Black Bear Pictures’ big bet on Sydney Sweeney as boxing pioneer Christy Martin crashed and burned at the box office this weekend, pulling in a measly $1.3 million from 2,011 theaters for a brutal per-theater average of just $649. That dismal debut slots the R-rated biopic among the top 10 worst opening weekends for a new release in over 2,000 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo data, with some reports pegging it as high as ninth all-time excluding re-releases and pandemic-era oddities.

The David Michôd-directed drama, which world-premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, stars the 28-year-old Euphoria breakout as Christy Martin, the 1990s trailblazer who became the first woman to headline a pay-per-view boxing event and survived a horrific 2010 attack by her abusive husband and coach Jim Martin, played by Ben Foster. Sweeney, who also produced, bulked up and trained intensely for the role, earning praise for her physical transformation and raw intensity opposite a supporting cast including Katy O’Brian, Merritt Wever, Ethan Embry, and Chad L. Coleman.

Critics gave it a decent 66% on Rotten Tomatoes, calling Sweeney’s turn “transformative” and the story “inspirational,” but audiences who showed up loved it more, handing over a near-perfect 99% Popcornmeter score. Yet none of that buzz translated to ticket sales, as Christy finished outside the top 10 domestically, trailing even smaller openers like Sarah’s Oil at $4.459 million and Nuremberg at $4.1 million.

This marks Sweeney’s third straight 2025 theatrical dud under $2 million opening weekend, following Ron Howard’s survival thriller Eden ($1.05 million from 664 screens) and the neo-Western Americana (around $500,000 from 1,100 theaters). Her last big win remains 2023’s Anyone But You, the rom-com smash with Glen Powell that rode viral chemistry to over $200 million worldwide.

Insiders point fingers at a perfect storm: zero major studio backing from distributor Black Bear in its first U.S. release, skimpy marketing that barely registered amid a packed fall slate, and Sweeney’s press tour getting hijacked by non-movie chatter. Her GQ cover story dropped days before opening, but headlines fixated on her brushing off the infamous American Eagle “great jeans/genes” ad backlash rather than the film.

That campaign, slammed for perceived eugenics undertones and drawing bizarre defenses from political figures, resurfaced online hate that some blame for turning off potential viewers. Reddit threads and social media piled on, with users claiming the controversy made Sweeney “toxic” despite her refusing to apologize, insisting she’s focused on work.

Boxing biopics rarely pack theaters anyway—The Smashing Machine with Dwayne Johnson opened to $5.84 million earlier this year and limped to $11.38 million total—but Christy’s numbers sting worse, underperforming even pandemic lows adjusted for screen count. Historical flops in the 2,000+ club include animated duds like Delgo ($511,920 from 2,160 screens) and Oogieloves ($443,901 from 2,160), but Christy’s $1.305 million exact figure edges out recent bombs for a grim spot in the record books.

Sweeney stayed classy on Instagram post-opening, thanking fans and the real Christy Martin: “If Christy gave even one woman the courage to take her first step toward safety, then we will have succeeded.” She told outlets the project “will stay in my heart forever” and highlighted bonding with co-stars who became “family.”

Production budget hovers unofficial at $30-40 million, meaning theatrical recovery looks impossible without massive legs or streaming salvation. Black Bear’s debut as distributor couldn’t have gone worse, raising eyebrows on their strategy for adult dramas in a blockbuster-heavy market.

Still, Sweeney’s slate stays stacked: Lionsgate’s The Housemaid thriller with Amanda Seyfried drops December 19, followed by The Devil Wears Prada sequel in 2026. Euphoria Season 3 filming wrapped amid the chaos, keeping her HBO crown intact.

Fans defend her online, blasting lack of promo and calling for rewatches to boost word-of-mouth. One X trend mourned: “Sydney deserved a real campaign—this story matters.” But numbers crunchers see a pattern: indie picks alienating mass audiences, controversies overshadowing talent.

Christy joins a growing pile of star-driven passion projects—Die My Love with Jennifer Lawrence barely cleared $2.8 million same weekend—that theaters just ignore. As one analyst quipped: “Great performance, zero awareness—recipe for disaster.”

Mercedes Ron’s original novels inspired the Culpa trilogy, but here it’s real-life grit. Martin herself consulted, praising Sweeney’s dedication despite never sharing a room with Foster due to the heavy abuse scenes.

The fallout has Hollywood buzzing: Is Sweeney box office poison post-Anyone But You, or just victim of bad timing and zero support? Her team insists career’s fine, pointing to awards chatter for the performance alone.

For now, Christy sits as 2025’s latest cautionary tale—talent alone doesn’t sell tickets in a streaming world. Sweeney powers on, but this punch landed square on the jaw.