Sydney Sweeney is Hollywood’s “It Girl” right now, which one would think would draw a fairly significant crowd to just about anything she does. When she makes a TV commercial, the world flips out. However, when she makes a movie about a female boxer, it apparently doesn’t result in massive box office success.
Sweeney’s new film Christy, a biopic about boxer Christy Martin, had an admittedly rough opening weekend, bringing in only $1.3 million at the domestic box office. That’s got most people labeling the film a “bomb,” but one report claims that’s not actually the case, and that the movie is already successful.
Christy’s Reportedly Already Made Money Despite Poor Box Office
While it’s true that Christy hasn’t made a lot of money at the box office, that’s not the only place where a movie actually makes money. A report in US Weekly claims that, due to international sales, the film has already recouped its costs, with one unnamed industry insider reportedly calling it a “runaway success.”
In an era where it’s far from difficult for even small productions to have ballooning budgets, thus requiring massive box office success to break even, it’s often forgotten that at the end of the day the movie that is the most successful isn’t the one that made the most money at the box office, but the movie that made the most money relative to its cost. While we don’t know exactly how much Christy cost to produce, reports put the film in the $30 - $40 million range, which is dirt cheap by modern movie standards.
Film Success Is About Creating A Return Of The Investment, Not Simply the Box Office
As a result of its small budget, Christy simply doesn’t need to make a lot of money for the people who invested that money in it to get paid back and then potentially see a return. If the film has already made enough to cover costs through other channels, then whatever the movie happens to make through the box office, as well as streaming distribution rights, Blu-ray sales, or whatever else, will be pure profit.
It’s also possible the box office could end up in a better place. While Christy has received solid responses from critics, it’s doing really well on Rotten Tomatoes among audience members who have seen the film. So while not a lot of people have seen the movie, those who have clearly loved it. Sweeney's performance is getting high marks, and it's being suggested she could be part of awards season conversations. Christy wouldn't be the first film to see awards success while failing at the box office.
All that may help the movie generate a stronger audience in the weeks to come. It’s unlikely we will see a massive box office jump, but if the movie puts up smaller numbers for several weeks, they can add up.
On top of that, most of those international countries that purchased the film have yet to release it, so the movie will have additional chances to win at the box office. Even if that won’t happen here, it could still happen elsewhere.