Americanahas debuted with a record low at the domestic box office. The new crime movie was written and directed by Tony Tost (Damnation) and follows a violent confrontation in South Dakota over a valuable ghost shirt. It features a robust ensemble cast that includes Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Simon Rex, Toby Huss, Zahn McClarnon, Eric Dane, and Halsey.

AlthoughSydney Sweeney moviesare not guaranteed box office successes (one of her most recent theatrical outings was the notorious Sony’s Spider-Man Universe flopMadame Web), she is still relativelyfresh off the success of the 2023 romantic comedyAnyone But You, a smash hit that grossed $220.3 million against its reported $25 million budget.

Paul Walter Hauser as Lefty Ledbetter showing Sydney Sweeney as Penny Jo Poplin how to play darts in Americana

PerVariety, as of Sunday morning,Americanais projected to conclude its debut weekend bylanding at No. 16 on the domestic box office chart with a 3-day haul of just $500,000from 1,110 theaters. This marks one of the lowest opening weekends ever for a wide release that has opened in more than 1,000 theaters.

This is a significant drop fromAmericana’s original debut projectionsas of Saturday, which anticipated an $840,000 debut. The movie has earneda per-screen average of just $450during its domestic debut. To compare, the 2025 box office bombSnow Whitedebuted with a per-screen average of $10,049 while the notorious 2024 flopThe Crowdebuted with a $1,687 average.

Sydney Sweeney as Penny Jo playing the guitar in Americana

What This Means For Americana

Overall, if its $500,000 projections hold by the end of Sunday,2025’sAmericanawill have officially earnedthe 21st lowest-grossing domestic debut of all time for a movie that played in over 1,000 theaters and was not a re-release. Below, see a breakdown of the Bottom 10 titles on the chart:

1,068

Americana Official Poster

$244,469

Sarah Landon and the Paranormal Hour(2007)

1,121

$250,000

1,007

$263,941

1,350

$289.489

1,197

$301,028

1,507

$327,000

1,204

$351,010

1,058

$368,056

1,024

$380,057

1,375

$280,428

WhileAmericanahas debuted better than some notorious bombs, such asJuliet & RomeoandThe Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure(which is No. 17 with a $443,901 debut in 2,160 theaters),its $500,000 projections are lower than the debuts of other notable flops, includingDelgo($511,920 in 2,160 theaters) andCats Don’t Dance($939,781 in 1,252 theaters).

However,this does not mean thatAmericanais a flopin and of itself. Lionsgate is distributing the movie in the U.S., and that company typically does not rely on theatrical income, either by covering their costs with international pre-sales, acquiring titles from production companies at low costs, or other methods.

Regardless, as is more and more frequently the case in the modern era,a movie’s VOD and streaming performance can be much more important in affecting its overall profitabilitythan its theatrical box office.

Our Take On The Americana Debut

There could be quite a few reasons whyAmericanahas debuted at such a low, even thoughit has a solid 68% score on Rotten Tomatoes. One is that it arrives in the wake ofSydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle ad, which says that she has “great jeans” and has been accused of evoking themes of white supremacy and eugenics.

Another potential reason is thatAmericana’s domestic release comes more than two full years after its 2023 premiere at SXSW, which may have led to a decrease in overall audience awareness of the project after its initial bow.

Americana

Cast

Americana is a film set in a small South Dakota town where a rare Lakota Ghost Shirt enters the black market, leading to the violent intertwining of the lives of local outsiders and outcasts.