In 1932 the renowned British literary critic FR Leavis caused uproar in literary London by remarking of the Sitwells, then the UK’s most celebrated literary dynasty, that “The Sitwells belong to the history of publicity rather than of poetry.” FR Leavis died in 1978 but one wonders what he would have said about actress Sydney Sweeney’s penchant for publicity. 

Ms. Sweeney, 28, will have appeared in five films released in 2025 by the end of December. Her latest movie, “Christy”, in which she portrays former professional boxer Christy Martin, will be released on November 7. Advance reviews have not been kind to the biopic and it doesn’t seem a safe bet that “Christy” will reverse the recent string of Hollywood flops that has seen high-profile films featuring the likes of Margot Robbie, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lopez playing to near-empty auditoriums across America.

But true to form, Sweeney has commanded column inches, telling Variety she would be interested in being a female James Bond and wearing a plunging pink gown to the premiere of “Christy.”

Far more memorable than any of Ms. Sweeney’s recent films was the firestorm of debate generated by her appearance in an advertisement campaign for clothing company American Eagle. In the advert, Ms. Sweeney zipped up a pair of jeans while declaring, “Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color…my jeans are blue.”

The spot outraged some liberals who absurdly believed the advert promoted eugenics and white supremacy. The left-wing backlash was intensified by unverified reports  that Ms. Sweeney had registered as a Republican voter in Florida shortly before President Trump won his second term. 

Ms. Sweeney has remained  tight-lipped over the controversy, while at the same time refusing to cater to critics of the advert. When asked by GQ in a video interview earlier this week whether white people should joke about genetic superiority, she replied, “When I have an issue that I wanna speak about, people will hear.” “ Yet her status as Young Hollywood’s blonde bombshell du jour soared as a result of the American Eagle spot with the company’s stock price initially rising more than 23 percent following the debate. 

The splash the advert made contrasts with the dire commercial fate of Ms. Sweeney’s  recent films , and it raises interesting questions. Can you still be a movie star in 2025 if few people show up to your movies? And does the present-day publicity circus now put off the public from seeing the films that actors appear in?  

To be fair to Ms Sweeney, the movies in which she has acted that have already been released this year – the drama “Echo Valley”, the comedy “Americana” and Ron Howard’s survival drama “Eden” – all went out on limited release. But the fact they grossed less than $3 million combined at the US box office reinforced doubts over whether Ms. Sweeney will ultimately be able to establish a consistently successful film career, in addition to the cultural landmines she often detonates, some of which, it must be said, are traps laid of her own making.

Sweeney has a commendable CV for an actor under 30: she has appeared in films directed by Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”) and on the small screen she starred in HBO’s acclaimed film “Reality” playing intelligence whistleblower Reality Winner and also acted in the first series of HBO’s satire “The White Lotus”.   In 2022 Ms. Sweeney received a double Emmy nomination for her roles in “The White Lotus” and another HBO series, “Euphoria”.

“Euphoria,” a massive hit for HBO that arguably launched Ms. Sweeney’s career, is currently, after years of delay, filming its third and likely final season, since three of its cast members – Ms. Sweeney, Jacob Elordi and Zendaya – are now bona fide movie stars.

But what a bona fide movie star means anymore is an open question. Present-day Hollywood has been decimated by the rise of streaming services and persistent mass audience aversion to most in-theatre films except franchises, horror movies  and derivative sequels. Ms. Sweeney fell short last year when she played Spider-Woman in her one big-budget film, Sony’s “Madame Web”. The savagely reviewed film spectacularly flopped. “I was just hired as an actress in it, so I was just along for the ride for whatever was going to happen,” Ms. Sweeney, in damage-control mode, breezily declared. 

Yet the rides she takes are frequently accompanied by distracting detours. Take her only sizable film hit, rom-com “Anyone But You”, which Ms. Sweeney produced via her film company Fifty-Fifty Films. After a lukewarm opening, the film became her biggest hit to date, at a time when romantic comedies were largely being written off. Yet its commercial success was overshadowed by an aggressive PR strategy teasing viewers about a relationship with her co-star Glen Powell, who himself sucked up much of the publicity. 

 Without naming Sweeney, Gigi Paris, Mr. Powell’s girlfriend at the time of
“Anyone But You” called out the marketing of the film on a podcast last June.  Ms. Paris recalled, “I could either pretend like I was going along with everything and have everyone wonder like, ‘Are they hooking up? Are they not hooking up? Is she okay with this? What the f***?’ Or stand up for myself and say, ‘No, I’m actually not okay with this, and I’m walking away.’ So that’s what I decided to do.”

Aside from acting, Ms. Sweeney promotes brands including – in addition to the aforementioned American Eagle – clothing brand Miu Miu, Armani Beauty, haircare brand Kérastase, Baskin Robbins ice cream, Samsung Galaxy phones and sneaker company Hey Dude. Earlier this summer she collaborated with the men’s hygiene company Dr. Squatch to release 5,000 bars of soap ($8) apparently distilled from Ms. Sweeney’s bathwater.

Recently Ms. Sweeney has commanded column inches for her burgeoning romance with divorced dad and music executive Scooter Braun, 44, who infamously battled Taylor Swift over the rights to her records. 

 A Hollywood producer, speaking to the Sun, on condition of anonymity, said Ms. Sweeney’s extra-curricular commercial exploits risk limiting her potential. “Sydney is supremely talented and is working harder than any young actress perhaps since Nicole Kidman in the early 1990s,” he said. “But that work isn’t always focused towards positively advancing her acting career.”

The producer added: “When I met Sydney at the SXSW Festival  she made it clear she eventually wants to direct as well as predominantly act in films she produces. I’m sure she can become a filmmaker. But it’s telling her longest collaboration has been with Miu Miu, instead of seeking out, say, the modern equivalent of John Hughes to make films with,” he said referring to the late “Brat Pack” director.  

Recently Ms. Sweeney has been outspoken about female empowerment. “I always find that it’s the women who give me the hardest time,” she told the UK Times last May.  Last year she fired back at an elderly film producer, Carol Baum, after she had said in a talk in Pleasantville, New York, about Ms. Sweeney, “She’s not pretty, she can’t act. Why is she so hot?” In response Ms. Sweeney’s representatives replied in a statement, “How sad that a woman in the position to share her expertise and experience chooses instead to attack another woman.”  “Why was Sydney wasting time worrying about a throwaway comment from someone who hasn’t made a film in over a decade?” the producer added. “That’s all part of the package of being a star.”

In person Ms. Sweeney is shy and claims to suffer from stage fright. But on social media she is less bashful. A year ago while on holiday, Ms Sweeney posted images on Instagram of her backside and cleavage in a thong wetsuit with the caption: “i [sic] think they call it a thirst trap.”

Will there be much thirst for Ms. Sweeney’s remaining films this year, which as well as “Christy” includes “The Housemaid,” a thriller directed by Paul Feig of “Bridesmaid” fame? “The Housemaid” enjoyed positive test screenings during a Manhattan screening last month but as has been recently all too apparent, the commercial hit is an increasingly endangered Hollywood species.

Some observers believe Ms. Sweeney has more to lose from misfiring films than she does from being a reputed Republican in a predominantly Democrat Hollywood landscape. “In the sense she doesn’t like talking about politics, she’s more a closet Robert Downey Jr. Republican than an outspoken James Woods-type Republican,” the producer said. “The greater danger for her is over-exposure in a string of movie flops.”

He added he could see Ms. Sweeney returning to prestige television, although according to sources close to the situation, relations between her and HBO are presently not as close as they were after her project “The Player’s Table”, which Ms. Sweeney was set to star in and produce, was put on hiatus following the death of its prospective director Jean-Marc Vallée.

Ms. Sweeney is second to none at capturing publicity in this frenzied and fragmented age for movie stars. But she might do well to remember there are infinitely far more attention-seeking celebrities addicted to posting on free social networks than there are A-List film actors for whom the public regularly pays money to see perform.