‘You Can See Everything’ Sparks Frenzy in Europe as Screenings Sell Out and Anticipation Soars: ‘People Are Just Desperate to See It’

But the crescendoing anticipation for a nearly three-hour film that came out of nowhere suggests that it could also rock numerous other box offices in the coming weeks. In the U.K., where A24 is self-releasing the film, tickets began selling out a month before its opening on Nov. 20, prompting chains such as Picturehouse and Cineworld to add extra screenings. It’s a similar story in France, where distributor Metropolitan Filmexport has seen advance screenings sell out far ahead of its opening there on Dec. 30.

It’s going to be one of, if not the biggest documentary of all time, just based on pre-bookings.” Excluding concert films, 2004’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” is still the most successful documentary in the U.K. (it’s currently the most successful globally), with a box office of £6.55 million ($8.8 million), which, adjusted for inflation, is around $16.6 million today. It’s a figure many expect “You Can See Everything” to surpass. A24 adopted a staggered release strategy in the U.S., more than tripling the amount of screens in its second weekend.

But Variety hears that, to cope with the pent-up demand, it’ll likely bolt out of the British cinematic gates wide, going straight into around 500 cinemas. In France, Victor Hadida, president of Metropolitan Filmexport, tells Variety that the company organized a nationwide series of sneak previews on Dec. 1 across roughly 100 theaters. Tickets sold out within hours.

You can see it on social media, and you can see people going to theaters asking about the film.” Unlike the U.K., Metropolitan Filmexport — which bought “You Can See Everything” from A24 at Toronto, shortly after it’s surprise Telluride premiere— will be following a similar progressive rollout to the U.S., opening in approximately 150 to 200 theaters before expanding based on demand. Hadida says the nearly three-hour running time was a key factor in scheduling the release during the Christmas holidays, when moviegoers have more time to spare. Metropolitan is betting that the Dec. 1 previews will help build word of mouth — something that has been absolutely crucial in the film’s success so far — ahead of the official opening.

But by the time it comes out in France on Dec. 30, much of the rest of the world will already have had a chance to see it. After acquiring large swathes of Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South America for the film before the opening U.S. weekend, Sony has now revealed its release strategy for all of its 29 territories, with opening dates running from Nov. 19 through Dec. 9. Thanks to cultural and language crossovers, not to mention a strong eye for documentary films, especially theatrically, there are high expectations for Scandinavia.

Sony has the entire region, and opens across Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden in the space of 48 hours from Nov. 19. There are similar hopes for another major market, Germany (Dec. 3). Highlighting anticipation there, a recent CNN article told the story of a German fan who crossed the border to get to a preview screening in Poland (where it opens Nov. 6).