Sydney Sweeney is facing a new setback, as her latest film, Eden, struggles at the box office. This follows backlash from her recent American Eagle jeans campaign. With two consecutive film releases failing to perform, the actress is now facing increased scrutiny.
Sydney Sweeney faces another blow at the box office
Sydney Sweeney has faced a string of setbacks, with two consecutive films, Eden and Americana, underperforming in theaters. This comes in the wake of her controversial American Eagle advertising campaign.
The most recent release, Ron Howard’s $50 million survival drama Eden, opened across 664 theaters. However, it managed to collect only $1 million in its debut weekend, as reported by Deadline. Despite a high-profile cast and Sweeney’s striking transformation to portray German settler Margret Wittmer, the film has struggled to find an audience. Despite its ensemble cast, including Ana de Armas and Jude Law, the film currently holds a 55% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The disappointing debut follows Americana, which premiered in 2023 and grossed just $500,000 against a $9 million production budget. These consecutive box office flops have drawn added attention to the controversy surrounding her American Eagle campaign. The denim ad went viral after featuring the phrase “Sydney Sweeney has great jeans,” a play on “good genes.”
In the campaign, she appears leaning against a vintage car, saying, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality, and even eye color…my genes are blue.” The ad sparked widespread backlash, with many accusing the brand of racial insensitivity and Nazi propaganda.
Despite these setbacks, Sweeney remains focused on the series of new projects. The actor has bulked up physically for Christy, a biographical drama in which she portrays former super welterweight champion Christy Martin. She is also set to star alongside Amanda Seyfried in the psychological thriller The Housemaid and will return for the third season of HBO’s Euphoria.
