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American actress Sydney Sweeney’s latest film, the boxer biopic Christy, performed poorly in its opening weekend, taking in just $1.3 million across more than 2,000 theatres.
The film tells the true story of pioneering American boxer Christy Martin, who survived a murder attempt by her trainer-spouse.
Despite Sweeney’s A-list celebrity, her recent high-profile attention hasn’t translated into ticket sales for this project.
Responding to the disappointing numbers, Sweeney defended the film on Instagram, arguing that the success of art isn’t always measured in receipts.
She stated that if Christy gave “even one woman the courage to take her first step toward safety,” then the film would have “succeeded,” having been made for impact rather than just numbers.
However, the film’s struggle reflects a broader industry trend: biographical boxing movies, especially those centring on women, generally fail to connect with audiences.
Previous biopics like The Fire Inside (about Claressa Shields) and fictionalised accounts like Against the Ropes (starring Meg Ryan) also opened weakly. This trend holds for male boxing biopics as well, with films about legends like Roberto Durán (Hands of Stone) and Vinny Pazienza (Bleed for This) similarly failing to fill theatres.
This suggests that while audiences love classics like Raging Bull and the Rocky franchise, the most successful boxing films are either fictional or highly fictionalised, such as the critically acclaimed, Best Picture-winning Million Dollar Baby and David O. Russell’s successful 2010 film The Fighter.
