Sydney Sweeney’s Americana is facing painful results at the box office. Led by Sweeney (Penny Jo Poplin) and Paul Walter Hauser (Lefty Ledbetter), the movie follows a group of South Dakotan locals who erupt into violence after discovering the presence of a Lakotan Ghost shirt. The movie was originally shown in 2023 before being widely released on August 15.
Americana debuted to positive reviews, earning a 69% Tomatometer score on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It has not yet earned a Popcornmeter score, as there are fewer than 50 verified ratings. Unfortunately, the limited response from general audiences reflects the movie’s poor box office debut.
After appearing in 1,100 theaters, Americana‘s box office results have been disappointing. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie is expected to finish the weekend with $840,000, with an average of about $460 earned per theater. That would be enough to earn a 16th-place finish at the box office, meaning that it would not even appear on most charts.
What The Painful Box Office Means For Americana
After a two-year wait for this movie’s release, the box office reception was devastating. With a sub-$1 million total in its first weekend, it is unlikely that many theaters will offer anything more than the contractually obligated amount of showings, and future weeks would have suffered from any drops regardless.
Westerns have had a tendency to suffer at the box office since the COVID-19 pandemic began, as even Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga failed to capture much attention in theaters. Ari Aster’s Eddington also proved to be a dud, earning around $12 million on a $25 million budget. While all genres have been turbulent, Westerns have especially struggled.
Westerns are now more prominent on TV, as Yellowstone, Longmire, and Justified have reinvented the genre.
Fortunately, Americana will have another chance when it comes to streaming. The rise of streaming platforms has completely reinvented Hollywood’s traditional calculus, as many movies have found success on Netflix, HBO Max, and other giants even after having poor initial receptions. While there is no guarantee of success, it could still help repay some of the production costs.
Our Take On Americana’s Poor Box Office Results
While it is disappointing to see these results, it is not especially surprising. The two-year delay between the initial screening and its theatrical release hindered the movie’s momentum, and a lack of substantial marketing was also devastating.
The movie likely also suffered after Sweeney’s controversial ad campaign stripped attention away from the production. Any hope for its marketing was impacted when the American Eagle ad left Sweeney steeped in divisiveness. It is unlikely that this was the primary cause of the box office result, but it was unfortunate for the release.
Given that so few people watched this movie, there will not be much word-of-mouth promotion. Streaming should offer a second chance, but it is undoubtedly not the result that Sweeney or Hauser were looking for. Americana simply appears to be another box office bomb.
