Sydney Sweeney may be working on the highly-anticipated third and final season of Euphoria at the moment, but not all of her projects are met with the same level of enthusiasm.
And one of those projects, akin to Madame Web, is Christy, the biopic directed by David Michôd about retired professional boxer, Christy Martin. It follows Martin’s rise as a boxing star, and includes the harrowing attempted murder carried out by her coach-turned-husband, Jim Martin.
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Sydney Sweeney's 'Christy' Movie Flops
Unfortunately for the 28-year-old Anyone But You star, Christy didn't get off to the best start when it opened – and things didn't seem to improve in the days that followed.
According to Variety, the film, co-starring Ben Foster, Merritt Weaver, and Katy O'Brian, debuted with just $1.3M. It ranked as one of the worst starts ever for a movie that was released in more than 2,000 North American theaters; however, the GQ cover star still sees it as a success, regardless of what the box office numbers say!
Sydney Sweeney Defends 'Christy' On Instagram
The White Lotus actress defended the movie's success, or lack thereof, on social media. Taking to Instagram, she wrote: "I am so deeply proud of this movie. Proud of the film David made. Proud of the story we told. Proud to represent someone as strong and resilient as Christy Martin. This experience has been one of the greatest honors of my life."
"This film stands for survival, courage, and hope. Through our campaigns, we've helped raise awareness for so many affected by domestic violence. We all signed on to this film with the belief that Christy's story could save lives," she continued.
Sweeney, who gained 30 lbs. while training for the role, went on: "Thank you to everyone who saw, felt, and believed and will believe in this story for years to come. If Christy gave even one woman the courage to take her first step toward safety, then we will have succeeded. So yes I'm proud. Why? Because we don't always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact. And Christy has been the most impactful project of my life. Thank you Christy. I love you."
Reddit Comments
As expected, the internet had a lot of thoughts about the movie, with many people thinking audiences skipped it because of the backlash surrounding her controversial American Eagle jeans campaign. If you recall, the ad was slammed as "racist" and "Nazi propaganda," among other things, while Sydney also faced criticism around the same time when Donald Trump publicly defended her after finding out that she was a registered republican.
"Although the film is probably bad, I feel her popularity took a nose dive once she was linked to MAGA," thought one person on Reddit. "Sounded fascinating enough but then radio silence, then that whole jeans thing with Sweeney happened," agreed a second.
A third concurred: "I really don't get the hate for her, honestly, especially if it's rooted in the jeans thing. Because, well, if anyone is still actually upset about that, you should self-reflect and realize that's just insane at this point."
A fourth added: "Look, I know we're [expletive] at the jeans/genes thing, but low ratings is because the movie probably sucks by itself, not her, specifically."
"Do people think it's her political views or is it just her 15 mins were up anyway and even without the jeans and MAGA stuff her stuff would still have flopped," wondered a fifth, as many others thought the movie flopping was down to it simply not sounding captivating enough, or because she isn't a big enough name.
"To think she can carry a movie all by herself without her only selling point (breasts) was a huge risk, so this shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Bottom line: Stop trying to make her happen. She is not going to happen," slammed a sixth.
"Movie looked [expletive] awful," a seventh bluntly said, as an eighth echoed: "This movie wasn't going to be a blockbuster no matter who played the part. It's a story I dare say many people wouldn't care about or interested in seeing on the big screen." "Idk why they thought people were going to go and pay for this. The trailer looked more like a straight to HBO Max movie than theater worthy," declared a ninth.
