How Sydney Sweeney's 'Americana' Did at the Box Office Amid AE Controversy

Sydney Sweeney’s latest indie film, Americana, has finally been theatrically released two years after it premiered at the 2023 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival.

The film stars Sweeney as Penny Jo Poplin, a waitress who dreams of becoming a singer. She accidentally becomes part of a gang plot involving a stolen Native American artifact, causing a cascading web of crime in her South Dakota town.

The Tony Tost-directed crime thriller made an estimated $500,000 across 1,100 theaters on its opening weekend of August 15, 2025. Recent headlines surrounding Sweeney’s American Eagle controversy raised questions about whether or not Americana’s opening weekend figures were influenced in any way by the campaign drama.

How do Americana’s opening weekend numbers compare to other Lionsgate releases, and how did the movie measure up at the box office? Scroll below for a comparison and the latest on Sweeney’s American Eagle drama.

Sydney Sweeney Parties in Blue Jeans After American Eagle Controversy

Breaking Down Americana’s Opening Weekend Numbers

After Americana’s 2023 film festival debut, Lionsgate obtained worldwide distribution rights the following year. The movie was categorized under the Lionsgate Premiere division, which Deadline notes is “a label that the studio holds for its arthouse or genre titles with a very low, concentrated P&A spend.”

Other recent films that were previously distributed under Lionsgate Premiere include Backtrace and F*** Marry Kill. Backtrace had a limited theatrical release in December 2018, grossing $490,636 worldwide, while F*** Marry Kill had a limited theatrical release in March 2025 and grossed $31,702 worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.

In comparison to other August 2025 releases, Weapons reigns supreme at the box office, grossing a whopping $148.7 million worldwide within the first 10 days of its theatrical run. Other indie films in 2025 include Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, which became the top-grossing limited opening of the year, earning $570,000 in its opening weekend at the end of May 2025, per Deadline. The film has since grossed $39,031,118 after its expanded nationwide release in June 2025.

Sydney Sweeney Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

As far as most indie films go, Americana’s box office performance isn’t entirely shocking. But when it’s put up against huge blockbusters like Weapons and Freakier Friday, it’s easy to see how a film like this can get lost in the shuffle.

In October 2024, Variety reported Lionsgate had a streak of seven films that ultimately didn’t measure up to box office projections, including 1992 and White Bird. However, that didn’t deter the studio from taking big swings on underrepresented genres and unique scripts.

“Part of their strategy is filling the gaps. Strategically it’s a smart thing to do,” Jason Squire, professor emeritus of USC School of Cinematic Arts, told the outlet at the time. “But this is the ancient struggle of the movie business: You just don’t know if audiences will show up.”

What Is Americana’s Rotten Tomatoes Score?

Americana currently stands at 67 percent on Rotten Tomatoes as of publication, with mostly favorable reviews from critics and theatergoers.

“A beautiful update to the Western outlaw movie genre,” one viewer wrote on Rotten Tomatoes, as another said, “They definitely made an attempt be a Tarantino/ Guy richie type character based movie. But failed to develop the characters to be interesting enough to care about and just a forgettable movie overall.”

“The gal from the jeans commercials is back on the big screen in a quirky, modern western,” another critic said. “Americana offers a fresh story with a fun set of characters. The ending might not wrap up in the most satisfying of ways but the ride getting there is not too shabby.”

What Has Sydney Sweeney Said About ‘Americana’?

On August 14, 2025, one day before the film’s release, Sweeney shared photos with her costars from the set via Instagram.

Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, Eric Dane, Zahn McClarnon, Gavin Maddox Bergman, Simon Rex, Derek Hinkey, Toby Huss, Harriet Sansom Harris and Donald Cerrone round out the Americana cast.

“A few years ago I filmed this little movie with some friends and now you get to meet penny jo ,” she captioned the post.

Sydney Sweeney Wanted to ‘Push’ Envelope With American Eagle Jeans Campaign

The post drew mixed reactions from commenters, some of whom referenced Sweeney’s American Eagle ad as the reason for not wanting to see Americana.

“I love how she pisses so many people off by just exisiting [SIC],” one person commented, while another came to her defense, saying, “Stay salty over Sweeney having great jeans.”

Inside Sydney Sweeney’s American Eagle Controversy Amid ‘Americana’ Release

Sweeney’s American Eagle ad campaign went live on July 23, 2025, with the tagline “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.”

“Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue,” Sweeney said in one ad video, igniting a debate about whether or not the script promoted eugenics.

After celebrities and fans alike weighed in on the controversy, American Eagle responded to the debate.

“‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans’ is and always was about the jeans,” a message shared via the company’s Instagram account on August 1, 2025, read. “Her jeans. Her story.”

Sydney Sweeney Returns to Social Media After American Eagle Controversy

The statement concluded, “We’ll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AE jeans with confidence, their way. Great jeans look good on everyone.”

An insider told Us Weekly earlier this month that “Sydney thinks this whole thing has been blown out of proportion.”

“She’s focusing her energy on work, including being back on set with her Euphoria family,” the source said.