{"id":1163851,"date":"2025-11-11T15:11:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/?p=1163851"},"modified":"2025-11-11T15:12:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:12:52","slug":"sydney-sweeneys-christy-box-office-flop-sparks-alleged-pr-damage-control-emails-and-naturally-the-internet-cant-stop-laughing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/erinwhitten\/2025\/11\/sydney-sweeneys-christy-box-office-flop-sparks-alleged-pr-damage-control-emails-and-naturally-the-internet-cant-stop-laughing\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Sweeney\u2019s &#8216;Christy&#8217; Box Office Flop Sparks Alleged PR Damage Control Emails (And Naturally, The Internet Can\u2019t Stop Laughing)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Sydney Sweeney\u2019s latest film <em>Christy<\/em> may be throwing some punches in the ring, but at the box office it\u2019s\u2026 let\u2019s just call it a first-round TKO, yeah? The film had a dismal opening weekend of $1.3 million domestically across over 2,000 theaters, an underwhelming result that falls firmly in the range of \u201cunfortunate\u201d to \u201coof.\u201d And according to some people on social media, the actress\u2019s team is frantically sending emails asking critics to focus on the positives. Senior culture writer Eric Italiano claimed he received an email that came across as a full-on request to change his headline and look at the brighter side of things, which was made all the worse by the emphasis on audience scores specifically, 99% on Popcornmeter. It\u2019s not every day you hear about a PR rep whose voice inflection sounds like a lottery winner on the other end of the phone, but as Italiano\u2019s post went viral, I\u2019ve been there too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">got this PR email today, never got one like it before &#8212; her team&#39;s down BAD <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/KuLKNa0BWg\">https:\/\/t.co\/KuLKNa0BWg<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IT1O07ITS4\">pic.twitter.com\/IT1O07ITS4<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Eric Italiano (@ericitaIiano) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ericitaIiano\/status\/1988060144454848546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, one man\u2019s tough love is another woman\u2019s PR nightmare, and the emails have been piling up on social media faster than Usain Bolt. A few days prior, another filmmaker posted a meme about <em>Christy<\/em> being forced to choke herself to death to appeal to a certain online crowd; the image of actor Sean Penn sharing a \u201cWoah dude\u201d-style reaction GIF was captioned with a joke about people who need to understand why domestic violence might not just be beat \u2018em up beat \u2019em ups for some people. The response, apparently direct from Paradigm Talent Agency (Sweeney\u2019s management firm), was a curt email that chastised the man for \u201creducing an original project to a cheap shot.\u201d Say what you will about the comedian\u2019s approach to dealing with box-office drama, but between these posts and Italiano\u2019s the response, you know, felt very PR-speak-y.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NO SHOT Sydney Sweeney PR IS trying to do damage control for this tweet I\u2019m crying\ud83d\ude2d\u270c\ud83c\udffc <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BxNQECHWJG\">https:\/\/t.co\/BxNQECHWJG<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Y1EAAyoEri\">pic.twitter.com\/Y1EAAyoEri<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Brian (@BrianLongFilms) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BrianLongFilms\/status\/1988106626377953585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The claims about the filmmakers\u2019 notes quickly went viral not just for the story\u2019s fishy nature, but for the way the emails themselves read like the self-serious rage-fuelled-but-kind-of-apologetic-first-act-monologue of a Marvel villain with more money than brains and a button that says \u201csend.\u201d Italiano, for his part, has interviewed everyone from Ana de Armas to Nicolas Cage, but he shared his alleged email with the message that Sweeney\u2019s team \u201cis down bad.\u201d The internet agreed the tweet has six million views and a comments section that is all too eager to dish the lit Ronda Rousey treatment on all involved, especially if anyone on her team deigns to show up here. I didn\u2019t get an email yet, but based on the Instagram screenshots, it does sound a lot like Sweeney\u2019s camp than say, whoever is impersonating her in a fit of bored misanthropy today&#8230;so I&#8217;ll be <strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>WAITING<\/em><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The kicker here is the timing and by that I mean both the discourse development on social media but also the more macro scope of the film\u2019s slowest-flickering opening light at the box office. <em>Christy<\/em> has a 66% Tomatometer rating, a decent-enough critical reception that highlights Sweeney\u2019s raw vulnerability and commitment to Martin\u2019s story. Audiences, on the other hand, have sent the Rotten score to a lopsided 97% based on their positive reception, which feels a lot more attuned to the emotional stakes of Christy Martin\u2019s journey to self-discovery and the brutality and artistry of her fights in the ring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sweeney, however, has skipped all of the drama, opting instead to champion the spirit of what <em>Christy<\/em> means to her. On Instagram, she shared that <em>Christy<\/em> was the most important job of her career and a project that she is immensely proud of, regardless of what opening weekend looks like. She called attention to the goal of bringing awareness to domestic violence through Christy Martin\u2019s story and the creative\u2019s hope that the film might reach someone in a similar situation. Sweeney has previously opened up about how she connected to this story in many ways, using acting as a freedom of expression, her own version of throwing hands. That fight was real for Christy Martin, who found both world-class success and stomach-turning abuse in the form of her husband, Ray, and trainer (played by Ben Foster), Sweeney has made it clear that she will share her love and respect for the boxer everywhere she can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQ4OYqPEeN1\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);\"><div style=\"padding:16px;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DQ4OYqPEeN1\/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading\" style=\" background:#FFFFFF; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div><\/div><div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\"><div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div> <div style=\"background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)\"><\/div><\/div><div style=\"margin-left: auto;\"> <div style=\" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div> <div style=\" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div><\/div><\/div> <div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\"> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div> <div style=\" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div><\/div><\/a><\/div><\/blockquote><script async src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Between these posts and the directorial effort of Tom Bird (who had made the same point about championing this project and letting the facts speak for themselves) opinions are out, with Variety calling it \u201ca wrenching portrait of abuse\u201d and The Guardian not quite seeing the point of the film, given that it might not resonate as intended. On IMDb, <em>Christy<\/em> receives a mild 6.1 out of 10 from the audience, which at this point seems to be more a measure of trolling than a true measure of enjoyment or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Sydney Sweeney PR team goin OVERTIME on damage control cryin fr \ud83d\ude02 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wqVYDbC8wN\">pic.twitter.com\/wqVYDbC8wN<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Asterios (@asterios) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/asterios\/status\/1988271330446168123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 11, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If nothing else, whether her team is doing damage control in emergency mode, moderate mid-spin, or absolutely nothing at all, the public back and forth around the film is, unquestionably, generating more conversation than what the opening weekend alone could. It\u2019s ironic, sure, but not entirely shocking in a landscape where a film\u2019s box-office performance sometimes depends more on whose email shows up on social media or in your spam folder and all through it, Sweeney, at least, remains unruffled to the public eye and quick to champion what she signed up for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"CHRISTY | Official Trailer HD\" width=\"850\" height=\"478\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YCuj6LpRgGM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sydney Sweeney\u2019s latest film Christy may be throwing some punches in the ring, but at the box office it\u2019s\u2026 let\u2019s just call it a first-round TKO, yeah?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186664079,"featured_media":1163858,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"thoughtcatalog_call_to_action":"","tc_post_redirect":"","thoughtcatalog_is_sponsored_content":"0","footnotes":""},"categories":[603203627],"tags":[],"anchortext":[],"posttemplate":[],"adcampaign":[],"coauthors":[603229555],"class_list":["post-1163851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tv-movies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/christy.remini-enhanced.png","author_meta":null,"photo_credit":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/186664079"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1163851"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1163861,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163851\/revisions\/1163861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1163858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1163851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1163851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1163851"},{"taxonomy":"anchortext","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/anchortext?post=1163851"},{"taxonomy":"posttemplate","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posttemplate?post=1163851"},{"taxonomy":"adcampaign","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/adcampaign?post=1163851"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1163851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}