A24 Holds Back Nathan Fielder's Elizabeth Holmes Doc From the World

A24's "You Can See Everything" opened to $15.6 million in the U.S., the second-biggest documentary debut ever behind "Fahrenheit 9/11" — and audiences outside North America cannot see it anywhere. Nathan Fielder's three-hour documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, co-directed with Lance Oppenheim, now expected to be a major awards-season player, does not reach U.K. and Australian cinemas until Nov. 20, more than a month after its American bow. Sony Pictures, which acquired the film for Germany, Latin America and South Korea among other territories, has yet to announce release plans at all.

As one producer joked in a message to Variety: "You Can See Everything, unless you live outside N. America."

What happened in London?

The frustration surfaced at the BFI London Film Festival. Festivalgoers were convinced the film would be the surprise screening on Oct. 16 at the Royal Festival Hall. Co-director Lance Oppenheim had been in town that week for his other film, "Primetime," and a special BAFTA screening had taken place that afternoon. The surprise film turned out to be Peter Farrelly's "I Play Rocky."

The delay raises a broader question about A24's international strategy in an era when social media can turn a film into a global cultural event overnight. And "You Can See Everything" is not alone among A24 titles that make non-U.S. audiences wait.

• Oppenheim's Robert Pattinson-starring "Primetime" opened in the U.S. on Sept. 25 with $19.2 million, A24's third-biggest opening after "Backrooms" and "Civil War." U.K. previews begin Oct. 28, days before its U.S. VOD launch.
• "Everything Everywhere All at Once," the 2022 Oscar winner, reached the U.K. a full two months after its U.S. release.
• Jordan Firstman's Cannes breakout "Club Kid" opens in the U.S. on Nov. 6 — but not in the U.K. until Jan. 8, 2027.

A24 declined to comment on its release strategy for this article.

Why does the stagger work this way?

Several factors are at play. A24 self-distributes outside North America in only a couple of territories, notably the U.K./Ireland and Australia/New Zealand, and even there many titles go through third parties. The films named above were all handled solely by A24. There is also the long-held industry view that an advanced U.S. campaign helps test the waters and builds momentum for the overseas release.

"But for a film that is so spoiler-heavy as 'You Can See Everything,' a month is extraordinary," one British documentary publicity veteran told Variety.

Precedent argues both ways. Last Christmas's buzzy A24 release "Marty Supreme" reached the U.K. less than a week after the U.S. and grossed more than $22 million — the studio's biggest British success to date. Yet "You Can See Everything" may be a unique case. Almost nobody outside the inner A24-Fielder-Oppenheim circle knew of the film before its shock Telluride screening. "The film really didn't exist in the world until six weeks ago," one insider said. A24 has had a tight turnaround to reach U.S. cinemas; a near-simultaneous U.K. launch — where the company has an office overseeing local productions but no dedicated distribution team — may simply have been a step too far, especially with "Primetime" also incoming.

There is also the possibility that few expected a documentary nearly as long as "Oppenheimer," about an already overexposed Silicon Valley founder at the center of a hit TV drama, to become a theatrical juggernaut. The publicity veteran disagrees. "Within the very rarefied documentary world, the minute it was announced, everyone knew it was going be huge," they said. "Maybe A24 isn't plugged in as much, but as soon as Elizabeth Holmes' face popped up, everyone was just like, 'Well that's just blown "NAZA" out.'"

What does the wait change for audiences?

For viewers dodging spoilers, a month is excruciating. For A24's partners, it may be a commercial gift. Timing also played a part: a same-date U.K. launch would have pitted the film against "Streetfighter" and "Forgotten Island," and the U.K. half-term holidays favor family fare. "If someone had tried to get us to put a 3-hour doc in our cinemas just ahead of half term, we probably wouldn't have even answered their calls," one exhibition executive said. "This is just the wrong type and shape of film for us during that period, which is more horror classics and family fun." A post-holiday early-November slot, the executive suggested, would have collided with "Primetime."

Meanwhile, the wait appears to have done wonders for pre-sales. The Guardian reported that tickets at London's Picturehouse Central went on sale before the U.S. opening, with demand forcing the chain to add screenings. Cineworld added shows at its Leicester Square site after the first batch sold out. In Australia, Palace Cinemas — which operates 25 locations — has broken its single-day pre-sales record with the film, doubling the numbers of the previous holder: "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour."

If the staggered rollout was born of logistics rather than design, the box office evidence so far suggests A24's patience will be rewarded when the film finally lands abroad.