If the start of 2024 has shown us anything, it’s that rom coms are coming back in full force. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, it’s as good a time as any to find out why.
The end of 2024 saw a major revamp in the rom com genre with the release of Anyone But You starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. Fans swooned over the two actors as they bantered, flirted and galavanted all over Australia together on the silver screen.
Although it started slow after hitting theaters Dec. 22, the movie picked up in popularity — now, it’s earned over $153 million worldwide in ticket sales. By its third week in theaters, the flick had climbed to the number one spot at the box office.
The movie became the highest-grossing R-rated rom com to hit screens since Bridget Jones’ Baby in 2016. But many of the highest-grossing rom coms ever come from a different time — namely, the 1990s and early 2000s. Or, as I like to call it, the golden age of rom coms.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride — all on the top ten list of rom coms to rake in the most cash, these nostalgic movies never fail to make you feel warm and fuzzy.
I can never get enough of the classic genre, but ever since the hype around To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before died down, the rom com landscape has been almost deserted.
Sweeney quipped in interviews with the press that she hoped Anyone But You would revitalize the classic rom com genre, and her dreams seem to have come true.
Coming up in 2024, Hollywood will be teeming with star-studded rom coms. Zendaya will star in sports romance Challengers, Lindsay Lohan will grace the screen in the fantastical Irish Wish, and Blake Lively will play Lily in the adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s popular novel, It Ends With Us.
So why the genre revival? I have a few theories.
Rom coms are an escape from a world of uncertainty, allowing us to forget our worries and cares for 90 minutes as we down a pint of ice cream in pajama pants. People need that more than ever in 2024 — at least, I know I do.
Rom coms also fill a growing niche on the internet, namely, that of romance novels. With the rise of “BookTok” leading to entire bookstore displays dedicated to the latest hits, people can’t get enough of romantic fiction. I’m sure that It Ends With Us is only the beginning of the adaptations we will see in the coming years.
As the genre continues to grow in popularity, we can look forward to a whole slew of movies that break the box office, bring the bookshelf to the big screen, and feature star-studded casts all around. And of course, we can take comfort in the fact that time and time again, rom coms prove that love and laughter really do trump all.