Sydney Sweeney PR team urges journalists to defend Christy flop as indie cinema amid box office failure
Sydney Sweeney’s latest biographical drama Christy is facing significant box office turbulence, but the actress’s publicity team is allegedly working to steer the narrative in a more sympathetic direction. According to reports and social media claims, Sweeney’s representatives have privately contacted journalists, urging them not to disparage the film and to emphasize its status as an “independent cinema” project.
got this PR email today, never got one like it before -- her team's down BAD https://t.co/KuLKNa0BWg pic.twitter.com/IT1O07ITS4
The boxing biopic, which tells the story of trailblazing fighter Christy Martin, opened to disappointing results, ranking among the worst wide-release debuts ever recorded, per Box Office Mojo. Despite its commercial underperformance, the film has received a mixed critical response, with a 66% critics’ score and an impressive 97% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Adding to its challenges, Christy was released amid controversy surrounding Sweeney’s recent American Eagle advertisement. The campaign’s tagline, “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” drew backlash for alleged racial undertones, with accusations that it echoed supremacist rhetoric. In a GQ interview promoting Christy, Sweeney declined to elaborate on the controversy, which many felt further harmed her public image.
The Christy setback follows a string of underperforming films for Sweeney in 2025, including Americana and Eden, which also struggled commercially. As her team works to reframe Christy as a misunderstood artistic venture, the actress’s year in the spotlight continues to be defined as much by controversy as by cinema.