(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) After sending American Eagle’s stock skyrocketing with her much buzzed-about “great jeans” ad campaign, actress Sydney Sweeney’s own stock is also on the rise.
Sadly, she has also become the Left’s No. 1 target—and, in some cases, a scapegoat for liberal movie-industry execs to dubiously pin their own shortcomings on.
The Euphoria and White Lotus star currently has two movies in theaters—the Ron Howard-directed Eden and a limited-release indie film, Americana, which first premiered two years ago at the South by Southwest festival but only recently made it to theaters.
In Eden—a sort of modernized retelling of Lord of the Flies with sexy adults instead of schoolboys—Sweeney joins a top-notch ensemble cast, led by Jude Law, and is thus likely to be somewhat insulated from any insinuations that her recent embrace by MAGA is to blame in any way for the box-office take.
Still, don’t be surprised if it becomes a breakout hit—not in spite of but because of Sweeney’s new name recognition, tapping into an America First viewing audience that has mostly been relegated to Angel Studios releases and other smaller productions.
On the other hand, one be so bold as to think think that Lionsgate’s decision to release Americana was timed in response to Sweeney’s rapidly rising brand.
But that didn’t stop petty Hollywood leftists from blaming her for its perceived failures.
“One of the great things about movies is that they outlive the zeitgeist into which they were released,” complained the film’s writer/director, Tony Tost in a sparsely viewed X post. “As someone whose first film sorta got gobbled up by the zeitgeist, I’ll be curious to see how it’ll stand up after this moment is over.”
One of the great things about movies is that they outlive the zeitgeist into which they were released. As someone whose first film sorta got gobbled up by the zeitgeist, I'll be curious to see how it'll stand up after this moment is over. Hopefully fairly well!
— Tony Tost (@tonytost) August 22, 2025
Following its Aug. 15 release in a paltry 1,123 theaters, the critically acclaimed Western crime-heist noir (think Martin McDonaugh or the Coen Brothers) pulled in an estimated $500,000.
That led the Hollywood Reporter to declare that the film had “bombed.” But after claiming that in its headline, the article explained that the long-delayed theatrical release of Americana was never intended to pull in gobs of money.
“Insiders say Americana is no way a disappointment, and that it is a perfect fit for the multi-platform strategy that defines its Lionsgate Premiere division, which targets specific audience, operates on a bare-bones marketing budget, focuses heavily on home entertainment—including premium VOD—and looks for titles that will boost the value of the overall film library,” the Reporter conceded.
Moreover, it acknowledged that Sweeney likely helped its take rather than hurt it.
“It’s tough to know whether the controversy had any impact; if anything, it could have boosted awareness (Lionsgate Premiere’s marketing spend was minimal, in keeping with its mandate),” said the Reporter article.
Indeed, as Deadline explained, the film was likely to be profitable when all was said and done.
After Lionsgate picked up the film on its art-house label for around $3 million, its domestic take alone was expected offset half of that, with around 60% of backed by foreign pre-sales.
“The expectation is for a final domestic take of $1.5M,” it noted, adding that “Americana is on a 30-day exclusive theatrical window instead of 17 days.”
Moreover, its streaming-release schedule via Starz was “very similar to theatrical with distributors strategically finding the right time to go digital,” Deadline wrote. “… Sources say that the label expects Americana to be in the black at the end of all of its windows.”
Sweeney even graciously promoted the film in an Aug. 13 Instagram post that received more than a million “likes.”
“[A] few years ago I filmed this little movie with some friends and now you get to meet penny jo,” she wrote.
View this post on Instagram
Those wishing to support Sweeney and stick it to her naysayers can visit the film’s website to find the closest theater—or wait (as Lionsgate intended all along) for it to stream on demand.
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
