Box Office Bomb? Why Lionsgate Isn’t Calling Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Americana’ a Failure

The timing of Sydney Sweeney‘s Americana movie premiere and American Eagle ad campaign was likely a coincidence. But this hasn’t stopped critics from speculating on whether the heavily criticized campaign affected the indie movie’s poor performance at the box office. Lionsgate is allegedly unbothered by the reports of Americana‘s poor showing. In fact, it was the plan all along.

Outlets are widely reporting Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Americana’ as a box-office bomb

Sydney Sweeney’s Americana isn’t making much noise at the box office. The Lionsgate Premiere release opened in 1,123 theaters nationwide but managed only about $500,000 in ticket sales, landing in 16th place. Some outlets considered this a disappointing start for the crime-heist film that took over two years to reach theaters post-SXSW debut in 2023. Also starring Paul Walter Hauser and Halsey, Americana initially received strong reviews from critics.

Adding to the surprise, Americana was even edged out by a rerelease of The Grateful Dead Movie. The 1977 concert film returned to theaters in IMAX as part of the band’s 60th anniversary. Despite Americana‘s rather embarrassing turnout, insiders told Yahoo that Lionsgate is not disappointed whatsoever. The studio’s Premiere division supposedly has a “multi-platform strategy” that saves on marketing and focuses on home entertainment.

Americana was never supposed to be a blockbuster film with a wide release in theaters. Instead, Lionsgate bought the film for a steal and spent little on marketing. It will stream through Starz with the label expecting it to become profitable after utilizing its many platforms. Movie fans on Reddit seem to get it. One commented, “It was an indie sxsw film with literally zero promotion, competing against films movies with multi million dollar promotional budgets, of course it was gonna bomb.”

Did Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle controversy affect ‘Americana’?

Some movie buffs wondered if the recent controversy surrounding American Eagle’s ad campaign affected Americana‘s low turnout at the box office. The clothing brand’s fall denim campaign starred Sweeney, who emphasized a tagline about having “great jeans.” The play on “jeans” and “genes” angered some, who accused the campaign of promoting white supremacist ideas. American Eagle released a statement, saying the campaign was always “about the jeans… Her jeans. Her story… Great jeans look good on everyone.”

It’s difficult to measure whether the controversy impacted Americana‘s box office struggles. In fact, the publicity may have boosted attention, especially since Lionsgate Premiere kept its marketing spend intentionally low. One person on Reddit commented, “I’m pretty sure it was going to bomb regardless of the AE controversy. No one was talking about it before the ads (or even during the ads) to begin with.” Another Reddit user addressed another element of Americana‘s performance: “Controversy or not, I think [Sweeney has] got an overexposure problem.”