The last week has seen Sydney Sweeney taking more hits than boxer Christy Martin ever took in the ring, but following the backlash over last weekend’s release, Christy, tanking at the box office, the actress has found a supporter more than willing to fight her corner: Christy Martin herself.
Christy was released last weekend, and landed one of the worst opening weekends for a movie released in over 2000 cinemas. While critics were not particularly thrilled by the movie, audience reviews have remained among Sweeney’s best, currently sitting at 96%. Considering how few people seemed to have seen the movie in its first week, the reviews suggest more people really should have turned out.
Yesterday, Ruby Rose, who was originally set to appear in the movie in a supporting role, slammed Sweeney as the reason the movie failed, including taking jabs for the actress not being gay but playing a gay character. However, Martin herself has now stepped into this particular ring to deliver a knockout blow of her own to the haters. On Instagram, she wrote:
“I’ve always been a fighter. My life reflected that in every way and now I fight for others. The past few days I have seen some people attack my friend Sydney Sweeney. Syd not only worked her ass off for this film, she worked her ass off for me. For my story. For so many others suffering in silence. So I want to be clear about who Syd is. She is my friend and ally!”
‘Christy’ Is Simply Not a Movie for Everyone
Even before cinemas really began their fight to survive in an increasingly streaming-focused world, a movie like Christy would only have a limited audience willing to head into cinemas. It isn’t a date movie, it isn’t a family movie, and it isn’t a special effects-driven blockbuster. It is a biographical sports drama, probably one of the hardest genres to sell to the masses, but still a movie that will eventually find its audience.
Despite Sweeney’s recent controversy around her American Eagle jeans ads, the idea that it has turned Christy from a box office juggernaut to a car wreck is ridiculous. Like many Liam Neeson action movies, or even just dramas in general, there are some movies that don’t always win big during their theatrical run for a number of reasons.
Christy is a movie that doesn’t demand to be seen on a big screen. It is, in many ways, a close and intimate portrayal of domestic abuse and resilience, and many people would choose to watch it via streaming when the movie makes its home release debut in the coming weeks. The movie may not have made its money back and turned a profit immediately, but over time, there is little doubt that Christy will find a place among the many “failures” that have been topping streaming charts for years.
- Release Date
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November 7, 2025
- Runtime
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135 minutes
- Director
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David Michôd
- Producers
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Brent Stiefel, Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Sydney Sweeney, Teddy Schwarzman, John Friedberg, Michael Heimler, Justin Lothrop, Brad Zimmerman, David Levine