Sydney Sweeney’s Americana bombs at the box office as it fails to impress fans, details explored

Sydney Sweeney’s Americana finally hit theaters on August 15, and the box office reaction has been brutal. The film, which stars Sweeney as Penny Jo Poplin and Paul Walter Hauser as Lefty Ledbetter, follows a group of South Dakotan locals who erupt into chaos after uncovering a Lakotan Ghost shirt.

Critics were cautiously optimistic at first, with Americana earning a 69% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Opening in 1,100 theaters, the movie is projected to make only $840,000 over its opening weekend, roughly $460 per theater, landing it in 16th place and effectively keeping it off most major charts. After two years of anticipation, this lukewarm debut has been a stark decline in Sweeney's career which has mostly seen hits.

Yet, all is not lost for Americana. Streaming platforms offer a potential second chance. Netflix, HBO Max, and other services have given many films a lifeline, helping them find audiences beyond theaters and recover production costs. While it’s too soon to call it a hit, Sweeney’s film may yet prove that a theatrical stumble doesn’t have to be the final word. Sometimes, a movie just needs the right screen to find its audience.

What is Americana about?

Americana is a crime thriller with a heavy dose of dark comedy, Tarantino vibes, and a sprinkle of Coen Brothers weirdness. It all kicks off in a small South Dakota town where a super valuable Lakota Ghost Shirt, a sacred, spiritual artifact, ends up in the wrong hands. Rich collector Pendleton Duvall has it, sleazy dealer Roy Lee Dean wants it, and suddenly everyone is scrambling to get their hands on it.

Enter Dillon, a local thug hired to snatch it, which, predictably, ends in a full-on bloodbath. But the chaos doesn’t stop there. Mandy, played by Halsey sees the shirt as her ticket out of a terrible life, Penny Jo, played by Sydney Sweeney wants to steal it to chase her Nashville dreams, and Lefty, played by Paul Walter Hauser, tags along because he’s basically the nicest, most well-meaning ex-soldier ever.

Then there’s Ghost Eye, played by Zahn McClarnon and his Lakota freedom fighters, determined to get the shirt back where it belongs, plus Mandy’s kid, Cal, who’s convinced he’s the reincarnation of Sitting Bull.

The movie jumps around between these characters in five chapters, ratcheting up tension until it all explodes in a massive shootout at the Starr compound.

The cast tries to sell it, Sweeney and Hauser's effortless chemistry has seen praise, and Halsey surprises as a lead, and even the quirkiest characters feel oddly alive.

The film is less about being perfect and more about being fun, chaotic, and surprisingly thoughtful. A modern Western where women survive, Native Americans fight back, and everyone leaves the small town covered in blood and drama.