October 2026 |
Nostradamus Perspectives
By Hillevi Gustafson

You can see everything – but not yet

Are you also one of the people currently doing all you can to avoid spoilers for Lance Oppenheimer and Nathan Fielder’s buzzy documentary You Can See Everything? You are not alone, as audiences outside of the US demand to know why they still have to wait for what might be the best movie of the year. Let’s talk about it! 

Social media has been buzzing about the upcoming Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder A24 documentary You Can See Everything since the trailer dropped after its surprise screening at the Telluride film festival in September. The documentary, about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, made history as one of the biggest opening weekends of the century for any limited release film and the biggest documentary opening in 20 years. (/) In the US. Despite the building hype most audiences around the world will not be able to see it for quite a while. Something that has made people online lose their minds.  

The response to the film has been staggering. Numbers show that the film sold out 2000 screenings at 855 cinemas opening weekend, and over 70% of the audience was under 35 years old. In its second week, when it expanded to 2655 venues it was second only to DC’s newest comic-book adaptation – and not very far behind at that. People are already speculating that it will be the first ever documentary nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. It is currently the top rated film on Letterboxd, Rotten Tomatoes has it at a 97% score from both critics and audiences, and it holds the IMDB record for highest scored movie of all time. Not bad for a three hour documentary with a limited release. 

And that is the crux. It seems that A24 was caught of guard in how high demand would be outside of the US. Sony did not acquire the rights to distribute it in key international territories until after the US premiere. This is especially problematic for a film that people are saying is both essential to see in cinemas together with other people (the excellent year for cinema continues, it seems) and by all accounts includes some mind-blowing twists.  

It will be interesting to hear A24 eventually talk about this moment and the decisions that went into it. From the outside it seems like they misjudged what they had and how much people would want to see it. However, it is also not hard to understand why they were thinking it would need time to build buzz before going wide: it is a three hour documentary on a subject that has already been done in several formats from fairly niche (though beloved) filmmakers. Perhaps this roll out is not a mistake, but a calculated choice. Before the opening weekend in the US it was still pretty unclear if the online hype would actually translate into real butts in seats. It did, and now they have to scramble to meet demand.  

Here lies the challenge.  

Our social media cycle is fast and most people won’t get to see the film for at least a month. If the moment has passed by then, if everything about the film has already been said online, if everyone has already been spoiled for the twists, if people are annoyed and impatient - will the hype burn itself out? Being able to sustain buzz in a packed entertainment environment is a challenge. 

Well, if the UK is anything to go by, things are looking good. Screenings at multiple cinemas are already sold out - a month before it premieres. As Claire Binns, creative director of Picturehouse Cinemas, told The Guardian, ‘It’s bonkers’.

Many online make comparisons to the fact that they released Backrooms in several territories at the same time and are frustrated why they couldn’t manage it with this film. We don’t know if A24 tried to sell it internationally and no one wanted to take a risk on a project like this before the receipts were in or if they decided on a slow rollout to build buzz so it is difficult to point to where the block in the pipeline was. The question for the industry moving forward is how to be more agile in response to these moments. 

Perhaps A24 should add encouragement for a social media detox to their marketing materials for the film for all the poor souls dodging spoilers for the next few weeks.