Once upon a time, romantic comedies were a safe bet at thebox office. They usually featured two big stars in the lead who found themselves in wacky circumstances on the way to true love before the credits rolled. Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and Hugh Grant, among others,once dominated this sub-genreof film. But then times began to change. Streaming became more prevalent and suddenly mid-budget movies across all genres became less viable on the big screen. Other genres have been able to buck this trend amid streaming domination, but the romantic comedy has continued to struggle, although some bright spots suggest that there could be life left for love and laughs at the multiplex.
Romantic comedies were a huge presence throughout the ’90s and 2000s. If you look at the box office takes for some of the highest-grossing rom-coms of all time, most of them were released during this time period. FromPretty Woman(1990, $178 million domestic) toThere’s Something About Mary(1998, $176 million domestic), orWhat Women Want(2000, $182 million domestic) andHitch(2005, $179 million domestic), many of these films starred bankable and desirable leads with plots that were easy for the fanbase to digest.
It was the best kind of comfort food and there appeared to be no end to its dominance. Hell, the highest-grossing romantic comedy of all time,My Big Fat Greek Wedding, was able to gross $368 million worldwide back in 2002 without any big stars. That’s how strong this genre once was, but a series of events have certainly hampered their presence at the box office in recent years.
Highest Grossing Rom-Coms
Release Year
Inflation-Adjusted Gross
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
$436,685,481
There’s Something About Mary
$395,938,225
Jerry Maguire
$360,538,713
What Women Want
$350,883,324
As Good as it Gets
$335,396,274
Runaway Bride
$315,593,282
$292,054,320
You’ve Got Mail
$253,528,483
Notting Hill
$240,634,698
The Proposal
$230,197,078
Why Are Rom-Coms Dying?
The COVID-19 pandemicplayed a big role in the rom-com genre taking a backseat at the box office. When movie theaters shuttered across the world, streaming became the sole provider of cinema as moviegoers were forced to watch new and old releases at home. Films such asThe Kissing Booth,To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, andAlways Be My Maybe, saw big gains on streaming services. However, with that success came the notion that these types of films could easily be viewed at home without having to pay the cost of admission to see them in theaters.
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The only romantic comedy released after 2010 to rank among the most successful movies in the genre is 2018’sCrazy Rich Asians. The film grossed $174.5 million domestically and $201.7 million worldwide, ranking 15th in the list of highest-grossing rom-coms. The last huge hit on the list before that film is 2009’sThe Proposal, which grossed $163.9 million domestically and $230.1 million globally, ranking it 10th on the chart.
However, star power and disguising a rom-com’s genre can elevate their global footprint. Released in 2022,Ticket To Paradisehadold-school romantic comedy sensibilitiesfrom its plot to its two leads, Julia Roberts and George Clooney. When that film opened to $16.3 million domestically, it was deemed a success, although its opening was a far cry from the heights these films once achieved.
Even though it was a healthy box office start, it was far behind the debut of Roberts' 1999 re-team with Richard Gere,Runaway Bride. That film opened to $35 million on its way to a final gross of $152.2 million domestically and $309.4 million worldwide.Ticket To Paradisedidn’t reach that level of success, but the power of Roberts and Clooney was able to carry the film to a solid worldwide take of $168.7 million, with $68.2 million coming from its domestic grosses.
The Lost City, also released in 2022 and starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum, was sold as an action-adventure comedy rather than a rom-com in pretty much all of its marketing. The film relied more on the star power of its leads and the notion of throwing them into a crazy adventure rather than playing up any of the romance. We’ll never know if selling this as a true romantic comedy would still have guaranteed success, but hiding it in the marketing allowed the film to open $30.5 million, on its way to a domestic finish of $105.3 million and $192.9 million worldwide.
How the Rom-Com Genre Can Be Revived
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In this current moviegoing landscape, rom-coms need specific angles and hooks to make audiences want to catch them in theaters. Not only have viewing habits changed, but even shifts in attitudes towards dating, relationships, and marriage, have also evolved. The fantasy that these films once sold may not be as appealing to today’s audiences. The sunshine and roses approach to courtship has become a bit more cynical. This is a sub-genre that has been dominated by the female audience and if they feel the female characters aren’t evolving with them, they might find that many of these films ring false. The films have to grow with the audience because what may have seemed appropriate in the ’90s and 2000s, may not be the case as we step into 2024.
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Some studios haven’t given up on romantic comedies because they believe there is still life left in them if they sell them just right. Sony Pictures just recently releasedAnyone But Youand they have sold that film completely on the attractiveness of its two leads, Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney. Promoting the film began as soon as shooting began with both performers playing up the “are they or aren’t they dating” in real life angle, despite both being in relationships at the time of filming (Sweeney is still engaged while Powell and his girlfriend have since broken up).
So far,Anyone But Youhasn’t become a huge hit, but it isputting up respectable numbersgiven the fact that the genre hasn’t been a consistent sure thing recently. To date, the film has grossed $27.6 million domestically and $33.4 million worldwide on a $25 million budget, since opening on Dec. 22. Had Powell and Sweeney not gone the extra mile to sell their chemistry, the film could have fared much worse, so this could indicate what these films need to do in order to succeed, even on a minor level.
Even though the rom-com isn’t what it once was at the box office due to what seems to simply be a change in the times, there still can be room for them because audiences will always seek out escapist entertainment. In the world we’re living in now, which is full of so much real-life turmoil, films like these can be a way for moviegoers to have a fun and collective experience that they can’t quite achieve at home. What needs to continue to happen within this genre is a sense of evolution and forward-thinking that proves these films shouldn’t be regulated to the past. Laughter and love will never go away, it all just needs to keep up with the sensibilities of the audience.
