A24's Elizabeth Holmes doc 'You Can See Everything' crosses $45M, reshaping documentary box office

In its second weekend, 'You Can See Everything' didn't slow down — it sped up. A24's documentary about convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes collected $19.5 million from 2,655 theaters, a notable increase over its already-sizable opening, pushing its domestic total to $45.1 million and placing it on a trajectory to become one of the biggest-grossing documentaries ever made in the United States.

The film opened to $15 million in the U.S. and Canada during its first weekend, far outpacing expectations, according to A24. That debut marked the best documentary opening of the year by a wide margin. The second-best this year, 'Melania,' grossed $7.1 million on its opening weekend.

Co-directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the nearly three-hour film offers what reviewers have described as unprecedented access to Holmes and her partner in the period before she reported to federal prison. Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors through Theranos, her blood-testing company, which claimed its technology could run hundreds of medical tests from a single pinprick of blood. Investigations revealed the company was secretly using conventional, expensive lab equipment to run those tests. Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after journalist John Carreyrou published an investigative report in The Wall Street Journal that ultimately led to criminal charges. Theranos had at one point been valued at $9 billion.

The film's financial performance is matched by its critical reception. It holds a 99% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 98% score from general audiences — numbers that, combined with strong word-of-mouth, help explain why ticket sales actually grew in week two rather than following the typical drop-off pattern.

One of the most shocking, revelatory, and oddly funny films I'd ever witnessed. It was twisty and worthy of seeing with fresh eyes.— Henry Chandonnet, Reporter

The economics behind the film's success are unusually favorable. With a distributor — A24 — known for lean, targeted releases, the film's per-screen averages during its limited opening were exceptionally high before expanding to more than 2,600 theaters. At $45.1 million domestically and still running, the film is positioned to be wildly profitable, according to Variety.

The all-time list of highest-grossing documentaries domestically has historically been dominated by a small number of titles, making a $45 million-and-climbing run from a film about a white-collar fraud case a genuinely unusual commercial event. Holmes' enduring cultural notoriety — fueled by podcasts, books, a dramatized Hulu series, and years of media coverage — appears to have given the film a built-in audience that extended well beyond documentary enthusiasts.

Why it matters — A documentary with a $7 million budget crossing $45 million domestically — with ticket sales still growing — would rank among the highest-grossing docs in U.S. history and signals that true-crime and fraud narratives can command mainstream theatrical audiences at a scale previously reserved for concert films and major political events.

Reported by variety.com, businessinsider.com, boxofficemojo.com, screenrant.com