You Can See Everything’ Eyes History as First Best Picture Nominee

A24’s documentary You Can See Everything has grossed $64.8 million at the box office in just three weeks, positioning the film for an unprecedented Oscar run as it eyes history as the first documentary nominated for Best Picture and potentially the first to win.

Directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, the feature documents Elizabeth Holmes before her prison sentence and has emerged as a major cultural phenomenon.

Across the Academy’s 98-year history, seven documentaries have been recognized in main and technical categories outside of Best Documentary Feature: Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1929), With Byrd at South Pole (1930), Louisiana Story (1949), The Quiet One (1950), Navajo (1953), Woodstock (1971), and Hoop Dreams (1995).

To secure a spot in the 10-film Best Picture race, the film must win over Motion Picture Academy voters, contending with front-runners such as Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and festival circuit competitor La Bola Negra.

The film holds a 96% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 98 on Metacritic. Its rapid rise and organic word of mouth have drawn comparisons to Best Picture winner Parasite. Earlier in its run, the movie made $15 million on 800 screens with 2,000 sold-out shows, marking the most successful opening for a non-music documentary since Fahrenheit 9/11 22 years prior, according to Variety.

To build awards momentum, You Can See Everything will need strong performances starting with regional critics’ prizes at the Big Four: the New York Film Critics Circle (announcing Dec. 1), the National Board of Review (Dec. 2), the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics. Critics Choice nominations follow on Dec. 4.

However, the film faces many challenges as a documentary. It is ineligible at the Golden Globes (except for Best Cinematic and Box Office Achievement), the Actor Awards, and the Writers Guild of America Awards, and is only eligible for Best Documentary Film at the Directors Guild of America Awards.