Elizabeth Holmes documentary nets $15 million on limited release

Elizabeth Holmes' new documentary You Can See Everything earned $15 million (£11.25 m) on its opening weekend, despite playing on just 855 screens in the US and Canada. The three‑hour A24 film was co‑directed by comedian Nathan Fielder and filmmaker Lance Oppenheim and follows Holmes at her home in 2023, a month before she began an 11‑year prison term for defrauding Theranos investors. Deadline called the debut the second‑best opening ever for a documentary, behind Michael Moore’s 2004 Fahrenheit 9/11. It placed second at the box office, trailing Paramount’s Street Fighter, which opened to $31 million in North America and $51.1 million worldwide. The opening also marks the biggest debut for any film on under 1,000 screens since Borat earned $26 million in 2006. Fielder inserts himself into the story, blurring documentary and prank, as Holmes invites the crew 34 days before her incarceration. A surprise premiere at the Telluride Film Festival was followed by a teaser trailer that went viral, spawning memes of Holmes asking “Why would I deceive you?”. Critics have praised the film; The Guardian and the Financial Times each gave five‑star reviews, calling it a modern masterpiece of deceit and a mind‑bending revelation, while The New York Times noted the dizzying clash of truth and reality. The buzz has put the film in early talks as a contender for next year’s best documentary Oscar, though no documentary has ever been nominated for best picture.

Context

Documentaries that blend satire with real‑life subjects can attract large audiences, especially when they revisit high‑profile scandals like the Theranos fraud, which has remained in public focus through books, podcasts and TV series.