Nathan Fielder’s Holmes Documentary Posts a Record Opening for Its Genre

A three-hour documentary about the disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes has become one of the most successful nonfiction releases in years. ‘You Can See Everything,’ directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim and released by A24, earned about $15.6 million in its first weekend in North American theaters, finishing second at the box office, according to figures from The Numbers and reporting by RNZ.

The film opened on Oct. 16 in 855 theaters, a fraction of the screens a typical studio release receives, and many weekend shows in New York and Los Angeles sold out. RNZ reported that it was the biggest opening for a documentary in more than 20 years and the strongest for a nonmusic documentary since ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ in 2004. It also posted the largest debut for any film on fewer than 1,000 screens since ‘Borat’ in 2006. The weekend’s top film, a big-budget action release, earned an estimated $30 million on more than 3,500 screens.

Fielder made the film in secret with Oppenheim over several years. They followed Holmes and her partner, Billy Evans, in the weeks before she reported to prison in 2023 after her conviction for wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud Theranos investors. Fielder appears on camera interviewing the couple, and the actress Amanda Seyfried, who played Holmes in an earlier television series, also appears. The film premiered as a surprise screening at the Telluride Film Festival.

Critics have largely embraced it. RNZ noted a nearly unanimous positive score from reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes and early talk of awards attention.

Not everyone close to the case is comfortable with that reception. In an essay published Monday by STAT, Tyler Shultz, a former Theranos employee who helped expose the company’s faulty blood tests, wrote that the film allows Holmes to keep misleading viewers. STAT’s Matthew Herper, who said he enjoyed the film, argued that it treats several of Holmes’s false claims, including statements about military use, drug company endorsements and what Theranos devices could do, as more debatable than the factual record supports. He reported that John Carreyrou, the journalist whose reporting brought down the company, has praised the film.

The disagreement goes to the heart of what the film is trying to do. Its admirers say it is less a retelling of the fraud, which has been covered extensively, than a study of how Holmes persuades people, including the filmmakers. Its critics say that approach risks rehabilitating a person who misled patients and investors about medical tests.

The film was set to expand to more theaters this weekend, and it is scheduled to open in New Zealand on Nov. 12, RNZ reported.