Melania Trump’s documentary was the biggest non-music documentary start in more than a decade — until a film made in secret about a convicted fraudster passed its entire domestic haul in just four days.
Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim directed “You Can See Everything,” the Elizabeth Holmes documentary, which pulled in $15.6 million across the weekend of Oct. 16-18, 2026. First Lady Melania Trump’s documentary played on twice as many screens and still opened to less than half that figure. The Holmes film then won Monday with $2.57 million, bringing its total to $18.1 million, already past the $16.3 million “Melania” earned in its entire domestic run. By Tuesday, Oct. 20, it had reached $20.8 million.
A24 released the nearly three-hour film in just 855 theaters across the U.S. and Canada. That works out to more than $18,000 per location, and A24 counted more than 2,000 sold-out screenings.
The result stands as the biggest opening for a non-music documentary since “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Michael Moore’s film took in $23.9 million from 868 screens when it opened in 2004, and its domestic total reached a genre-record $119.2 million. The Holmes documentary also posted the largest debut for any film on fewer than 1,000 screens since “Borat,” which made about $26 million from 837 theaters in 2006. Neither comparison accounts for inflation.
Only “Street Fighter” Finished Ahead
Paramount’s video game adaptation “Street Fighter” was the single title that outgrossed it, with $30 million to $31 million in Sunday estimates from 3,575 venues, averaging $8,671 a location.
“Street Fighter” added $20.1 million overseas for a $51.1 million global start. Audiences gave it a “B-” CinemaScore, and it sits at 42 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Legendary and Capcom co-financed the film for $82 million, with Paramount only handling distribution.
Theaters nationwide took in about $101.6 million over the three days. That total ran up 45 percent from the same weekend a year earlier.
Made in Secret for Under $7 Million
Fielder and Oppenheim shot “You Can See Everything” in secret over three years for under $7 million. Marketing was reported at less than $10 million, putting the combined production-and-marketing figure under $20 million. Oppenheim’s earlier A24 feature, “Primetime,” earned nearly $50 million against a $15 million budget.
Amazon MGM put out “Melania,” the Brett Ratner-directed documentary about the first lady, and it opened to $7.1 million across 1,778 locations in late January 2026. Documentaries rarely do that well, and no non-music title in the genre had started that strong in over ten years.
Its domestic run ended at $16.3 million. Amazon MGM reportedly paid $40 million for the rights and spent about $35 million on marketing.
Critics Adored One Film, Not Hers
The Holmes film holds 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 99 on Metacritic. “Melania” sits at 9 percent.
More than 70 percent of the opening weekend crowd was under 35. PostTrak exit polls gave the film a 91 percent “definite recommend,” described as unprecedented. It is also the highest-rated film on Letterboxd.
“This is a giant weekend for the genre,” said David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe, in comments to Variety. Documentaries rarely receive a wide release, Gross said, and typically take in $3 million over their first three days.
“Elizabeth Holmes is just a character that you couldn’t even make up,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a longtime box office analyst. He credited Fielder’s huge social media following with pulling in moviegoers who might otherwise have balked at a three-hour documentary.
Fielder’s Month With Holmes
The film made a surprise world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado on Sept. 6. It follows Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes through the 34 days before the start of her federal prison sentence of more than 11 years for defrauding investors.
Holmes reported to prison in 2023, and Fielder had spent over a month with her, her partner Billy Evans and her two young children in the run-up. He appears on camera interviewing the couple, and she tried to convince the filmmakers of her innocence. The documentary tracks her bond with Evans, her shift toward MAGA and how she responded to Amanda Seyfried’s portrayal of her in Hulu’s “The Dropout.”
Awards watchers are debating whether the film could become the first documentary ever nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Film writer Peter Travers, in his review as of Oct. 21, suggested “You Can See Everything” may compete with “The Odyssey” for the Academy Award for Best Picture. No documentary has won that Oscar.
Sony Pictures bought rights to the A24 film in a number of international markets. Forum Film, the official distributor of Sony Pictures, has set an Israel theatrical premiere for Nov. 26, the first dated overseas rollout reported. The documentary expands nationwide in the coming weeks.
