Documentary on Elizabeth Holmes Sends Viewership of The Dropout Up Sharply
Interest in Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has surged since the release of the documentary You Can See Everything. The film earned $15m in its North American opening weekend.
A documentary about disgraced Theranos chief executive Elizabeth Holmes, You Can See Everything, has become a box office draw in North America and revived public interest in her fraud scandal. Theranos was a blood-testing company whose devices, it emerged, could not accurately analyse blood samples. The film premiered on 16 October.
Viewership climbs
According to Variety, viewership of The Dropout, the 2022 Hulu series in which Amanda Seyfried plays Holmes, was 186% higher in September than the month before. The rise followed the 6 September announcement of the previously secret film and the release of its first teaser. In the week of 12 October, viewership increased by a further 92% over the previous week. Bad Blood, journalist John Carreyrou's book about Holmes's company and the whistleblowers who exposed it, has also returned to the New York Times bestseller list.
Holmes was once the youngest self-made female billionaire in the US, with a net worth of $4.5bn by age 30. She left the company in 2018 after Carreyrou's reporting, and it collapsed soon afterwards.
Box office records
The three-hour film, produced by studio A24 and directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, took $15m on 855 screens in North America over its opening weekend. That is the best opening for a documentary in more than two decades, since Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004. About 2,000 screenings reportedly sold out. The film also pushed the previous weekend's leader, the video game adaptation Street Fighter, into second place.
It was shot largely in secret in 2023, the month before Holmes reported to prison to serve an 11-year sentence for fraud. Reviews have been near-unanimous in praise, with a Metacritic score of 99. The Guardian awarded it five stars.
What comes next
Pundits predict it could become the first documentary nominated for the best picture Oscar. A24 will submit it in several categories beyond best documentary, and Seyfried will be campaigned for best supporting actress. The film will expand to at least 2,600 screens in its second weekend. It opens in Australia on 12 November and in the UK on 20 November.
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