Sydney Sweeney‘s Americana director Tony Tost said he feels his movie got ‘gobbled up by the zeitgeist,’ amid its commercial failure.

Last month, Sydney starred in a viral ad for American Eagle, which provoked a social media meltdown as frenzied critics compared it to ‘Nazi propaganda’ for playing on the phrase ‘good genes’ with a blonde, blue-eyed star. 

Americana bowed in theaters on August 15 made only $500,000 its opening weekend against a $9 million budget, via The Hollywood Reporter. 

While the movie emerged as a damp squib at the box office, Sydney’s co-star Halsey urged viewers to see it in spite of the ’24hr gossip tabloid denim bulls***.’

The crime comedy received a warmer response from the critics, with the New York Times calling it a ‘slick and skillful debut feature’ and Variety saying Tony’s ‘first feature arrives more polished than most filmmakers’ third or fourth.’ 

Now Tony, who made his directorial debut with Americana, has defended the project as ‘a “hidden gem” type movie’ rather than a ‘blockbuster.’

Sydney Sweeney 's Americana director Tony Tost said he feels his movie got 'gobbled up by the zeitgeist,' amid its commercial failure

Sydney Sweeney ‘s Americana director Tony Tost said he feels his movie got ‘gobbled up by the zeitgeist,’ amid its commercial failure

‘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, I’ll be curious to see how it’ll stand up after this moment is over. Hopefully fairly well!’

He shared that back in 2022, when he was documenting the post-production process of Americana on Letterboxd, he ‘knew I was creating a “hidden gem” type movie (as opposed to a blockbuster, or auteur masterpiece).’

Americana premiered at SXSW in March 2023, four months before its production company Bron Studios filed for bankruptcy, and finally achieved a theatrical release on over 1,000 screens more than two years later this August.

‘I’ve told industry people from before I made AMERICANA that my ideal directing career was to string together a series of minor gems,’ Tony wrote on X this week.  ‘To just try to make a bunch of SUGARLAND EXPRESS and AMERICAN GRAFFITI type films without worrying about making a JAWS or STAR WARS.’

He reflected: ‘One picture in — I don’t know if a minor gem career is feasible these days. I think I’ve got to swing either bigger or smaller. Excited for people to find AMERICANA in the days/weeks/months/years to come. But also trying to internalize the many lessons learned from swing #1.’

Americana stars Sydney as a waitress with a stammer who aspires to become a country singer, amid a cast that includes I, Tonya breakout Paul Walter Hauser, Grey’s Anatomy heartthrob Eric Dane, Red Rocket lead Simon Rex and Halsey.

Tony posted his tweets on Thursday, the same day Halsey fired up her Insta Stories to exhort fans to see the ‘exceptional movie’ he had made with her. 

Americana stars Sydney as a waitress with a stammer who aspires to become a country singer, amid a cast that includes I, Tonya breakout Paul Walter Hauser

Americana stars Sydney as a waitress with a stammer who aspires to become a country singer, amid a cast that includes I, Tonya breakout Paul Walter Hauser

Last month, Sydney starred in a viral ad for American Eagle, which provoked a social media meltdown as frenzied critics compared it to 'Nazi propaganda'

Last month, Sydney starred in a viral ad for American Eagle, which provoked a social media meltdown as frenzied critics compared it to ‘Nazi propaganda’ 

She hailed Tony as an ‘incredible artist’ whose ‘work and his vision are greater than the 24 hr gossip tabloid denim bulls***,’ insisting: ‘If you love cinema, than you should know that cinema comes first [sic]. This is cinema.’

The American Eagle ad, entitled Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans, shows its star buttoning up a set of denim trousers and offering a playful pun on the word ‘genes.’

‘Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color…my genes are blue,’ the Sydney says.

The campaign was met with an explosion of controversy, as social media users feverishly accused the ad of being racist and flirting with eugenics in light of its star’s blonde-haired, azure-eyed appearance.

Other viewers leapt to the busty bombshell’s defense, calling the blowback ‘unhinged’ and saying opponents of the ad were ‘reading too much into this.’ 

American Eagle insiders subsequently shared that about 70% of respondents to independent polling had a positive reaction to the promo, via TMZ.