The documentary filmYou Can See Everythingdirected by Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder, has emerged as a major cultural sensation this autumn. Focusing on the complex, enigmatic world of disgraced med-tech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes, the film has defied industry expectations. By its second weekend, the movie experienced a 25% increase in box office performance, bringing in an additional $19.5 million. With a North American total now exceeding $45 million, it stands as one of A24’s most successful releases ever, potentially placing it among the highest-grossing nonfiction features in the company’s history. Peering into (and helping to create) a hall of mirrors around the famed med-tech scammer Elizabeth Holmes, has become the box office story of the fall, actually rising 25% on its second weekend to gross another $19.5m – a rare feat even given its expanded screen count, this documentary. Each seemed to provide a surprise hook for a big-screen feature – like a more thoughtful version of seeing a movie because it has Anne Hathaway or Spider-Man (not that there’s anything wrong with following either of those into the dark).
This performance is particularly notable given the film’s three-hour runtime and the fact that its existence was only announced roughly eight weeks before release. It has already outpaced high-profile new releases and surpassed the performance of the co-directed projectPrimetimedespite the latter featuring Robert Pattinson. Market analysts suggest the film is on track to potentially reach the $100 million mark in North America—a milestone rarely achieved by documentaries, with only Michael Moore’sFahrenheit 9/11having previously crossed that threshold during a high-stakes election year. It’s probably even more surprising that a three-hour documentary whose existence was only announced about eight weeks ago is on track to make more money than high-profile new releases like Practical Magic 2, Verity and Street Fighter, among others, if You Can See Everything isn’t quite an Obsession -level cash cow. Something only ever accomplished by one other documentary: Michael Moore’s hot-button Fahrenheit 9/11, which had the advantage of election-year currency an, this could carry the movie past the $100m mark in North America. Was this effectively serving as a three-hour crossover between The Dropout and The Rehearsal. According to remarkably, though the movie had been out for over a week and already discoursed at least halfway to death online, none of these twentysomething viewers, Having any idea about the unexpected pivot the movie made at its halfway mark – especially impressive given that it involves another marquee name added to the mix.
At a recent sold-out screening at the AMC Empire in Times Square, a venue often serving as a barometer for top-grossing films, the audience was primarily composed of viewers under the age of 30. Despite the venue’s status as a high-traffic destination, many attendees noted they had not visited a movie theater in months. Most were not habitual documentary viewers, preferring to watch such content on streaming platforms. Instead, they were drawn to the theater by viral social media clips on Instagram and TikTok that framed the release as a vital cultural moment that required a firsthand experience. And outsized audience reactions to go along with it; rewatching it in a full 300-seat auditorium offered the opportunity to re-experience that sense of discovery, this is a movie garnering a surprisingly sizable audience. Despite an obviously youthful demographic – perhaps owing to the high tolerance for hustle and/or bustle required to trek out to Times Square, I couldn’t find anyone over 30 – there were several viewers who hadn’t been to the movies in months. (The answer to the question of what movie they last saw in theaters ranged from the month-old Primetime to the obligatory summer mega-blockbuster The Odyssey to, yes. According to the 23-year-old sitting next to me, She got the impression from social media – specifically, clips on Instagram and TikTok – that this was “a cultural moment”, as she put it. With the WTF nature of that idea intact, there was a sense that this unexpected team-up was part of the sell.
Viewers often cited the project as being unlike anything else currently in cinemas. Many were fans of Fielder’s previous comedic work, noting that the documentary felt on brand for him, while simultaneously being aware of the broader public fascination with the Elizabeth Holmes scandal. During the screening, the audience reacted audibly to the film’s content, including a moment of spontaneous applause when a featured subject described Holmes’s partner, Billy Evans, as batshit crazy. Another recurring point of engagement was Fielder’s understated reaction—the line, that must be hard—which consistently drew laughter for its flat, obligatory delivery.
Post-screening feedback revealed a complex reaction from viewers. While some found the film funnier than expected, others reported a sense of sympathy for Holmes mingled with a feeling of being on guard regarding the veracity of the narrative presented. A common thread among the audience was a feeling of admiring confusion. Rather than a singular takeaway, viewers left the theater feeling uncertain about their own conclusions, a response that typically deviates from conventional blockbuster expectations. Because the initial theatrical rollout was limited to fewer than a thousand locations, the film escaped the rigid metrics of traditional industry testing, allowing it to cultivate a more organic, word-of-mouth buzz. It’s typically to take someone else who hasn’t yet seen it, at least in part hoping to witness their reaction to a piece of art that excited or moved me in some way, w hen I see a film a second time during its theatrical run. Almost everyone I knew had seen it already; all I could do was observe strangers, perhaps more to the point. This seemed almost counterintuitive; were people really being enticed into theaters by faces they knew largely from couch-bound TV binges, to a cinema diehard.
As the film continues to draw significant crowds, industry observers are left to wonder if this success signals a broader appetite for challenging, non-traditional documentary storytelling. Whether this trend reflects a genuine shift in audience preferences or is simply a byproduct of the current cinematic landscapeYou Can See Everythinghas secured its place as the definitive, if unconventional, hit of the season. By framing the narrative around the infamous scammer and her partner, who has emerged as a particularly timely antagonist for 2026, the film has managed to turn a complex hall of mirrors into a must-see cultural event.
