“You Can See Everything,” Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, delivered a startling $15 million opening from only 855 theaters, taking second place at the domestic box office.

The A24 release finished behind Paramount’s “Street Fighter,” which debuted with $30 million from 3,575 venues. Yet the documentary’s performance dramatically exceeded projections of $7 million to $8 million — a range that would already have represented an unusually strong result for a non-music documentary.

The breakthrough is particularly notable because “You Can See Everything” runs nearly three hours and was not on the radar until two months ago. A24 secretly produced the film over three years for roughly $7 million, giving the company a modest financial foundation for a release that has quickly become a theatrical event.

A word-of-mouth breakout

Momentum accelerated after the film’s surprise world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, where strong reviews helped turn it into a word-of-mouth sensation. A24 reported more than 2,000 sold-out screenings as moviegoers sought to avoid spoilers surrounding the story of the Theranos founder before she began an 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors.

The opening audience also skewed young: approximately 70% of weekend ticket buyers were under 35. Exit polling found that 90% would “definitely recommend” the documentary, while 80% said it was “even better than expected.” Those responses provide an encouraging signal as A24 prepares to expand the film nationwide in the coming weeks.

Box office analyst David A. Gross, publisher of the FranchiseRe newsletter, called it “a giant weekend for the genre.” He noted that documentaries rarely receive wide releases and average $3 million during their first three days.

“You Can See Everything” posted the largest opening for a movie playing on fewer than 1,000 screens since “Borat” earned $26 million from 837 theaters in 2006. It also scored the biggest documentary debut in more than 20 years, following the $24 million launch of “Fahrenheit 9/11” from 868 locations in 2004. Neither historical figure is adjusted for inflation.

Its showing also stands out within the current arthouse market. A24’s “The Drama,” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, opened earlier this year with $14.3 million from 3,087 theaters — fewer ticket sales than “You Can See Everything” despite playing in more than three times as many locations.

The year’s other major documentary release, Amazon MGM’s “Melania,” began with $7.1 million from 1,778 theaters and ended its run at $16.3 million. That film, a look at first lady Melania Trump, carried a $40 million budget. By comparison, “You Can See Everything” was made for a single-digit-million-dollar sum.

The rest of the box office

“Street Fighter” added $20.1 million overseas, with its global opening reported at $51.1 million. The $82 million video game reboot was co-financed by Legendary and Capcom, while Paramount handled distribution. Directed by Kitao Sakurai and starring Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji, the movie received a “B-” CinemaScore and a 42% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

Universal’s “Other Mommy” held third place with $8.3 million in its second weekend, a 70% drop from its debut. The $18 million horror movie has reached $44.8 million domestically and $78.7 million worldwide.

Two new releases followed. Disney and 20th Century’s “Whalefall,” starring Austin Abrams as a scuba diver swallowed by a sperm whale, opened with $8 million from 3,065 domestic locations. It added $9.5 million across 51 international territories for a $17.5 million global total. The $60 million survival thriller earned a “B” CinemaScore and a 71% Rotten Tomatoes rating.

Focus Features’ “Sense and Sensibility,” led by Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles, debuted with $7.2 million from 2,545 screens. The $25 million Jane Austen remake has also earned $11 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $18.5 million.

In specialty release, Netflix’s “La Bola Negra” collected $277,500 from four theaters in Los Angeles and New York, averaging $69,375 per location. That was the second-highest per-screen average recorded for a non-English-language film, behind “Parasite,” which averaged $131,072 from three theaters in 2019.

The result also marked the first time Netflix reported theatrical box office grosses. The streamer plans to keep “La Bola Negra” in cinemas for 45 days before its Netflix debut on Dec. 2. Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, known as Los Javis, the drama received a 16-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and won the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award.

ShowBiz Take

The scale of the “You Can See Everything” opening is the real headline. It did not merely perform well by documentary standards; it surpassed a star-led A24 hit while playing on a fraction of the screens. Combined with more than 2,000 sellouts, enthusiastic exit polling and a predominantly under-35 audience, the debut shows that a documentary can still generate urgency at the theatrical box office.

What Happens Next?

A24 will expand “You Can See Everything” nationwide over the coming weeks. Its audience recommendations and better-than-expected reactions now put the focus on whether the documentary can translate its concentrated opening into sustained ticket sales during that wider rollout.