Elizabeth Holmes documentary opens to an estimated $15M, reports say

"You Can See Everything," the documentary about the imprisoned Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, opened to an estimated $15 million in the U.S. and Canada this past weekend, per reports from The Washington Times, Forbes and Türkiye Today.

The Washington Times, citing The Hollywood Reporter, says that is the biggest opening for a nonmusic documentary in two decades. Forbes calls it the second-biggest documentary debut in domestic box office history, behind only Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11," which opened with $23.9 million in 2004.

The numbers behind the buzz

The film, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, played in 855 theaters, per Türkiye Today. It finished second, behind "Street Fighter," which took $31 million from 3,575 theaters.

Per-theater is where it gets spicy. Türkiye Today puts the documentary at roughly $17,544 a screen, more than twice what "Street Fighter" averaged. The $15 million figure is an estimate, and Bloomberg reported a slightly higher $15.6 million.

Distributor A24 reported more than 2,000 sellout screenings, with 70% of the audience under 35, per The Washington Times.

What it says about the business

The Washington Times reports the film cost $7 million to make and $10 million to market. A $15 million opening weekend gross is already in the neighborhood of that combined $17 million. (A gross is not the studio's take, so don't start counting profit yet.)

The Independent headlined the debut as stunning. The outlet azat.tv reported, in a headline, that the film dominated Monday's box office ahead of a theater expansion.

Next up is that wider release.