Sydney Sweeney’s latest film is set for a tough opening weekend as box office figures fall short of expectations. The boxing biopic Christy, in which the 28-year-old actress plays trailblazing female fighter Christy Martin, earned just $600,000 on opening day from 2,814 theaters, positioning it for an expected three-day debut of around $1.25 million. The film opened at number 11 at the domestic box office, behind Tron: Ares, marking the third consecutive 2025 release in which Sweeney debuted with a three-day total under $2 million.
Sydney Sweeney Boxing Biopic Bombs at the Box Office
The boxing drama tells the story of Christy Martin, who became America’s most successful female boxer in the 1990s after signing with promoter Don King and appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1996 following her memorable fight against Deirdre Gogarty. In November 2010, Martin’s husband and trainer James V. Martin stabbed her multiple times and shot her in the chest during a violent attack on their Florida home. She survived by escaping and flagging down a passing motorist. James Martin was later convicted of attempted manslaughter and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The film, directed by David Michôd and co-written with Mirrah Foulkes, received mixed reviews, earning a 66% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 60 rating on Metacritic. Critics have praised Sweeney’s physical transformation and dedication to the role, but found the overall film to be formally and tonally uneven.
Sydney Sweeney’s ongoing controversy
The film’s release comes during a particularly difficult time for Sweeney, who has been at the center of a cultural controversy surrounding her American Eagle jeans campaign. The ads, with the tagline ‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’, sparked backlash after critics interpreted the pun between ‘jeans’ and ‘jeans’.genesbecause it had eugenic implications. The campaign attracted such widespread attention that President Donald Trump publicly praised Sweeney and identified her as a Republican figure, although she has never publicly commented on her political beliefs.
In her first comments about the controversy, Sweeney told GQ magazine that she had simply created “a jeans ad” and that the unexpected response “didn’t affect me in any way.”
When Sweeney was asked directly about the specific criticism that “white people shouldn’t make jokes about genetic superiority” in the current political climate, he responded, “I think if I have an issue that I want to talk about, people will hear it.” She also added: “The ad spoke for itself.”
Christy continues a disappointing box office run Sweeney in 2025. Her previous films Eden, directed by Ron Howard, opened in 664 theaters for just $1.05 million, while the neo-Western Americana earned about $500,000 in 1,100 theaters.
Sweeney’s American Eagle campaign and other recent controversies have reportedly caused tension behind the scenes at HBO, with unconfirmed reports suggesting co-star Zendaya hesitantly to participate in joint promotional activities for the upcoming third season of Euphoria. According to self-proclaimed pop culture researcher Sloan Hooks, Zendaya achieved A-list status after the show’s second season and doesn’t want her career trajectory to be affected by the controversies surrounding Sweeney.
The alleged gap stems from multiple incidents: the American Eagle jeans commercial controversy, a 2022 birthday party for Sweeney’s mother where attendees wore “Make Sixty Great Again” hats, rumors that Sweeney was flirting with actor Tom Holland (Zendaya’s partner), and her registered Republican status conflicting with Euphoria’s representation of diverse and LGBTQ+ characters.
The film’s poor commercial performance highlights the ongoing challenges for adult-oriented dramas at the box office this fall. Christy joins a growing list of star-driven independent films that have failed to translate critical attention and festival buzz into meaningful box office returns in the current theatrical landscape.
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