"We don't always just make art for numbers": Sydney Sweeney claims to be proud of Christy (2025) despite poor box office results

Actress Sydney Sweeney has responded to the disappointing box office results of her biographical drama, Christy, which opened to a poor performance in its debut weekend. The Euphoria star shared images of the film's set in an Instagram post, with a lengthy caption, of which a part reads:

“We don’t always just make art for numbers, we make it for impact. And Christy has been the most impactful project of my life. i love you”

Directed by David Michôd, the film, which tells the story of boxing legend Christy Martin, was released on November 7, 2025, and had only collected $1.3 million at the domestic box office during its first weekend.

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Sydney Sweeney stands by Christy after the film's poor box office debut

Sweeney, who stars as the former American boxer in the biographical drama film, expressed her pride in the movie, the director, and in the opportunity to embody Christy Martin. On November 10, 2025, she made an Instagram post with a long caption that reads:

"i am so deeply proud of this movie. proud of the film david made. proud of the story we told. proud to represent someone as strong and resilient as Christy Martin. this experience has been one of the greatest honors of my life."

The caption further reads:

"this film stands for survival, courage, and hope. through our campaigns, we’ve helped raise awareness for so many affected by domestic violence. we all signed on to this film with the belief that christy’s story could save lives."

Though the film opened to a weak performance and landed among the top 10 worst wide-release openings of all time, it received 66% positive reviews on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

The consensus pointed to the powerful and transformative performance by The White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney as the former American boxer. Critics lauded her dedication to the role, for which she underwent aggressive training and gained about 30-35 pounds.

The film, which was released in over 2,000 theatres, also features Ben Foster as James Martin, the coach turned husband, who tried to kill Christy by stabbing her multiple times and shooting her. Merritt Weaver, Katy O'Brian, Ethan Embry, and Chad L. Coleman are also among the film's supporting cast.

Martin made history when she was featured on the Sports Illustrated magazine cover, being the first female boxer in history to achieve such a feat. Holding the WBC female super welterweight title in 2009, she has an impressive record of 49 wins, out of which 31 were by knockout.

Now running in theatres, the film had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 5, 2025.

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Stay tuned for more updates.

Edited by Suchita Patnaha