‘You Can See Everything’ Turns a Secretly Made Elizabeth Holmes Documentary Into a Box Office Phenomenon

Documentaries rarely become must-see theatrical events, and almost none of them do it with a nearly three-hour runtime. Yet ‘You Can See Everything‘, the A24 film from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, has turned into the surprise hit of the fall. Its subject is Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, and audiences have been lining up to see how the two filmmakers handle her.

The project was filmed in secret and unveiled to a surprised crowd at the Telluride Film Festival. It follows Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans, in the weeks before she reported to prison in 2023 to serve an 11-year sentence for defrauding investors. Fielder, best known for ‘Nathan for You’ and ‘The Rehearsal’, and Oppenheim, who also directed ‘Primetime’, have built a film around the blurry line between truth and performance.

The latest box office figures show just how far it has traveled. ‘You Can See Everything’ has grossed around $79.8 million at the domestic box office, and it is now eyeing a finish of $100 million or more. It cost only $7 million to produce.

Expectations were modest going in. The documentary was aiming for a $7 million to $8 million opening, but it debuted to $15 million from just 855 theaters, with more than 2,000 sold-out showings over the weekend. That made it the second-best opening ever for a non-concert documentary, trailing only Michael Moore’s ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’.

Then something unusual happened. In its second weekend, the film expanded to 2,655 theaters and rose 25% to $19.5 million, a rare increase for any release. By its third frame, it was in 3,243 theaters and claimed the No. 1 spot with $10.6 million, edging past ‘Clayface’.

Even now, the decline has been gentle, and word of mouth appears to be doing much of the work. The fourth weekend brought $8.8 million from 2,473 theaters, a drop of just 23% despite losing hundreds of screens. That brought the total to its current $79.8 million.

The numbers put it in rare company. ‘You Can See Everything’ is now the second-highest-grossing non-music documentary ever in North America, passing ‘March of the Penguins’ at $77 million. Only ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’, which earned $119 million domestically, stands above it.

For A24, it has become the studio’s third-biggest domestic release. It passed ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, which earned $77 million and won the Oscar for Best Picture, and now trails only ‘Backrooms’ at $197 million and ‘Marty Supreme’ at $96 million. Not bad for a movie nobody outside A24 knew about only a few months earlier.

One thing still hasn’t happened. The film has yet to be released internationally, with a staggered rollout starting at the end of November. Its worldwide numbers will depend on whether the Holmes saga resonates as strongly overseas.

Part of the appeal is the story itself. Holmes’ rise and fall already inspired a book, multiple podcasts and the miniseries ‘The Dropout’, and the documentary adds a new layer through Fielder’s unusual approach. Amanda Seyfried’s surprise cameo has also sparked awards chatter.

The audience is notable too. More than 70% of the opening weekend crowd was under 35, and the film has drawn Gen Z moviegoers in the same way ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’ did. A trailer moment with Holmes staring at Fielder even became a meme before the film opened.

Critics have been enthusiastic as well. The film held a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes across 172 reviews at last check, though some reviewers had reservations about its length and about how it treats Holmes. Some analysts have even suggested it could become the first documentary nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

The teaser trailer ‘YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING,’ a documentary by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim. Thirty-four days before she’s sent to prison, Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. In theaters this October. https://t.co/LHRvYLXULH

— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 7, 2026

The box office context makes the achievement even bigger. One report said no documentary since ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ has connected with audiences this way, and the film has helped drive a surge in the month’s overall ticket sales. With a production and marketing budget reportedly under $20 million combined, the film is wildly profitable already.

Its worldwide gross to date is about 11 times its production budget. As a result, Fielder and Oppenheim are now reportedly in high demand.

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