ALBAWABA - Sydney Sweeney is "deeply proud" of her new movie Christy, even though it didn't do well at the box office this week.
As boxer Christy Martin, played by Sweeney, her husband, James Martin, who was also her coach and teacher, tries to kill her but fails. Martin is a secret lesbian. Deadline says the movie opened to only $1.3 million in cinemas this weekend, even though it cost $15 million to make.
Sweeney wrote on Instagram on Monday that she is "deeply proud" of the movie, which was directed by David Michôd, and especially of her part in playing someone as "strong and resilient as Christy Martin." She called the experience “one of the greatest honors of my life.”
Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP
“This film stands for survival, courage, and hope,” Sweeney continued. She also referenced the domestic violence awareness campaign that coincided with the film’s promotion, stating that the team behind the film believed that Martin’s story “could save lives.”
“Thank you to everyone who saw, felt, and believed and will believe in this story for years to come,” Sweeney wrote, adding that if the film gave just one woman “courage to take her first step towards safety,” then the film has succeeded.
Photo by FRAZER HARRISON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP
The actress from Euphoria also wrote about the movie's weak start at the box office, saying, "We don't always just make art for numbers; we make it for impact." Chris is the most important thing I've ever worked on. Thanks, Christy. "I love you."
Sweeney practiced for months to play the athlete. In the past few months, he has been in trouble for an American Eagle jeans ad that some people said used white supremacist language.
Sweeney has said before that her story is similar to Martin's.
"It’s a very personal issue that’s important to me, and I hope that through Christy and her story, it can raise more awareness," Sweeney told Variety in an interview. While making the movie, the two women got to know each other.
Christy didn't have a big opening weekend at the box office, but critics liked it enough to give it a 67% fresh grade on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie's Popcornmeter score, which shows how people felt about it, is 98%. Sweeney shared the score again on her Instagram story to draw attention to it.
Sweeney's movie career has had both big hits and misses at the box office. Anyone but You, the romantic comedy she starred in and directed in 2023, made more than $100 million around the world, which is a lot of money for a movie in that genre. When it came out in 2024, her horror movie Immaculate, which she also directed, had the best opening weekend for independent distributor Neon.
Her most recent movies, like Eden, didn't do very well, though it opened to just $1 million in more than 600 screens in 2025 and was directed by Ron Howard. Her 2025 movie Americana, which also stars Halsey, opened in more than 1,000 theaters across the country and made an estimated $500,000.
