Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Americana’ director addresses box office slump
‘Americana’ director Tony Tost thinks new movie stars Sydney Sweeney
Hollywood rising star Sydney Sweeney’s new movie, Americana, slumped at the box office, with director Tony Tost admitting he believes his film was “gobbled up by the zeitgeist.”
The director’s remarks directly alluded to Sweeney’s ongoing controversy following her American Eagle ad campaign, which social media users criticised as resembling “Nazi propaganda.”
On August 15, after its theatrical premiere, Americana managed only $500,000 in its opening weekend against a $9 million budget, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
However, the crime comedy found a warmer reception among critics, with The New York Times hailing it as a “slick and skilful debut feature,” while Variety praised Tost’s first film as “more polished than most filmmakers’ third or fourth.”
Defending Americana, Tost described it as a “hidden gem kind of movie” rather than a traditional blockbuster.
“One of the great things about movies is that they outlive the zeitgeist into which they were released,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“As someone whose first film sorta got gobbled up by the zeitgeist,” the director added, “I’ll be curious to see how it’ll stand up after this moment is over. Hopefully fairly well!”
While the film flopped at the box office, Sweeney’s co-star Halsey urged fans to go watch it, dismissing the backlash as “24hr gossip tabloid denim bulls***.”
