
Sydney Sweeney’s Christy Doesn’t Deserve This Box Office Fate
While Predator: Badlands led the box office this weekend with its $40 million haul, Christy couldn’t even crack the domestic top 10 with its $1.3 million collection. However, fans believed that Sydney Sweeney’s movie didn’t deserve the box office disappointment.
Critics found the movie to be a decent boxing drama flick, which told the story of how Christy Martin beat all the odds to become America’s most well-known female boxer. It also touched upon the theme of domestic violence, as it dealt with Martin’s ex-husband’s attempted murder of her in 2010.
Sweeney gave it all for the role, even transforming from her sexier looks to a much more raw and rustic look. She gave an incredible performance on the screen, which makes it even more sadder that the movie failed so miserably to bring large crowds into the theater. Fans also commented on how Sweeney’s controversies overshadowed Martin’s survival story.
A lot of people are dragging Sydney Sweeney for the poor box office this weekend — and I do think that there are legitimate things to criticise Sweeney over, truly — but let’s not forget that Christy Martin is a real person, whose then-husband tried to murder her when she tried… https://t.co/f9CTI9uFLj
Sweeney took to Instagram to address the box office numbers, sharing, “We don’t always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact” (via Deadline). She further shared that the movie was “the most impactful project of my life.”
Fans also looked at other factors other than Sweeney’s controversies that could have potentially derailed the movie. They believed that the audience largely ignored the movie because of the subject of the movie, who was sadly not a popular boxer amongst the current masses. Fans believed that the movie’s marketing failed in showing how Martin’s contribution was crucial to the sport.
They also made the case that it was a hard time for such grittier dramas at the box office. Fans pointed out the recent disappointments of good movies like The Smashing Machine and Die, My Love in the theaters.
Sydney Sweeney’s Response to the American Eagle Ad Controversy
On July 23rd, American Eagle launched a new campaign starring Sydney Sweeney. The young actress posed for a few shots, highlighting the new line of denim. However, some fans took offense to the campaign titled “Sydney Has Great Jeans”.
The controversy centered around Sweeney’s statement in the ad, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue.” She was accused of promoting eugenics, and the debate got heated on social media.
The company later shared on their Instagram, “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans is and always was about the jeans” (via THR). The actress recently addressed the controversy during her GQ interview. She shared:
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.
She shared that the backlash “didn’t affect me one way or the other”, adding that she knew what the ad was about. However, her response didn’t impress many people.
What do you think of the box office disaster of Sydney Sweeney’s new movie, Christy? Let us know in the comments below!
