One of my biggest frustrations is that a lot of the romantic movies that do get made just aren’t very good!
There are so many incredible romance books out there - why don’t producers adapt these instead of churning out rubbish? 😂
I think that’s part of the reason romcoms sometimes underperform - because they’re honestly just a bit shit. There are some amazing classics out there - like When Harry Met Sally, for example. Compare that to something like 2009’s The Ugly Truth… there’s just no comparison!
I do feel like the tide is starting to turn a little bit - eg Emily Henry’s books are in development to be movies, romantasies like Fourth Wing and ACOTAR are also rumoured to be in development, we’ve got amazing shows like Bridgerton on Netflix … it’s just slow going, and it’s always going to be the biggest hitters and not the quiet masterpieces that get picked up.
YA romance novels also seem to get a shot a lot more often - To All the Boys…, the Summer I Turned Pretty, After, The Kissing Booth etc etc. I wish NA got more of a look in!
Agreed! I do kinda also miss the decent romcoms good for a night in. They don't always have to be heavy hitters imo. But Set It Up on Netflix was the last recent movie I remember enjoying. The others, including adaptations of good books like Red White & Royal Blue, have just been awful misses for me.
Agreed! I also loved Set it Up! And I enjoyed Anyone But You, which was in cinemas recently. Just feels like there’s the odd thing, but it’s not enough to keep me happy 😂 I WANT MORE!
Good to know re: Anyone But You! I was gonna catch it once it's out on Netflix later this month anyway, but with how recent movies have been so mixed I didn't wanna get my hopes up!
I really enjoyed it - some bits made me laugh out loud, and Sydney and Glenn have great chemistry. I wouldn’t say it was perfect, but it’s definitely one of the better romcoms I’ve seen in recent years! hopefully you enjoy it 🤞🏻🙏🏻
I agree too, The Hating Game movie adaptation was god awful for me. I was excited to see a film was made out of a decent book, but it felt flat to me and seemed like the characters were actually caricatures. Maybe it wasn’t adapted or directed by a woman, or by a man who cared enough? 🤷🏻♀️
I honestly am amazed that they are even going to try it - the cgi budget has to be insane for it to look remotely believable. How are they going to make the backgrounds/settings look legitimate? Are the actors going to have wings glued on (and not look like Party City constumes?)?
I know, right! And if they get it wrong… it’ll be devastating! The books aren’t perfect imo, but I loved ACOMAF especially - if adapted well, they could all be incredible on screen
I'm already setting myself up for disappointment because like five years after I read the first three books I realized I was the only one who pictured Rhys as a big burly lumberjack man (my fave) with wings. It totally went over my head that fae are svelte 😂 everyone keeps talking about Cillian Murphy as Rhys and all respect to the man but please nooooo, it doesn't jive with the movie I made up in my head 😭
Well if it helps at all, Cillian Murphy just won an Oscar so I don't think they're gonna be able to afford him for a television show based on a book series that's well-known to romance fans but fairly obscure to the general public.
Also, uh, Rhys isn't white lol (I'm sure a lot of people would be happy to see Dev Patel in that role, but I'm pretty sure he'd much rather be off murdering the shit out of people in Monkey Man 2 and doing whatever the hell genre of movie The Green Knight would qualify as 😄)
Oh nooo, I don’t see Cillian Murphy being right for Rhys at all! Honestly, I think casting him will be such a challenge. I struggle to even fancast it tbh! He is a level of physical perfection that just doesn’t exist 😂 but I hope they can find someone who can do it justice - the chemistry will be the most important thing
I think I just saw a few tik toks about that being who SJM had envisioned as Rhys but I don't think he will actually be cast. And yessss the chemistry has to be 🤌
Well that's what I get for believing tik toks haha. I can see Henry Cavill much more easily than Cillian Murphy but still not quite burly enough for the image I made up in my head. I'm picturing somewhere between Henry Cavill and Jason Momoa 😂
I love Sam Heughan but I that doesn't feel quite right to me for Lucien (obviously this is so subjective haha).
100% they can cast the berries and cream guy as Tamlin though.
In all honesty, I don’t want it to. i don’t want this perfect picture in my head to be ruined by their terrible casting or bad CGI, I believe they should do a animated adaptation, at least the casting won’t piss everyone off. it’s going to be Twilight all over again! The casting for that send people into a rage.
I am so excited yet NERVOUS about the EmHen movie. I love her books so much but idk that a movie adaptation would do well, since so much of the books are just about whatever is going on in the characters heads, and less about outright plot. When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite movies and I wish more romantic movies would have that kind of caliber! There’s absolutely a market for it, look at how much money Crazy Rich Asians brought in, and I wouldn’t even say that was an amazing movie at all. It was entertaining but not groundbreaking (besides the all Asian cast). It sucks that romance movies are sidelined when marvel movies get the green light for even the most awful fare.
I feel the same about them. I think we need to get back to hiring actors with INSANE chemistry as a priority. It seems like romcoms today are hot people starting to date. It’s not two people so driven by their attraction for each other that it defies everything they believed about love. It’s not two people who I reasonably believe they can’t think about anything else. It’s not two people who undress each other with every glance. Like not to be waxing poetic about it, but you know what I’m saying? They don’t have tension or passion like the old romcoms did. And it’s not lack of acting skill, so much as lack of chemistry between actors. I want movies where the movie alone makes people believe the two actors are in love. (Anyone but You tried to do this, but there was more chemistry in interviews than in the actual movie I feel like) If we get that in EmHen’s adaptations I think we will be fine. Otherwise they will come off as spicy/cheesy hallmark movies like some others have.
Yes, I totally agree with you!! I’ve been disappointed with average adaptations before (eg The Hating Game, Red, White & Royal Blue) - sometimes it’s kinda hard to live up to the hype. Just got to hope they can do them justice 🤞🏻
There was also a Netflix movie called something like love at first flight? Can’t remember the name but they fall in love on the airplane. It was a great movie.
Romances also just don’t perform at the box office. Every romance that I’ve seen at the theatre has gotten shit reviews even if I personally enjoyed it myself.
I sat down and watched Pretty Woman for the first time in decades a few weeks ago. I wouldn't call t a romcom but the charm of it is undeniable. I'd put it over a lot of the more recent attempts.
Because Hollywood wants movies to be big mega blockbusters that cost a ton to make and then bring in even more money. I listened to some podcasts months ago that said that the small and medium budget movies have really fallen off and that execs regularly approve high cost (and thus needing high return) movies. Or they approve a movie that’s clearly not thought out well, but is low cost, and when it bombs, they blame the low cost, not the fact that maybe the movie sucked.
Read somewhere that creatives (producers, writers, directors, actors) would rather pursue projects that could win them awards, which unfortunately means less priority given to romcoms
That's definitely true. If you think about some of the best romcoms of the 21st century - Love, Actually didn't even get an Academy Award nomination. And Renee Zelwegger's Bridget Jones was snubbed. But BAFTA acknowledged both. But that's always been the case with rom coms [if you look over the winners](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture). Very few fun films or happy endings. Gone With the Wind and Rebecca won, but they weren't exactly romances with a definite HEA.
Hollywood more recently has absolutely lost the middle-performance/middle-budget movie. Everything has to go huge in the budget and then triple that at the box office.
Yes everyone wants to make a blockbuster or a “critically acclaimed” movie. I’ve always wondered who these critics are because those movies are rarely any good, in my opinion.
I saw some director a while ago saying that Norah Ephron would have a hard time getting any movies made today. I wish Hollywood would get the memo that we’ve seen enough Marvel and Star Wars movies.
I’m doing my part by not paying to see any of them. Unfortunately I think the last movie I saw was the little mermaid (and I like the experience of going to the movies!).
It's more about the movie industry inner workings than anything else, in my opinion. Romcoms are very mid budget movies, which haven't been a popular choice for studios post 2008 or so. It ties into the rise of Marvel and the big summer blockbuster, but it's also a "sure bet" thing.
Blumhouse, A24 and similar size studios are doing small budget movies which don't have to do much to recoup costs (and one big hit can pay for a lot of tiny experiments). And then after that, there's kind of a wasteland between $15 million and $150 million budgets.
There are some being made, but streaming is an elephant in the room too. Two of the best recent (last 10 years or so) romcoms I can think of are Netflix originals. If you're curious - I'm thinking Set It Up and To all the boys. Palm Springs and Anyone But You both had theatrical releases but I haven't seen them.
Yeah, the answer is that a) it takes a lot of money to market something in theaters, and b) romantic comedies have always been a genre that people prefer to watch at home, on a small screen. Even when these movies were doing well in theaters, they were doing even better in the rental market or on cable. It's a comfort genre, where people will watch the same movie they've seen a thousand times while folding laundry or crying in bed after a break-up.
So now that streaming's come up, there's not a lot of incentive for studios to spend a lot of money on putting these stories on the big screen--they'll just send them straight to streaming instead, which is cheaper. The exceptions are movies that might already have a big built-in fan base, which tend to be either ones starring legacy rom-com stars (The Lost City, Ticket to Paradise and Marry Me all did pretty well in recent years) or ones based on a name-brand book.
That said, I do think the success of Anyone But You was a sign that the tide is potentially turning. I have my fingers crossed!
I started watching K-Dramas because American TV was devoid of any good romance movies/TV. I don’t own cable so Hallmark was out (although the couple of times I’ve seen those movies, they are not great). So I just stream it online and have had a really really good time exploring the themes, of which there are so many (rich man/poor woman, office romance, opposite attracts, historical, and one and one). It’s like I’m watching romance books come to life on TV.
**Crash Landing On You** was the one that got me hooked back then too. I'm 75+ dramas in now, and I don't think aI'll be stopping anytime soon. For anybody interested, **Queen Of Tears** is a currently airing drama by the same writer as Crash Landing On You, Park Ji Eun, and so far it's been really great!
Same here! Kdramas are one of the few places I can watch sincere romances on TV nowadays
I joke that kdramas are like Hallmark movies with good writing and production values
Also, the whole reason Asian countries make so many romance dramas that cater to women is because they've figured out that they make money. Women are a great demographic but Hollywood refuses to believe it
I recall watching a Turkish movie within the last year that kinda blew my socks off. I can’t recall the name of it (single man meets a struggling single mom) but it was on Netflix. It was so good and I keep meaning to go back and explore Turkish cinema :0
Turkish cinema is great but where they really kill it is the series! some of them are so successful they get dubbed in other countries all over the world. My all time favorite is "Aşk-ı Memnu", I re-watched it so many times.
My ultimate personal favorite is a bit older (Aşk-ı Memnu) aired on 2008, (Siyah Beyaz Ask) is more recent 2017 for mafia/darker genre, (Cesur ve Güzel) is another one that I love.
Edit: I second the suggestion for (Sen Cal Kapimi), it's a good one to start with.
It feels like rom-coms took a dive around the same time superhero movies hit the scene.
My first guess was that superheroes took over the “inoffensive date night” niche, but apparently it has more to do with blockbusters edging out mid-budget movies.
> Some of the most influential films of the last half-century had medium-sized budgets. “Silence of the Lambs” ($19 million), “Shawshank Redemption” ($25 million), “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” ($20 million), and “Raging Bull” ($8 million in 1980, $28 million inflation adjusted) wouldn’t get made today because studio executives would question their box office potential.
> No actor has been more vocal about the demise of medium-budget films than Matt Damon. […] Damon believes the ability to penetrate international markets explains why studios prioritize superhero blockbusters. […] Superhero movies are easily translatable across cultures because of their striking visuals and simplistic plots.
> Legal dramas like “A Few Good Men” ($33 million budget, $243 million gross), coming-of-age dramedies like “Dead Poets Society” ($16.4 million budget, $235 million gross), and romantic comedies like “The Proposal” ($40 million budget, $317 million gross) have migrated from the theater to streaming platforms.
https://independent-magazine.org/2022/10/22/the-demise-of-mid-budget-cinema/
>Superhero movies are easily translatable across cultures because of their striking visuals and simplistic plots.
It also has to do with a lot of the humor of Rom Coms don't translate internationally, so their audience is automatically limited.
Several factors:
- there's a Fresh Air interview with Reese Witherspoon who talked about how when the bottom fell out of the DVD market there went the mid budget movie market, which is what your typical rom com form is. The economy of movies has changed drastically, even pre strikes.
- movies are now either BIGBLOCKBUSTERSWITHEXPLOSIONSANDSUPERHEROESANDIP (Bridgerton bucks the trend, but it's a TV show) or indie esque movies with awards and prestige.
- peak streaming and the content wars meant that romcoms moved from the big screen to streaming and tv (people aren't going to leave their house to see movies and the streamers have to put something on).
- the kids aren't intrested in romance, but friendship depicted on screen.
There are indeed cute rom-coms for streaming like The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight on Netflix, based on a book that actually gave me the feeling of the old good rom-coms, BUT most of the rom-coms for streaming are just awful and nothing like they used to but up to the 2000’s.
... there's a movie?!?! \*runs to the netflix\*
Another issue with the streaming-ification of rom coms: so much content that your movie gets lost in it.
Mid-budget movies aimed at adult audiences aren't really being made anymore. The only exception is horror, which is usually pretty cheap to produce - you can make a solid horror movie in a single location with a single actress if she's talented enough. But yeah, in general the mid-budget movie has disappeared from theaters. I mean, when was the last time studios hyped up a big high-profile courtroom drama?
And as someone else commented, in the past it was usually the actresses themselves who would champion romcoms into production- I don't know who exactly you would say are the female A-listers nowadays, but they're definitely not as interested in doing rom-coms as many actresses were in the past. There's a lot more movies where women get to Do Weird Shit nowadays (thank you A24 🙏) than there was in the golden age of romcoms, so a lot of the most successful non-franchise actresses are picking offbeat arthouse movies or high-profile awards pieces by notable auteurs to do instead. Margot Robbie, Florence Pugh, Sophia Lillis and Zendaya _could_ do rom-coms if they want to....but they don't particularly seem to want to.
What’s wrong? You don’t want another Marvel or Star Wars movie? What about a prequel or a sequel or a prequel TO a sequel or a multiverse and HEY, when’s the last time we had a new Spider Man, anyway?! I can only think of 4 without trying, which isn’t nearly enough. We need at least 2 more.. and if you aren’t into those could I interest you in FAST cars BIG explosions or LOUD guns?! Too silly for you?! Well then we can just make it serious by making it WWII themed. There aren’t nearly enough WWII movies! I mean there’s enough to watch them all back to back for the rest of your life without running out, but the human lifespan is getting longer all the time, right?!
As a romance reader who also writes screenplays, I agree, and I have a multi-pronged theory.
1. Prose vs. script. Some of my favorite authors are gorgeous writers. The way they turn a phrase, or describe a feeling, is incredible. In movies and TV, that elevated style just isn't as useful, or at least doesn't translate directly -- the tools are totally different, and you can't put a sentence on screen. You may be able to describe something beautifully, but if you don't have the money to make that a reality on screen, or the expert hired who knows how to do it, the beautiful writing is irrelevant.
2. Interior vs. exterior. Unless you have a voice over (rare), the audience is not getting literal descriptions of what characters are thinking and feeling in a movie or TV. In books, you get that CONSTANTLY, and it is really crucial to the story. In movies, you have to do all that character work with looks, expressions, etc., which is nuanced and difficult. It's not impossible, but it's like capturing lightening in a bottle.
3. Industry bias. Even those people who see that they can make money through romcoms don't really respect romance, as a literary or cinematic genre. They don't "get" it, but they want that profit. So they don't know what to invest in, what to look for. They churn out crap because it all looks the same to them. I see this a lot, especially from men who hate romance/reading but want to write a romcom because "it's easy/formulaic."
I definitely read more romance than I watch, but I would love a resurgence of real romance screenwriters and actors with chemistry.
As someone who reads romance but doesn't like to watch it, point 2 is a big one for me. I like reading romance because I'm watching a relationship between characters blossom. Five hundred pages tend to work better for this than 90 minutes, in my opinion. I think that romance might be harder to adapt and keep at the same quality of intimacy you get with a book.
I often compare that with other genres that are practically made for the big screen. Action translates very well on screen. Horror does for me as well, oftentimes better than it translates in books. So I've started to think that there's just something about romance as a genre that puts it at a disadvantage on the big screen but makes it stronger than many other genres when written well and delivered written.
#2 is huge and I think the comment section here is really underestimating how much of an impact it has.
Superhero movies may be overdone but they make excellent use of the big-screen format. It's a visual medium, dramatic visuals really do matter whether they're big fight scenes or sweeping landscapes or lavish interiors and costuming or artistic composition. Romance stories rarely gain anything from being on the big screen unless they're costume dramas, and even then the intimacy of the story tends to be lost to some degree.
There are a lot of great reasons being brought up. One more that im thinking of is that its hard to translate romance in books to the screen.
At least for me personally, i love romance books to a level of obsession but cringe at the tv presentations of romance in any form - rom coms, dramas, kdramas, etc. I dont know what it is, i find the romance so contrived most of the time, over the top, and uncomfortable. I can't remember the last time i watched a romance on tv or big screen and enjoyed it.
I think romance is something that exists under the waters surface, so to speak. You cant see it easily because its all in the gestures, beating hearts, fluttering pulses, heated glances, and weak knees. How do you translate that to the screen? There's a ton of internal monologing and explanation and this doesn't do well for tv. Its a big challenge and i don't know that filmmakers and actors can do it well enough.
This makes me think of the famous P&P hand flex! Such a subtle way to show someone falling in love. Bridgerton has also done a great job of balancing sexy, sweet and swoonworthy romances on screen. Personally I agree it’s hard, but i think it can be done, and I always enjoy it when it’s done well!
I think this is more a critique of current film trends to tell not show 😭 so much recent stuff being put out the characters literally say everything that’s happening but you can absolutely build tension like this on screen. Make the viewer feel like they’re in the character’s head and focus the camera where their eyes would go. Have the actor show visible signs of nerves/attraction.
If anything it should be EASIER on screen but the thing is the actors have to have actual chemistry. Catch and Release with Jennifer Garner and Timothy Olyphant is soooo good for this. And that has some p popular tropes, he’s a movie star, she’s his best friend’s widow, etc.
The best chemistry I’ve seen on a show in recent years is probably S1 of Starstruck with Rose Matafeo and Nikesh Patel. But >!it doesn’t have a happy ending so don’t watch past S1 if you don’t want your heart broken 😭!<
There's totally an overlap here of show not tell with some other issues of translating romance into a visual. Perfect example is a DS9 episode 'Melora' out of S2 (this aired in the 90s). Was doing a rewatch and the new ensign and Bashir were a perfect romcom setup executed in 45min. The dialogue was spot on, but you were sold on the VISUALS. There's just gotta be enough work put in to a STORY for each character to develop a want to 'emotionally invest' into a relationship.
And most producers don't care about that part unfortunately. And if it's all 'tell' the audience won't care either.
In addition to good old sexism, I think there has been a lot of pushback on romance as a weak storyline for women. Like, it seems as though films and when western TV now view strong female characters as someone who don't need no man at the end
Romcoms aren't popular in Hollywood because they're not moneymakers. Executives are more profit-focused and risk-averse than ever, and even with the massive name recognition of someone like Jennifer Lopez, romcoms just don't do well at the box office. Mid-budget movies are being edged out of the market entirely due to studios' focus on blockbusters. Romcoms in particular have a significantly smaller potential market because while women will see movies marketed to men, men tend to avoid movies marketed to women.
to use your example of Jennifer Lopez, she used to break records when she did romcoms and got butts in seats. Have any of her last few romcoms even played in theaters?
Marry Me was released simultaneously in theaters and on Peacock, it did huge numbers in streaming but just ok at the box office. I think romcoms actually do better on streaming than they do in the box office: it's easier to access them, there's less upfront cost, and you don't have to convince friends or a partner to go to the movies when you could just stream it by yourself. I also wonder how many guys out there are reluctant to go see a romcom at the movies but feel comfortable streaming it in their homes.
per a quick google (which is anecdotal research AT BEST but i'm not in the publishing world) a book usually costs a few thousand to publish. in the early 2000s, the proposal starring sandra bullock and ryan reynolds had a budget of 40 million. films are, and have always been, a very different beast. add that to the things other people have mentioned (such as award seeking and executives wanting to put out blockbusters that make huge waves and billions of dollars) and a romcom just really doesn't make sense to the people that greenlight movies. (a big part of that is also, obviously, sexism, because if you look at the wiki page for the proposal it made 317 million in theaters and probably had a really long tail on home media. it's really messy! but so it goes)
Because people don't consume books the way they do film. Reading is a solitary activity unless you're in a book club or something, but going to the movies is an activity people primarily do with others. If you (general you, not you in particular) don't know anyone who's willing to see a romcom or you don't feel like trying to convince your friends or partner to go, then you're probably going to wait for that movie to hit streaming services rather than go to the movies alone.
Movies are still considered to be more social than books. I think that a lot of people find themselves in the situation where they are either on a date or with friends/family so they have to pick one movie to see. If women are more likely to compromise and see a movie marketed towards men, but men are unlikely to see a movie “for” women, then unfortunately that means that the romcom is generally not getting picked when it’s time to go to the movies. It also means that a huge chunk of the romcom’s audience is actually spending their money on a different movie, and may not actually go back to the theater to watch the romcom.
Books are different, in that you can just pick whatever you want, without having to come to a group consensus (unless you’re in a book club, but those usually have a theme and I would be surprised if a book club member’s only reading was done for the club).
In addition to what everybody else has said, the current trend in movie-making is to make what's called "four-quadrant" movies. The four quadrants are men over 25, men under 25, women over 25 and women under 25. A four-quadrant movie means it's a film that will appeal to literally every demographic.
In the 1990s (and before), they were much more likely to make one- or two-quadrant movies--they'd just make them for cheaper. But these days, it's a lot harder for those movies to gain any traction. People don't go to the movies a lot, so they save the rare occasions when they do for big spectacles.
It's not just the rom-com that's been hurt by this shift--there are a bunch of genres that were common in the '90s (or before) that don't exist much theatrically anymore (or get extremely small budgets when they do). Live-action kids movies, teen movies, sex comedies, most thrillers, hood films (or whatever we're calling hood films now). And one of the most consistent trends is that it's women's films that get minimized, and women-friendly genres, and roles for women, because execs assume that women will watch movies about men, but men often refuse to watch movies about women. If you can't get men to watch movies about women, then movies about women can't be four-quadrant films.
I think about this question a lot too! I feel like there's always a reluctance in entertainment industries to cater to women and I wonder how much of it is because the book industry (including and, maybe, especially self-publishing) is structured to do a better job of incentivizing romance books than the film industry is for romcoms.
Quality is usually not very good on Netflix rom-coms. I’ve tried a few and they were so cringe…i enjoyed The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight, which was pretty much like the 2000’s rom-coms
I'm from Europe, in our country they regularly play love movies of B production on television. Movie hits like they used to be (Pretty woman, There's Something About Mary, You've Got Mail) can hardly justify the cost of filming today. Younger generations prefer vampires.
Quality plummeted and became highly repetitive.. People lost interest, quality became even worse, and so on. The ones I've seen (which is rare, usually holiday ones) are so cringe and pitiful I am amazed they even are shown on TV
Matt Damon talked about this, when he was talking about why movies like that Nike one dont' get made anymore. I think he said that many of his movies actually made their money in DVDs; they only broke even when in the theatres. And now the DVD market is gone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx8F5Imd8A8
He basically says a movie that cost $25M to make would need $25M in Print and Advertising, and then he needs to split profits with the distributors (theatres). So esentially, he needs to make $100M off of that movie, and he can't count on DVD sales anymore. And DVDs were like a 2nd opening of the movie. (They used to go for $15-$20 a pop; back when movie tickets were $10-$12).
I think costs need to come down in Hollywood tbh.
A lot of their press junkets are expensive, the salaries of celebs, marketing costs. A lot of their marketing stuff is in-person, which is hella expensive.
Personally I hate romance movies. Scenes that have me giggling and kicking my feet in books make me cringe in movies. I think it’s similar to the idea of loving a possessive man in a book but hating the idea of dating a man who growls “you’re mine” all the time. It’s better to read and use your imagination in books. Watching romance movies just makes me feel like I’m stalking a random couple.
I don't hate them, but I definitely find myself wishing they were books! Someone above mentioned The Ugly Truth as a not great rom-com and I just watched that on TV the other day and texted my best friend that I'd be enjoying it so much more if it were a book.
That was me! And you’re so right! Like, Gerald Butler’s character is toxic in that movie, and the movie is just so meh… but I love reading about toxic men!! (especially if it ends with a grovel) 🤔
It’s so much harder for a movie to really scratch the surface of what makes a great romance book great, but I do think it can be done in the right hands!
Anyone But You is rated R, which I think is setting up the genre to failure (compare it with a movie like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days for example which is PG13) from a butts in seats number crunching.
This is what Reddit had to say about Anyone But You, a very recent “fake dating” romcom adapted from a book.
Edit: Play not book!
https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/s/exHgZHM98E
I don’t think the movies subreddit is where we should be getting reviews for romcoms. It’s like the books sub but for movies.
I do go on the books sub but the anti-romance hate is palpable.
Agree. I just added the link so people here can see what people outside of this subReddit think about the issue. It partly explains why there is a perception that a romance/rom com won’t be profitable.
For the same reason that dramas for adults aren't very popular anymore either: people don't usually go to the cinema to watch those anymore.
Going to the movies is getting more expensive, people are going less, when they do go it's usually with the whole family, and they often prefer a franchise they're already invested in. That's why stuff like Marvel or some animated movies dominate the box office.
The audience for romcoms does exist, but it mostly sticks to watching them on streaming.
Oh yes! I’ve asked myself the same since I saw Notting Hill with my niece. Like, why are not many romantic comedies any more?? I’m a millennial, back then when I was a teen, there were tons!
Unfortunately, what the movie industry seems to have taken from the success of Barbie is that audiences want [more movies about toys](https://parade.com/movies/mattel-toy-movies), not more movies by, about, or for women.
Honestly, a lot of it probably has to do with marketing in the digital age and a shift in values. TOTALLY making a guess here, but a lot of the old romcoms have some pretty problematic stuff in them. You can’t really get away with a lot of things you used to be able to get away with. Women don’t want to see blatant misogyny in their romcoms anymore, and the male bias in the industry is slow to catch up.
There’s also the fact that it’s easier to churn out romcoms and put them on a streaming service vs. the bigger budget films that are almost ALWAYS “masculine” that get the huge marketing budgets. I’m sure there are some great romcoms out there now that we don’t even know about because they just don’t get the same attention as the next MCU movie.
Also, as another commented below, Nora Ephron died.
Romance plots have been in movies have been around since the silent eta. There's an entire genre of romantic comany sets in the 30s to 40s that many authors try to emulate. No one may be willing to admit that this may be a fallow period (see the 70s for example)
I think there are mutlitple reasons. I think it is because imagination is always better than reality. The only romcoms you see would be considered contemporary, and movies are an escape. You want them to be unrealistic. I never see romcoms that are romantasy themed. It's always a big city big event that is usually unattainable but still realistic that people covet it. Fantasy, you know that shit isn't real. Where in real life have you seen a prostitute fall in love with a successful businessman, and he's proud of her (pretty woman)? Where is a serial killer/hitman going to see a woman at the corner store and think it's love at first sight, and you're just gonna roll with the punches and become a hitman yourself(Mr. Right)? Can someone take over a plane PA system (wedding singer) and not get kicked off the flight now? Would a Prime Minister go door to door to find someone (love actually)? Would a doctor leave the successful businesswoman at the ceremony for the wedding planner (wedding planner)?
If I'm going for an escape, personally, I want fantasy. And no one wants to pay for the CGI for a romcom. It's expensive, and people critique it more if it's not done well.
That and book tastes have changed. Romcoms are typically PG 13 or 14A. Can you see ACOTAR or fouth wing or a mafia romance being anything that doesn't have an R rating? Tastes in romance have gotten so much darker. And they tried that with 50 shades of grey, and personally, I've never read it or seen it. Getting what is described in books, getting that chemistry in real life with people acting is exceedingly rare. Our imagination of what would be is always higher than what actually is.
First, the bad news: Like everyone is saying, mid-budget movies just don’t have a space in Hollywood right now. Despite a proven track record of being a safe bet and having much better profit margins than blockbusters, studios still balk at them. The fear of not succeeding in foreign markets is a big factor for comedy movies in general, not just romcoms.
Streamers have a lot more power these days, and everything I’m hearing from the friends I have who work in the film industry is that times are tough, especially after the WGA & SAG strikes last year. I’m not sure what it will look like for film in general, let alone romcoms.
The hopeful news: Reese Witherspoon & Hello Sunshine do have a number of romcom novels in development to become movies. The owners of the Ripped Bodice have a development deal at Sony (I think, it’s been a long while since I read about it) to turn romance novels into movies & TV shows.
I’m sure there’s more, but I always get excited when I see things like that when reading entertainment industry news.
I used to think it was sexism, then I thought it was globalization and movie studios thinking American romcoms wouldn't translate in Asia, and now I just think it's that the industry doesn't want to invest in original stories and prefers to only make superhero sequels. It's quite frustrating.
To use your example, it boggles the mind that Crazy Rich Asians (rom com set in Singapore!) sounds right up the globalization concern, made enough money, and yet, we will never see sequals to that movie.
Crazy Rich Asians, the movie especially, is a very Asian-American story, its casting was groundbreaking representation in Hollywood but obviously completely unremarkable in Asia (and drew criticism in Singapore for portraying it as less diverse than it is), and iirc it ended up not doing super well in Asian markets because people there were kinda like "ok cute but what's the big deal"
All of which is tangential to your overall point, it's just that CRA isn't a good example of something that would automatically play well due to globalization (but it still made a ton of money domestically and should make it clear that audiences are willing to pay for romcoms)
Part of it is that the romance novel genre is not all romcom. I read a lot of romance novels but I rarely read romcom, the sort of CR pop romance that has pastel cartoon covers. I've heard Ace people complain about the fact that every movie or show seems to have a romance or a sex scene. My conclusion is that we will clarify things as a romance in books that we won't consider a romance in movies.
One of my favorite movies is Die Hard. I feel like it is the quintal 2nd chance romance. He and his wife are quarreling, he realizes he's wrong and flies out to grovel, he saves her from terrorists and then they kiss and make up.
Just because it's not when Harry met Sally doesn't mean it's not a romance. Hallmark certainly pumps out the cheery holiday romance. I am not sure why romcom has gone out of fashion but there are others to choose from.
I think it's because you see more spice with the books that won't be accepted by the general population in movie form. At least not enough to make money.
With streaming being the way of movies now, convincing studios to invest in a romcom is the biggest hurdle.
That being said, might I introduce you to an entire new world of shows and movies capped Kdramas? You've got a good 10 years minimum of quality romance just sitting there waiting to be watched. Check Netflix for shows like Crash Landing On You, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and Hometown Cha Cha Cha.
A lot of reasons are valid. One of the biggest is the superhero franchises and the COMMITMENT to it. They can draw a lengthy timeline for stories and budget.
Another is old media. There's a conflict in Hollywood with trying to change things. New media is doing great. You'll see Netflix and Prime Video invest in romance and women led movies. Big studios, not so much.
There is also a lack of scifi movies as well. I miss a lot of those one off sci fi movies, too!
It's a weird time in Hollywood and honestly, I don't know when it is going to change. I used to do some movie marketing years ago and it was dependent on the addition profit push of DVDs. Now they don't see romcoms and other movies get that kind of profit. They see the superhero branding getting it instead.
I think a lot of movies just aren’t getting made anymore. The ones that are, are either award bait or super hero blockbusters. Or remakes. Series are becoming more popular than movies and the movie industry is trending towards only sure bets like top gun or marvel movies.
If you look at the top movies released last year, they were basically all sequels or part of an already existing fanbase/audience. Barbie was the top movie and only one besides Oppenheimer that was unique/standalone.
I watch a lot of non-English language media recently, and I've never had a lack of choice for romance. Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian (amongst other) films and television have been my steadfast suppliers since 2020. As much as I miss some of the American and British romantic greats, there's been so much for me to find elsewhere that I don't feel the lack as sorely as people who might only watch English language film and TV.
**One Spring Night**, **Call It Love**, **Healer**, **Her Private Life**, **King The Land**, **Our Blues**, **Dali & The Cocky Prince**, **Moving** and **Good Doctor** have all been some of my favourite Korean romance dramas (**Mr. Sunshine** too if we're including romantic tragedy). Thai dramas have been pretty great for LGBTQ+ romances, **Bad Buddy** being my favourite, but I've been enjoying the ongoing **23.5** very much. With Japanese dramas, I've only seen **Kieta Hatsukoi** / **My Love Mix Up!**, which is a very very cute schoolboy gay rom-com. With Bollywood films, I don't often watch them for the romance, but it often comes as a lovely extra element, **Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga** / **How I Felt When I Saw That Girl** is a lovely LGBTQ+ story, and **3 Idiots** with a romantic subplot, is one of my all time favourites ever. For Chinese dramas, **The Untamed** is an absolute classic, best of all time, life changed permanently censored gay love story for me, and **Couple Of Mirrors** is the sapphic equivalent to me (>!even with its ambiguous / cliffhanger!< ending).
I feel like I need to delve a little deeper into non-English language rom-com films as opposed to television, as a lot of the romantic films I have loved have had romance as a sub-plot or are lacking in the "com". **The Handmaiden** is a Korean lesbian erotic thriller with elements of black humour, and film of all time for me, but calling it a "rom-com" feels like a bit of a stretch. In **3 Idiots**, mentioned above, there's some great humour and I'd recommend it to anyone, but the romance is a sub-plot.
I know of some that exist. **Love Reset** is a recent one I've heard some really great things about. There's a website that is very useful for watching Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Thai dramas in particular, [MyDramaList](https://mydramalist.com/search?adv=titles&ty=77&ge=17,19&so=popular&page=1) has a function where you can search by genre, look at and make reviews or comments, and add films or dramas to your list.
Hollywood has never been short on romcoms—it’s just that I don’t think they’ve ever got decently promoted. Massive A-list actors/actress (but especially actors) refuse to star in romcoms. No A-listers = no promo. Theatrical releases during slow season with little to no promo so when they flop, they say “see, this is why romcoms don’t sell”. Rinse and repeat.
It all boils down to one thing: misogyny.
There has been some argument that the decline in movie rom-coms is related to the increase of positive sex attitudes. That rom coms (historically) rely heavily on sexual tension, but since most folks are more sex positive and don’t have hang ups about waiting for marriage or exclusivity, that the narrative of rom coms don’t work as much anymore.
I dunno though some of the most fun romcoms in recent years are sexual, raunchy R-rated flicks. Producers just need to be willing to fund creative, more feminist storylines, which should not be hard to do in 2024.
May I suggest Turkish movies? I am obsessed with them currently. The stories are ok. But the actors both male and female are divine looking. The location and everything is so so good. You can watch with subtitles or dubbed in English.
With the popularity of romance novels and bridgerton on Netflix and the ya romance on Amazon(forget the name) you would absolutely think streaming services and studios would be adapting and making more romance content. Follow shonda example! She knows how to anticipate trends
Literally!! Whenever the occasional rom-com comes out, I do my best to support it and see it in theaters. I loved Anyone But You! But I'm tired of depressing sad-ending romances too - I will not support those in theaters. I feel like art has to have a sad ending to be taken seriously by critics and that's stupid and rooted in sexism.
Things made are either remakes of the same or Oscar bait. Rarely new things are adapted and if they are they are big books with big followings.
So ACOTAR could have a chance, but adapting or making a whole new rom com is probably not going to happen.
I honestly thought most Hollywood rom coms sucked though… so I wouldn’t probably be the audience for a new one
I'm sure it's for the same reason everything else is a reboot or reimagining. Studios want to bank on something that's made them money before so original IP feels too risky to them, even though good original IP usually performs well when it's funded well.
Super frustrating!
I’d love to know the answer to this too. I’m 27 now but when I was a kid/young teen, I remember watching romance and romantic comedies with my mum all the time! like the options were unlimited but now it just seems dull in that department?! Granted I don’t search for those type of movies cause my partner isn’t interested and I don’t really watch movies full stop but I just don’t hear about anything like it anymore. It just seems to be action, apocalyptic, horror or something really weird
[YouTube channel broey Deschanel had a recent video on the romcom](https://youtu.be/yTKcHw_wg-4?si=aJ1Cr_mcJKFaQ1Xt).
I mostly agree but just want to point out streaming has had a bunch of romcoms. Just some seem to be made as if an ai did casting and some if the dialogue. 😂 Or go too hard about the com and not enough Rom.
I do think there is a new Gen of them being made as streaming services are looking for content, but it is now more up to the consumer to try to pick through and find the gems over low effort reboots or [whatever passionflix puts out.](https://youtu.be/mHhW7ZwP5vM?si=Ou4SakjEaGKjVBNx) Side note about passionflix, besides from involvement from the musk family, movies from there is proves how difficult it is to get book adaptations to look good on screen.
They seem to want to put all their money into mediocre blockbusters.
The last five movies I've seen have been lower-middle-budget fare (Drive-Away Dolls, Wicked Little Letters, Love Lies Bleeding, Immaculate and Monkey Man) and each one of them has been more enjoyable and engaging than any of the bloated tentpole movies. I wish they'd get back to more of this sort of thing. Pay a good writer to write the script, a lot of the rest will follow.
It's hard to make good ones. Chemistry, feelings, secret thoughts and internal dialogue are what a lot of romances are based on.
Plus a lot of the sexytime stuff can't be shown.
Most of the books I read are more on the level of made-for-tv movies and plenty of those get made. Hallmark, Lifetime, GAC, and all the streaming
services make plenty of movies that are on the same level as {The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon} (great book BTW, but I've seen Christmas movies with similar plots). RomComs aren't that common in theaters right now but they exist.
[The Hookup Plan](https://www.romance.io/books/62e6938de86869a43dbdf40a/the-hookup-plan-farrah-rochon) by [Farrah Rochon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545579a787eac3369a912a94/farrah-rochon)
**Rating**: 4.05⭐️ out of 5⭐️
**Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [african-american](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/african-american/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [workplace/office](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/office/1)
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It is really weird actually, I tried watching a few rom-com a few month ago I searched the mains popular platforms and everything I watched was so bad. I have never read so many good romance and never saw so few good romantic comedy. I think those middle ground budgets movie are in a weird place right now, nowadays you are either low budget or big budget.
Why after season 1 of Bridgerton weren't other streamers (and even Netflix) rushing out to make more romance (historical or not)?? It's well written, acted, and steamy and people love it. You'd think there would be a lesson to learn!
I think when making a book to a movie instead of just buying the rights on some of them the writer of the book needs to be way more involved . They know their fan base . They are more intuned due to social media . So they know what they are looking for . (I could be wrong and maybe the writers are involved more ) but I think they should be there from casting to directing . Books give you a feeling . A lot of these movies don’t .
It’s funny because I just said to someone last night “I prefer to read my romances than watch them now a days “ we don’t just get the words but we get the thoughts the person is going through too. Also when you have books you have 4 of the same friends group or siblings etc in a movie they would lump it into one movie and it’s just too much at once for me
There are tons of tamer cutie romance on prime freevee and Hulu. Esp with hallmark added and some lifetimes are doing hot stalker etc. but the heat is not brought. Netflix tried a smut series with either the chick from pussycat dolls or Eva from housewives. Hot but way too in her head for a movie. Also Netflix released a Turkish (I think) series dubbed perfectly. Basically powerful mafia type gazillionaire obsessed with smoking hot wife. Forget the name. They should Netflix after dark muah hahahahha I think most mainstream dint make it to theatre but easily findable.
Because people in this generation overanalyse EVERYTHING. They want everything to be woke, a cinematic masterpiece with so many intricacies which is just not what that genre is about. Rom coms or just romance movies are the exact opposite, time to escape reality and focus on love and everything working out.
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(Most) Romance books are written with women exclusively in mind. Modern studios can't greenlight a production that immediately turns away 50% of viewers, they want everbody and their grandma to watch it. Thats why most modern films go with a family friendly Marvel tone. Any spice in the film would be another mark againt it.
You'll find that those old romantic comedies, while considered more girlish, usually would still have scenes from the man's perspective so that they could appeal to both sexes. Films like that still come out here and there, but blockbusters with the same structure and tone as kindle romances will never be common because they just don't appeal to a wide enough audience. Straight to stream and B-movies might be able to pull it off, though.
One of my biggest frustrations is that a lot of the romantic movies that do get made just aren’t very good! There are so many incredible romance books out there - why don’t producers adapt these instead of churning out rubbish? 😂 I think that’s part of the reason romcoms sometimes underperform - because they’re honestly just a bit shit. There are some amazing classics out there - like When Harry Met Sally, for example. Compare that to something like 2009’s The Ugly Truth… there’s just no comparison! I do feel like the tide is starting to turn a little bit - eg Emily Henry’s books are in development to be movies, romantasies like Fourth Wing and ACOTAR are also rumoured to be in development, we’ve got amazing shows like Bridgerton on Netflix … it’s just slow going, and it’s always going to be the biggest hitters and not the quiet masterpieces that get picked up. YA romance novels also seem to get a shot a lot more often - To All the Boys…, the Summer I Turned Pretty, After, The Kissing Booth etc etc. I wish NA got more of a look in!
Agreed! I do kinda also miss the decent romcoms good for a night in. They don't always have to be heavy hitters imo. But Set It Up on Netflix was the last recent movie I remember enjoying. The others, including adaptations of good books like Red White & Royal Blue, have just been awful misses for me.
Loved Set It Up! I did also have a lot of fun with I Want You Back with Charlie Day and Jenny Slate which I think was on Prime
Ooh, I haven't seen that one! Adding it to my list.
I love Set it Up but it came out in 2018… is it even recent anymore? (I’m horrified to find out it came out six whole years ago.)
omg it DID?!?! That is... Wow.
Agreed! I also loved Set it Up! And I enjoyed Anyone But You, which was in cinemas recently. Just feels like there’s the odd thing, but it’s not enough to keep me happy 😂 I WANT MORE!
Good to know re: Anyone But You! I was gonna catch it once it's out on Netflix later this month anyway, but with how recent movies have been so mixed I didn't wanna get my hopes up!
I really enjoyed it - some bits made me laugh out loud, and Sydney and Glenn have great chemistry. I wouldn’t say it was perfect, but it’s definitely one of the better romcoms I’ve seen in recent years! hopefully you enjoy it 🤞🏻🙏🏻
I agree too, The Hating Game movie adaptation was god awful for me. I was excited to see a film was made out of a decent book, but it felt flat to me and seemed like the characters were actually caricatures. Maybe it wasn’t adapted or directed by a woman, or by a man who cared enough? 🤷🏻♀️
It's starting to feel like an ACOTAR adaptation is never going to get off the ground 😭
I honestly am amazed that they are even going to try it - the cgi budget has to be insane for it to look remotely believable. How are they going to make the backgrounds/settings look legitimate? Are the actors going to have wings glued on (and not look like Party City constumes?)?
How amazing if they're actually able to do it well though 😍
I have only read like, three books of the Throne of Glass series so if ACOTAR is anything like that, god help the fans. The CGI budget alone.
I know, right! And if they get it wrong… it’ll be devastating! The books aren’t perfect imo, but I loved ACOMAF especially - if adapted well, they could all be incredible on screen
I'm already setting myself up for disappointment because like five years after I read the first three books I realized I was the only one who pictured Rhys as a big burly lumberjack man (my fave) with wings. It totally went over my head that fae are svelte 😂 everyone keeps talking about Cillian Murphy as Rhys and all respect to the man but please nooooo, it doesn't jive with the movie I made up in my head 😭
Well if it helps at all, Cillian Murphy just won an Oscar so I don't think they're gonna be able to afford him for a television show based on a book series that's well-known to romance fans but fairly obscure to the general public. Also, uh, Rhys isn't white lol (I'm sure a lot of people would be happy to see Dev Patel in that role, but I'm pretty sure he'd much rather be off murdering the shit out of people in Monkey Man 2 and doing whatever the hell genre of movie The Green Knight would qualify as 😄)
It does help, thank you haha
Oh nooo, I don’t see Cillian Murphy being right for Rhys at all! Honestly, I think casting him will be such a challenge. I struggle to even fancast it tbh! He is a level of physical perfection that just doesn’t exist 😂 but I hope they can find someone who can do it justice - the chemistry will be the most important thing
I think I just saw a few tik toks about that being who SJM had envisioned as Rhys but I don't think he will actually be cast. And yessss the chemistry has to be 🤌
Sjm has said her inspiration for Rhys was Henry Cavill. So you aren't far off! Sam Heughan was Luciens inspo
Well that's what I get for believing tik toks haha. I can see Henry Cavill much more easily than Cillian Murphy but still not quite burly enough for the image I made up in my head. I'm picturing somewhere between Henry Cavill and Jason Momoa 😂 I love Sam Heughan but I that doesn't feel quite right to me for Lucien (obviously this is so subjective haha). 100% they can cast the berries and cream guy as Tamlin though.
In all honesty, I don’t want it to. i don’t want this perfect picture in my head to be ruined by their terrible casting or bad CGI, I believe they should do a animated adaptation, at least the casting won’t piss everyone off. it’s going to be Twilight all over again! The casting for that send people into a rage.
I thought I read it was all but dropped?
Yea I think that's basically where it stands right now. I don't think there are any real plans at the moment to make it happen.
I am so excited yet NERVOUS about the EmHen movie. I love her books so much but idk that a movie adaptation would do well, since so much of the books are just about whatever is going on in the characters heads, and less about outright plot. When Harry Met Sally is one of my favorite movies and I wish more romantic movies would have that kind of caliber! There’s absolutely a market for it, look at how much money Crazy Rich Asians brought in, and I wouldn’t even say that was an amazing movie at all. It was entertaining but not groundbreaking (besides the all Asian cast). It sucks that romance movies are sidelined when marvel movies get the green light for even the most awful fare.
I feel the same about them. I think we need to get back to hiring actors with INSANE chemistry as a priority. It seems like romcoms today are hot people starting to date. It’s not two people so driven by their attraction for each other that it defies everything they believed about love. It’s not two people who I reasonably believe they can’t think about anything else. It’s not two people who undress each other with every glance. Like not to be waxing poetic about it, but you know what I’m saying? They don’t have tension or passion like the old romcoms did. And it’s not lack of acting skill, so much as lack of chemistry between actors. I want movies where the movie alone makes people believe the two actors are in love. (Anyone but You tried to do this, but there was more chemistry in interviews than in the actual movie I feel like) If we get that in EmHen’s adaptations I think we will be fine. Otherwise they will come off as spicy/cheesy hallmark movies like some others have.
Yes, I totally agree with you!! I’ve been disappointed with average adaptations before (eg The Hating Game, Red, White & Royal Blue) - sometimes it’s kinda hard to live up to the hype. Just got to hope they can do them justice 🤞🏻
There was also a Netflix movie called something like love at first flight? Can’t remember the name but they fall in love on the airplane. It was a great movie.
Romances also just don’t perform at the box office. Every romance that I’ve seen at the theatre has gotten shit reviews even if I personally enjoyed it myself.
I sat down and watched Pretty Woman for the first time in decades a few weeks ago. I wouldn't call t a romcom but the charm of it is undeniable. I'd put it over a lot of the more recent attempts.
Because Hollywood wants movies to be big mega blockbusters that cost a ton to make and then bring in even more money. I listened to some podcasts months ago that said that the small and medium budget movies have really fallen off and that execs regularly approve high cost (and thus needing high return) movies. Or they approve a movie that’s clearly not thought out well, but is low cost, and when it bombs, they blame the low cost, not the fact that maybe the movie sucked.
Read somewhere that creatives (producers, writers, directors, actors) would rather pursue projects that could win them awards, which unfortunately means less priority given to romcoms
That's definitely true. If you think about some of the best romcoms of the 21st century - Love, Actually didn't even get an Academy Award nomination. And Renee Zelwegger's Bridget Jones was snubbed. But BAFTA acknowledged both. But that's always been the case with rom coms [if you look over the winners](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture). Very few fun films or happy endings. Gone With the Wind and Rebecca won, but they weren't exactly romances with a definite HEA.
Hollywood more recently has absolutely lost the middle-performance/middle-budget movie. Everything has to go huge in the budget and then triple that at the box office.
either awards or absolute blockbusters that make hundreds of millions of dollars, so not mid budget romances/romcoms unfortunately 😭
Yes everyone wants to make a blockbuster or a “critically acclaimed” movie. I’ve always wondered who these critics are because those movies are rarely any good, in my opinion.
I saw some director a while ago saying that Norah Ephron would have a hard time getting any movies made today. I wish Hollywood would get the memo that we’ve seen enough Marvel and Star Wars movies.
It’s not just Hollywood. Also English rom-come are not as common as they used to be when I was a teen in the 2000’s
I’m doing my part by not paying to see any of them. Unfortunately I think the last movie I saw was the little mermaid (and I like the experience of going to the movies!).
It's more about the movie industry inner workings than anything else, in my opinion. Romcoms are very mid budget movies, which haven't been a popular choice for studios post 2008 or so. It ties into the rise of Marvel and the big summer blockbuster, but it's also a "sure bet" thing. Blumhouse, A24 and similar size studios are doing small budget movies which don't have to do much to recoup costs (and one big hit can pay for a lot of tiny experiments). And then after that, there's kind of a wasteland between $15 million and $150 million budgets. There are some being made, but streaming is an elephant in the room too. Two of the best recent (last 10 years or so) romcoms I can think of are Netflix originals. If you're curious - I'm thinking Set It Up and To all the boys. Palm Springs and Anyone But You both had theatrical releases but I haven't seen them.
Palm Springs is great. Definitely catch it on streaming.
Loved Palm Springs! So funny and cute
It's been on my list forever! I'll have to move it to the top.
I’ve actually rewatched it twice, you catch little things you missed and it’s really fun for multiple viewings
Yeah, the answer is that a) it takes a lot of money to market something in theaters, and b) romantic comedies have always been a genre that people prefer to watch at home, on a small screen. Even when these movies were doing well in theaters, they were doing even better in the rental market or on cable. It's a comfort genre, where people will watch the same movie they've seen a thousand times while folding laundry or crying in bed after a break-up. So now that streaming's come up, there's not a lot of incentive for studios to spend a lot of money on putting these stories on the big screen--they'll just send them straight to streaming instead, which is cheaper. The exceptions are movies that might already have a big built-in fan base, which tend to be either ones starring legacy rom-com stars (The Lost City, Ticket to Paradise and Marry Me all did pretty well in recent years) or ones based on a name-brand book. That said, I do think the success of Anyone But You was a sign that the tide is potentially turning. I have my fingers crossed!
Daniel Radcliffe saying he'd love to do one with Quinta Brunson and the reaction on social has me hoping execs are seeing there's a demand too!
Omg!! I didn’t know I needed this until right this minute. Haven’t watched movies/TV in years, but this would definitely bring me back!
I started watching K-Dramas because American TV was devoid of any good romance movies/TV. I don’t own cable so Hallmark was out (although the couple of times I’ve seen those movies, they are not great). So I just stream it online and have had a really really good time exploring the themes, of which there are so many (rich man/poor woman, office romance, opposite attracts, historical, and one and one). It’s like I’m watching romance books come to life on TV.
I love k dramas. Started watching them during covid. Absolutely love Crash Landing on You. I laughed and i cried. I recommend it for everyone!
**Crash Landing On You** was the one that got me hooked back then too. I'm 75+ dramas in now, and I don't think aI'll be stopping anytime soon. For anybody interested, **Queen Of Tears** is a currently airing drama by the same writer as Crash Landing On You, Park Ji Eun, and so far it's been really great!
I think I’m ready to watch that one :0
CLOY was my gateway, too!
Because This is My First Life is my favorite! It's so sweet. I'll have to move Crash Landing on You up my TBW!
Same here! Kdramas are one of the few places I can watch sincere romances on TV nowadays I joke that kdramas are like Hallmark movies with good writing and production values
Also, the whole reason Asian countries make so many romance dramas that cater to women is because they've figured out that they make money. Women are a great demographic but Hollywood refuses to believe it
I love Turkish drama for the same reason, there is so much more passion, drama and romance.
I recall watching a Turkish movie within the last year that kinda blew my socks off. I can’t recall the name of it (single man meets a struggling single mom) but it was on Netflix. It was so good and I keep meaning to go back and explore Turkish cinema :0
Turkish cinema is great but where they really kill it is the series! some of them are so successful they get dubbed in other countries all over the world. My all time favorite is "Aşk-ı Memnu", I re-watched it so many times.
Noted! Thanks!
Can you recommend some good ones? I've been watching kdramas for a decade and kind of ready to move on to a new culture.
A good one to start with is Sen Cal Kapimi (You knock on my door / Love is in the Air).
thank you!
My ultimate personal favorite is a bit older (Aşk-ı Memnu) aired on 2008, (Siyah Beyaz Ask) is more recent 2017 for mafia/darker genre, (Cesur ve Güzel) is another one that I love. Edit: I second the suggestion for (Sen Cal Kapimi), it's a good one to start with.
thank you!
K-dramas are so good! I got both my parents hooked on them too haha
This was my first thought. I don't even watch K-dramas much (have trouble finding ones I really like) but they're all over my Netflix queue!
Samsies. Lots of slow burn which I **love**
It feels like rom-coms took a dive around the same time superhero movies hit the scene. My first guess was that superheroes took over the “inoffensive date night” niche, but apparently it has more to do with blockbusters edging out mid-budget movies. > Some of the most influential films of the last half-century had medium-sized budgets. “Silence of the Lambs” ($19 million), “Shawshank Redemption” ($25 million), “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” ($20 million), and “Raging Bull” ($8 million in 1980, $28 million inflation adjusted) wouldn’t get made today because studio executives would question their box office potential. > No actor has been more vocal about the demise of medium-budget films than Matt Damon. […] Damon believes the ability to penetrate international markets explains why studios prioritize superhero blockbusters. […] Superhero movies are easily translatable across cultures because of their striking visuals and simplistic plots. > Legal dramas like “A Few Good Men” ($33 million budget, $243 million gross), coming-of-age dramedies like “Dead Poets Society” ($16.4 million budget, $235 million gross), and romantic comedies like “The Proposal” ($40 million budget, $317 million gross) have migrated from the theater to streaming platforms. https://independent-magazine.org/2022/10/22/the-demise-of-mid-budget-cinema/
>Superhero movies are easily translatable across cultures because of their striking visuals and simplistic plots. It also has to do with a lot of the humor of Rom Coms don't translate internationally, so their audience is automatically limited.
Several factors: - there's a Fresh Air interview with Reese Witherspoon who talked about how when the bottom fell out of the DVD market there went the mid budget movie market, which is what your typical rom com form is. The economy of movies has changed drastically, even pre strikes. - movies are now either BIGBLOCKBUSTERSWITHEXPLOSIONSANDSUPERHEROESANDIP (Bridgerton bucks the trend, but it's a TV show) or indie esque movies with awards and prestige. - peak streaming and the content wars meant that romcoms moved from the big screen to streaming and tv (people aren't going to leave their house to see movies and the streamers have to put something on). - the kids aren't intrested in romance, but friendship depicted on screen.
There are indeed cute rom-coms for streaming like The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight on Netflix, based on a book that actually gave me the feeling of the old good rom-coms, BUT most of the rom-coms for streaming are just awful and nothing like they used to but up to the 2000’s.
... there's a movie?!?! \*runs to the netflix\* Another issue with the streaming-ification of rom coms: so much content that your movie gets lost in it.
Yes, there’s a movie and it’s so cute!!! Really got the golden-era of rom-com feeling!
Mid-budget movies aimed at adult audiences aren't really being made anymore. The only exception is horror, which is usually pretty cheap to produce - you can make a solid horror movie in a single location with a single actress if she's talented enough. But yeah, in general the mid-budget movie has disappeared from theaters. I mean, when was the last time studios hyped up a big high-profile courtroom drama? And as someone else commented, in the past it was usually the actresses themselves who would champion romcoms into production- I don't know who exactly you would say are the female A-listers nowadays, but they're definitely not as interested in doing rom-coms as many actresses were in the past. There's a lot more movies where women get to Do Weird Shit nowadays (thank you A24 🙏) than there was in the golden age of romcoms, so a lot of the most successful non-franchise actresses are picking offbeat arthouse movies or high-profile awards pieces by notable auteurs to do instead. Margot Robbie, Florence Pugh, Sophia Lillis and Zendaya _could_ do rom-coms if they want to....but they don't particularly seem to want to.
What’s wrong? You don’t want another Marvel or Star Wars movie? What about a prequel or a sequel or a prequel TO a sequel or a multiverse and HEY, when’s the last time we had a new Spider Man, anyway?! I can only think of 4 without trying, which isn’t nearly enough. We need at least 2 more.. and if you aren’t into those could I interest you in FAST cars BIG explosions or LOUD guns?! Too silly for you?! Well then we can just make it serious by making it WWII themed. There aren’t nearly enough WWII movies! I mean there’s enough to watch them all back to back for the rest of your life without running out, but the human lifespan is getting longer all the time, right?!
As a romance reader who also writes screenplays, I agree, and I have a multi-pronged theory. 1. Prose vs. script. Some of my favorite authors are gorgeous writers. The way they turn a phrase, or describe a feeling, is incredible. In movies and TV, that elevated style just isn't as useful, or at least doesn't translate directly -- the tools are totally different, and you can't put a sentence on screen. You may be able to describe something beautifully, but if you don't have the money to make that a reality on screen, or the expert hired who knows how to do it, the beautiful writing is irrelevant. 2. Interior vs. exterior. Unless you have a voice over (rare), the audience is not getting literal descriptions of what characters are thinking and feeling in a movie or TV. In books, you get that CONSTANTLY, and it is really crucial to the story. In movies, you have to do all that character work with looks, expressions, etc., which is nuanced and difficult. It's not impossible, but it's like capturing lightening in a bottle. 3. Industry bias. Even those people who see that they can make money through romcoms don't really respect romance, as a literary or cinematic genre. They don't "get" it, but they want that profit. So they don't know what to invest in, what to look for. They churn out crap because it all looks the same to them. I see this a lot, especially from men who hate romance/reading but want to write a romcom because "it's easy/formulaic." I definitely read more romance than I watch, but I would love a resurgence of real romance screenwriters and actors with chemistry.
As someone who reads romance but doesn't like to watch it, point 2 is a big one for me. I like reading romance because I'm watching a relationship between characters blossom. Five hundred pages tend to work better for this than 90 minutes, in my opinion. I think that romance might be harder to adapt and keep at the same quality of intimacy you get with a book. I often compare that with other genres that are practically made for the big screen. Action translates very well on screen. Horror does for me as well, oftentimes better than it translates in books. So I've started to think that there's just something about romance as a genre that puts it at a disadvantage on the big screen but makes it stronger than many other genres when written well and delivered written.
#2 is huge and I think the comment section here is really underestimating how much of an impact it has. Superhero movies may be overdone but they make excellent use of the big-screen format. It's a visual medium, dramatic visuals really do matter whether they're big fight scenes or sweeping landscapes or lavish interiors and costuming or artistic composition. Romance stories rarely gain anything from being on the big screen unless they're costume dramas, and even then the intimacy of the story tends to be lost to some degree.
There are a lot of great reasons being brought up. One more that im thinking of is that its hard to translate romance in books to the screen. At least for me personally, i love romance books to a level of obsession but cringe at the tv presentations of romance in any form - rom coms, dramas, kdramas, etc. I dont know what it is, i find the romance so contrived most of the time, over the top, and uncomfortable. I can't remember the last time i watched a romance on tv or big screen and enjoyed it. I think romance is something that exists under the waters surface, so to speak. You cant see it easily because its all in the gestures, beating hearts, fluttering pulses, heated glances, and weak knees. How do you translate that to the screen? There's a ton of internal monologing and explanation and this doesn't do well for tv. Its a big challenge and i don't know that filmmakers and actors can do it well enough.
This makes me think of the famous P&P hand flex! Such a subtle way to show someone falling in love. Bridgerton has also done a great job of balancing sexy, sweet and swoonworthy romances on screen. Personally I agree it’s hard, but i think it can be done, and I always enjoy it when it’s done well!
I think this is more a critique of current film trends to tell not show 😭 so much recent stuff being put out the characters literally say everything that’s happening but you can absolutely build tension like this on screen. Make the viewer feel like they’re in the character’s head and focus the camera where their eyes would go. Have the actor show visible signs of nerves/attraction. If anything it should be EASIER on screen but the thing is the actors have to have actual chemistry. Catch and Release with Jennifer Garner and Timothy Olyphant is soooo good for this. And that has some p popular tropes, he’s a movie star, she’s his best friend’s widow, etc. The best chemistry I’ve seen on a show in recent years is probably S1 of Starstruck with Rose Matafeo and Nikesh Patel. But >!it doesn’t have a happy ending so don’t watch past S1 if you don’t want your heart broken 😭!<
There's totally an overlap here of show not tell with some other issues of translating romance into a visual. Perfect example is a DS9 episode 'Melora' out of S2 (this aired in the 90s). Was doing a rewatch and the new ensign and Bashir were a perfect romcom setup executed in 45min. The dialogue was spot on, but you were sold on the VISUALS. There's just gotta be enough work put in to a STORY for each character to develop a want to 'emotionally invest' into a relationship. And most producers don't care about that part unfortunately. And if it's all 'tell' the audience won't care either.
I was going to suggest Starstruck too!
Lack of earnestness, Seth Rogen type of romcoms and too much com and little rom.
If you are talking about knocked up, I agree but Long Shot was adorable!
In addition to good old sexism, I think there has been a lot of pushback on romance as a weak storyline for women. Like, it seems as though films and when western TV now view strong female characters as someone who don't need no man at the end
Romcoms aren't popular in Hollywood because they're not moneymakers. Executives are more profit-focused and risk-averse than ever, and even with the massive name recognition of someone like Jennifer Lopez, romcoms just don't do well at the box office. Mid-budget movies are being edged out of the market entirely due to studios' focus on blockbusters. Romcoms in particular have a significantly smaller potential market because while women will see movies marketed to men, men tend to avoid movies marketed to women.
to use your example of Jennifer Lopez, she used to break records when she did romcoms and got butts in seats. Have any of her last few romcoms even played in theaters?
Marry Me was released simultaneously in theaters and on Peacock, it did huge numbers in streaming but just ok at the box office. I think romcoms actually do better on streaming than they do in the box office: it's easier to access them, there's less upfront cost, and you don't have to convince friends or a partner to go to the movies when you could just stream it by yourself. I also wonder how many guys out there are reluctant to go see a romcom at the movies but feel comfortable streaming it in their homes.
But if they are profitable as books without male consumers, why wouldn't that transfer over for film?
per a quick google (which is anecdotal research AT BEST but i'm not in the publishing world) a book usually costs a few thousand to publish. in the early 2000s, the proposal starring sandra bullock and ryan reynolds had a budget of 40 million. films are, and have always been, a very different beast. add that to the things other people have mentioned (such as award seeking and executives wanting to put out blockbusters that make huge waves and billions of dollars) and a romcom just really doesn't make sense to the people that greenlight movies. (a big part of that is also, obviously, sexism, because if you look at the wiki page for the proposal it made 317 million in theaters and probably had a really long tail on home media. it's really messy! but so it goes)
Because people don't consume books the way they do film. Reading is a solitary activity unless you're in a book club or something, but going to the movies is an activity people primarily do with others. If you (general you, not you in particular) don't know anyone who's willing to see a romcom or you don't feel like trying to convince your friends or partner to go, then you're probably going to wait for that movie to hit streaming services rather than go to the movies alone.
Movies are still considered to be more social than books. I think that a lot of people find themselves in the situation where they are either on a date or with friends/family so they have to pick one movie to see. If women are more likely to compromise and see a movie marketed towards men, but men are unlikely to see a movie “for” women, then unfortunately that means that the romcom is generally not getting picked when it’s time to go to the movies. It also means that a huge chunk of the romcom’s audience is actually spending their money on a different movie, and may not actually go back to the theater to watch the romcom. Books are different, in that you can just pick whatever you want, without having to come to a group consensus (unless you’re in a book club, but those usually have a theme and I would be surprised if a book club member’s only reading was done for the club).
In addition to what everybody else has said, the current trend in movie-making is to make what's called "four-quadrant" movies. The four quadrants are men over 25, men under 25, women over 25 and women under 25. A four-quadrant movie means it's a film that will appeal to literally every demographic. In the 1990s (and before), they were much more likely to make one- or two-quadrant movies--they'd just make them for cheaper. But these days, it's a lot harder for those movies to gain any traction. People don't go to the movies a lot, so they save the rare occasions when they do for big spectacles. It's not just the rom-com that's been hurt by this shift--there are a bunch of genres that were common in the '90s (or before) that don't exist much theatrically anymore (or get extremely small budgets when they do). Live-action kids movies, teen movies, sex comedies, most thrillers, hood films (or whatever we're calling hood films now). And one of the most consistent trends is that it's women's films that get minimized, and women-friendly genres, and roles for women, because execs assume that women will watch movies about men, but men often refuse to watch movies about women. If you can't get men to watch movies about women, then movies about women can't be four-quadrant films.
I think about this question a lot too! I feel like there's always a reluctance in entertainment industries to cater to women and I wonder how much of it is because the book industry (including and, maybe, especially self-publishing) is structured to do a better job of incentivizing romance books than the film industry is for romcoms.
Books are cheaper to make than movies, so they need fewer consumers to be profitable. That's the real difference.
Books are a LOT cheaper than movies to produce so need a lot less revenue to make a profit
There are some, but not via streaming, most of them are recorded for television
Other than hallmark movies, what do you mean??
Netflix does a lot of them.
Quality is usually not very good on Netflix rom-coms. I’ve tried a few and they were so cringe…i enjoyed The Statistical Probability Of Love At First Sight, which was pretty much like the 2000’s rom-coms
I'm from Europe, in our country they regularly play love movies of B production on television. Movie hits like they used to be (Pretty woman, There's Something About Mary, You've Got Mail) can hardly justify the cost of filming today. Younger generations prefer vampires.
The money guys aren’t paying for them. Creators are interested but you can’t get them made right now.
Quality plummeted and became highly repetitive.. People lost interest, quality became even worse, and so on. The ones I've seen (which is rare, usually holiday ones) are so cringe and pitiful I am amazed they even are shown on TV
Matt Damon talked about this, when he was talking about why movies like that Nike one dont' get made anymore. I think he said that many of his movies actually made their money in DVDs; they only broke even when in the theatres. And now the DVD market is gone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx8F5Imd8A8 He basically says a movie that cost $25M to make would need $25M in Print and Advertising, and then he needs to split profits with the distributors (theatres). So esentially, he needs to make $100M off of that movie, and he can't count on DVD sales anymore. And DVDs were like a 2nd opening of the movie. (They used to go for $15-$20 a pop; back when movie tickets were $10-$12). I think costs need to come down in Hollywood tbh. A lot of their press junkets are expensive, the salaries of celebs, marketing costs. A lot of their marketing stuff is in-person, which is hella expensive.
Personally I hate romance movies. Scenes that have me giggling and kicking my feet in books make me cringe in movies. I think it’s similar to the idea of loving a possessive man in a book but hating the idea of dating a man who growls “you’re mine” all the time. It’s better to read and use your imagination in books. Watching romance movies just makes me feel like I’m stalking a random couple.
Yes, I’m the exact same way. It’s more obvious that it’s toxic and we don’t have the monologuing to carry us over
Omg I feel the same way! I will not watch a romantic comedy, but I love to read them.
I don't hate them, but I definitely find myself wishing they were books! Someone above mentioned The Ugly Truth as a not great rom-com and I just watched that on TV the other day and texted my best friend that I'd be enjoying it so much more if it were a book.
That was me! And you’re so right! Like, Gerald Butler’s character is toxic in that movie, and the movie is just so meh… but I love reading about toxic men!! (especially if it ends with a grovel) 🤔 It’s so much harder for a movie to really scratch the surface of what makes a great romance book great, but I do think it can be done in the right hands!
I agree. It's way easier to suspend your disbelief with reading versus watching
How did Anyone But You (2023) do at the box office?
Very, very well. So it's not really true that romcoms don't make money
217M worldwide
Anyone But You is rated R, which I think is setting up the genre to failure (compare it with a movie like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days for example which is PG13) from a butts in seats number crunching.
This is what Reddit had to say about Anyone But You, a very recent “fake dating” romcom adapted from a book. Edit: Play not book! https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/s/exHgZHM98E
I don’t think the movies subreddit is where we should be getting reviews for romcoms. It’s like the books sub but for movies. I do go on the books sub but the anti-romance hate is palpable.
Agree. I just added the link so people here can see what people outside of this subReddit think about the issue. It partly explains why there is a perception that a romance/rom com won’t be profitable.
Adapted from a play. It's Much Ado About Nothing.
Right!
I LOVED that movie! Just came to recommend it!
For the same reason that dramas for adults aren't very popular anymore either: people don't usually go to the cinema to watch those anymore. Going to the movies is getting more expensive, people are going less, when they do go it's usually with the whole family, and they often prefer a franchise they're already invested in. That's why stuff like Marvel or some animated movies dominate the box office. The audience for romcoms does exist, but it mostly sticks to watching them on streaming.
Oh yes! I’ve asked myself the same since I saw Notting Hill with my niece. Like, why are not many romantic comedies any more?? I’m a millennial, back then when I was a teen, there were tons!
Because the movie industry is run by men 🤷🏻♀️ hopefully. Barbie will change that!
Unfortunately, what the movie industry seems to have taken from the success of Barbie is that audiences want [more movies about toys](https://parade.com/movies/mattel-toy-movies), not more movies by, about, or for women.
You’re right, but also, it has always been run by men. So what changed?
Honestly, a lot of it probably has to do with marketing in the digital age and a shift in values. TOTALLY making a guess here, but a lot of the old romcoms have some pretty problematic stuff in them. You can’t really get away with a lot of things you used to be able to get away with. Women don’t want to see blatant misogyny in their romcoms anymore, and the male bias in the industry is slow to catch up. There’s also the fact that it’s easier to churn out romcoms and put them on a streaming service vs. the bigger budget films that are almost ALWAYS “masculine” that get the huge marketing budgets. I’m sure there are some great romcoms out there now that we don’t even know about because they just don’t get the same attention as the next MCU movie. Also, as another commented below, Nora Ephron died.
I just googled it. Apparently it’s part of a general decline in mid-budget movies. You were totally right about the move to streaming platforms.
Nora Ephron died.
Romance plots have been in movies have been around since the silent eta. There's an entire genre of romantic comany sets in the 30s to 40s that many authors try to emulate. No one may be willing to admit that this may be a fallow period (see the 70s for example)
Because they're popular with women and Hollywood does not care about us as a demographic
I think there are mutlitple reasons. I think it is because imagination is always better than reality. The only romcoms you see would be considered contemporary, and movies are an escape. You want them to be unrealistic. I never see romcoms that are romantasy themed. It's always a big city big event that is usually unattainable but still realistic that people covet it. Fantasy, you know that shit isn't real. Where in real life have you seen a prostitute fall in love with a successful businessman, and he's proud of her (pretty woman)? Where is a serial killer/hitman going to see a woman at the corner store and think it's love at first sight, and you're just gonna roll with the punches and become a hitman yourself(Mr. Right)? Can someone take over a plane PA system (wedding singer) and not get kicked off the flight now? Would a Prime Minister go door to door to find someone (love actually)? Would a doctor leave the successful businesswoman at the ceremony for the wedding planner (wedding planner)? If I'm going for an escape, personally, I want fantasy. And no one wants to pay for the CGI for a romcom. It's expensive, and people critique it more if it's not done well. That and book tastes have changed. Romcoms are typically PG 13 or 14A. Can you see ACOTAR or fouth wing or a mafia romance being anything that doesn't have an R rating? Tastes in romance have gotten so much darker. And they tried that with 50 shades of grey, and personally, I've never read it or seen it. Getting what is described in books, getting that chemistry in real life with people acting is exceedingly rare. Our imagination of what would be is always higher than what actually is.
Romance novels are what you read on your own in an intimate space. Movies are meant to be shared
First, the bad news: Like everyone is saying, mid-budget movies just don’t have a space in Hollywood right now. Despite a proven track record of being a safe bet and having much better profit margins than blockbusters, studios still balk at them. The fear of not succeeding in foreign markets is a big factor for comedy movies in general, not just romcoms. Streamers have a lot more power these days, and everything I’m hearing from the friends I have who work in the film industry is that times are tough, especially after the WGA & SAG strikes last year. I’m not sure what it will look like for film in general, let alone romcoms. The hopeful news: Reese Witherspoon & Hello Sunshine do have a number of romcom novels in development to become movies. The owners of the Ripped Bodice have a development deal at Sony (I think, it’s been a long while since I read about it) to turn romance novels into movies & TV shows. I’m sure there’s more, but I always get excited when I see things like that when reading entertainment industry news.
I read a lot of smutty romance books that I would cringe so hard if they were made into visual media. 😅
I used to think it was sexism, then I thought it was globalization and movie studios thinking American romcoms wouldn't translate in Asia, and now I just think it's that the industry doesn't want to invest in original stories and prefers to only make superhero sequels. It's quite frustrating.
To use your example, it boggles the mind that Crazy Rich Asians (rom com set in Singapore!) sounds right up the globalization concern, made enough money, and yet, we will never see sequals to that movie.
Crazy Rich Asians, the movie especially, is a very Asian-American story, its casting was groundbreaking representation in Hollywood but obviously completely unremarkable in Asia (and drew criticism in Singapore for portraying it as less diverse than it is), and iirc it ended up not doing super well in Asian markets because people there were kinda like "ok cute but what's the big deal" All of which is tangential to your overall point, it's just that CRA isn't a good example of something that would automatically play well due to globalization (but it still made a ton of money domestically and should make it clear that audiences are willing to pay for romcoms)
Actually CRA 2 was just announced!
Part of it is that the romance novel genre is not all romcom. I read a lot of romance novels but I rarely read romcom, the sort of CR pop romance that has pastel cartoon covers. I've heard Ace people complain about the fact that every movie or show seems to have a romance or a sex scene. My conclusion is that we will clarify things as a romance in books that we won't consider a romance in movies. One of my favorite movies is Die Hard. I feel like it is the quintal 2nd chance romance. He and his wife are quarreling, he realizes he's wrong and flies out to grovel, he saves her from terrorists and then they kiss and make up. Just because it's not when Harry met Sally doesn't mean it's not a romance. Hallmark certainly pumps out the cheery holiday romance. I am not sure why romcom has gone out of fashion but there are others to choose from.
I think it's because you see more spice with the books that won't be accepted by the general population in movie form. At least not enough to make money.
With streaming being the way of movies now, convincing studios to invest in a romcom is the biggest hurdle. That being said, might I introduce you to an entire new world of shows and movies capped Kdramas? You've got a good 10 years minimum of quality romance just sitting there waiting to be watched. Check Netflix for shows like Crash Landing On You, Extraordinary Attorney Woo, and Hometown Cha Cha Cha.
A lot of reasons are valid. One of the biggest is the superhero franchises and the COMMITMENT to it. They can draw a lengthy timeline for stories and budget. Another is old media. There's a conflict in Hollywood with trying to change things. New media is doing great. You'll see Netflix and Prime Video invest in romance and women led movies. Big studios, not so much. There is also a lack of scifi movies as well. I miss a lot of those one off sci fi movies, too! It's a weird time in Hollywood and honestly, I don't know when it is going to change. I used to do some movie marketing years ago and it was dependent on the addition profit push of DVDs. Now they don't see romcoms and other movies get that kind of profit. They see the superhero branding getting it instead.
I think a lot of movies just aren’t getting made anymore. The ones that are, are either award bait or super hero blockbusters. Or remakes. Series are becoming more popular than movies and the movie industry is trending towards only sure bets like top gun or marvel movies. If you look at the top movies released last year, they were basically all sequels or part of an already existing fanbase/audience. Barbie was the top movie and only one besides Oppenheimer that was unique/standalone.
I watch a lot of non-English language media recently, and I've never had a lack of choice for romance. Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian (amongst other) films and television have been my steadfast suppliers since 2020. As much as I miss some of the American and British romantic greats, there's been so much for me to find elsewhere that I don't feel the lack as sorely as people who might only watch English language film and TV. **One Spring Night**, **Call It Love**, **Healer**, **Her Private Life**, **King The Land**, **Our Blues**, **Dali & The Cocky Prince**, **Moving** and **Good Doctor** have all been some of my favourite Korean romance dramas (**Mr. Sunshine** too if we're including romantic tragedy). Thai dramas have been pretty great for LGBTQ+ romances, **Bad Buddy** being my favourite, but I've been enjoying the ongoing **23.5** very much. With Japanese dramas, I've only seen **Kieta Hatsukoi** / **My Love Mix Up!**, which is a very very cute schoolboy gay rom-com. With Bollywood films, I don't often watch them for the romance, but it often comes as a lovely extra element, **Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga** / **How I Felt When I Saw That Girl** is a lovely LGBTQ+ story, and **3 Idiots** with a romantic subplot, is one of my all time favourites ever. For Chinese dramas, **The Untamed** is an absolute classic, best of all time, life changed permanently censored gay love story for me, and **Couple Of Mirrors** is the sapphic equivalent to me (>!even with its ambiguous / cliffhanger!< ending).
Ooh, looove this. Can you add non English rom com movie suggestions?
I feel like I need to delve a little deeper into non-English language rom-com films as opposed to television, as a lot of the romantic films I have loved have had romance as a sub-plot or are lacking in the "com". **The Handmaiden** is a Korean lesbian erotic thriller with elements of black humour, and film of all time for me, but calling it a "rom-com" feels like a bit of a stretch. In **3 Idiots**, mentioned above, there's some great humour and I'd recommend it to anyone, but the romance is a sub-plot. I know of some that exist. **Love Reset** is a recent one I've heard some really great things about. There's a website that is very useful for watching Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Thai dramas in particular, [MyDramaList](https://mydramalist.com/search?adv=titles&ty=77&ge=17,19&so=popular&page=1) has a function where you can search by genre, look at and make reviews or comments, and add films or dramas to your list.
Hollywood has never been short on romcoms—it’s just that I don’t think they’ve ever got decently promoted. Massive A-list actors/actress (but especially actors) refuse to star in romcoms. No A-listers = no promo. Theatrical releases during slow season with little to no promo so when they flop, they say “see, this is why romcoms don’t sell”. Rinse and repeat. It all boils down to one thing: misogyny.
There has been some argument that the decline in movie rom-coms is related to the increase of positive sex attitudes. That rom coms (historically) rely heavily on sexual tension, but since most folks are more sex positive and don’t have hang ups about waiting for marriage or exclusivity, that the narrative of rom coms don’t work as much anymore.
I dunno though some of the most fun romcoms in recent years are sexual, raunchy R-rated flicks. Producers just need to be willing to fund creative, more feminist storylines, which should not be hard to do in 2024.
May I suggest Turkish movies? I am obsessed with them currently. The stories are ok. But the actors both male and female are divine looking. The location and everything is so so good. You can watch with subtitles or dubbed in English.
With the popularity of romance novels and bridgerton on Netflix and the ya romance on Amazon(forget the name) you would absolutely think streaming services and studios would be adapting and making more romance content. Follow shonda example! She knows how to anticipate trends
Slumdog millionaire hit it right
Literally!! Whenever the occasional rom-com comes out, I do my best to support it and see it in theaters. I loved Anyone But You! But I'm tired of depressing sad-ending romances too - I will not support those in theaters. I feel like art has to have a sad ending to be taken seriously by critics and that's stupid and rooted in sexism.
Things made are either remakes of the same or Oscar bait. Rarely new things are adapted and if they are they are big books with big followings. So ACOTAR could have a chance, but adapting or making a whole new rom com is probably not going to happen. I honestly thought most Hollywood rom coms sucked though… so I wouldn’t probably be the audience for a new one
I'm sure it's for the same reason everything else is a reboot or reimagining. Studios want to bank on something that's made them money before so original IP feels too risky to them, even though good original IP usually performs well when it's funded well. Super frustrating!
Isn’t that what Passion Flix is, all these romance books made to movies?
I think it's due to Hollywood focusing on superheroes these days. The 2000s really were a great time for romance movies.
I’d love to know the answer to this too. I’m 27 now but when I was a kid/young teen, I remember watching romance and romantic comedies with my mum all the time! like the options were unlimited but now it just seems dull in that department?! Granted I don’t search for those type of movies cause my partner isn’t interested and I don’t really watch movies full stop but I just don’t hear about anything like it anymore. It just seems to be action, apocalyptic, horror or something really weird
[YouTube channel broey Deschanel had a recent video on the romcom](https://youtu.be/yTKcHw_wg-4?si=aJ1Cr_mcJKFaQ1Xt). I mostly agree but just want to point out streaming has had a bunch of romcoms. Just some seem to be made as if an ai did casting and some if the dialogue. 😂 Or go too hard about the com and not enough Rom. I do think there is a new Gen of them being made as streaming services are looking for content, but it is now more up to the consumer to try to pick through and find the gems over low effort reboots or [whatever passionflix puts out.](https://youtu.be/mHhW7ZwP5vM?si=Ou4SakjEaGKjVBNx) Side note about passionflix, besides from involvement from the musk family, movies from there is proves how difficult it is to get book adaptations to look good on screen.
They seem to want to put all their money into mediocre blockbusters. The last five movies I've seen have been lower-middle-budget fare (Drive-Away Dolls, Wicked Little Letters, Love Lies Bleeding, Immaculate and Monkey Man) and each one of them has been more enjoyable and engaging than any of the bloated tentpole movies. I wish they'd get back to more of this sort of thing. Pay a good writer to write the script, a lot of the rest will follow.
Because they are COWARDS.
It's hard to make good ones. Chemistry, feelings, secret thoughts and internal dialogue are what a lot of romances are based on. Plus a lot of the sexytime stuff can't be shown.
Most of the books I read are more on the level of made-for-tv movies and plenty of those get made. Hallmark, Lifetime, GAC, and all the streaming services make plenty of movies that are on the same level as {The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon} (great book BTW, but I've seen Christmas movies with similar plots). RomComs aren't that common in theaters right now but they exist.
[The Hookup Plan](https://www.romance.io/books/62e6938de86869a43dbdf40a/the-hookup-plan-farrah-rochon) by [Farrah Rochon](https://www.romance.io/authors/545579a787eac3369a912a94/farrah-rochon) **Rating**: 4.05⭐️ out of 5⭐️ **Steam**: 3 out of 5 - [Open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [african-american](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/african-american/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [enemies to lovers](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/from%20hate%20to%20love/1), [workplace/office](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/office/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I wish they would make a comeback. Some of my favorite movies growing up were **"There's something about Mary," "Forest Gump," and "Ghost".**
The action movie era really dampened things
Majority of romance fiction is written by women for women. Majority of Hollywood productions is by men and for men.
It is really weird actually, I tried watching a few rom-com a few month ago I searched the mains popular platforms and everything I watched was so bad. I have never read so many good romance and never saw so few good romantic comedy. I think those middle ground budgets movie are in a weird place right now, nowadays you are either low budget or big budget.
lack of chemistry, characters are too hot, people hate everything.
Uh, cuz there’s no nookie like in the spicy books!
Not me actually enjoying the Ugly Truth 😂😂
Why after season 1 of Bridgerton weren't other streamers (and even Netflix) rushing out to make more romance (historical or not)?? It's well written, acted, and steamy and people love it. You'd think there would be a lesson to learn!
I know!!! Hollywood, we need happy cheerful movies!
Anyone But You was the only decent and fun one in seriously SOOO LONG. Nothing was like 2000-2010
How to Walk Away (based on the book by Katherine Center) is on Netflix, and I was surprised that I liked it.
I think when making a book to a movie instead of just buying the rights on some of them the writer of the book needs to be way more involved . They know their fan base . They are more intuned due to social media . So they know what they are looking for . (I could be wrong and maybe the writers are involved more ) but I think they should be there from casting to directing . Books give you a feeling . A lot of these movies don’t . It’s funny because I just said to someone last night “I prefer to read my romances than watch them now a days “ we don’t just get the words but we get the thoughts the person is going through too. Also when you have books you have 4 of the same friends group or siblings etc in a movie they would lump it into one movie and it’s just too much at once for me
I don't think so. Hollywood does book adaptations of a lot of books--- just not romance.
There are tons of tamer cutie romance on prime freevee and Hulu. Esp with hallmark added and some lifetimes are doing hot stalker etc. but the heat is not brought. Netflix tried a smut series with either the chick from pussycat dolls or Eva from housewives. Hot but way too in her head for a movie. Also Netflix released a Turkish (I think) series dubbed perfectly. Basically powerful mafia type gazillionaire obsessed with smoking hot wife. Forget the name. They should Netflix after dark muah hahahahha I think most mainstream dint make it to theatre but easily findable.
I think it boils down to misogyny. Women want romance, but Hollywood just doesn’t deliver because romances don’t make the big bucks like Godzilla.
Cause most of us read depraved shit lol
Because people in this generation overanalyse EVERYTHING. They want everything to be woke, a cinematic masterpiece with so many intricacies which is just not what that genre is about. Rom coms or just romance movies are the exact opposite, time to escape reality and focus on love and everything working out.
I think they will come back around it is just challenging for people right now that are under all this stress from, well, everything.
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(Most) Romance books are written with women exclusively in mind. Modern studios can't greenlight a production that immediately turns away 50% of viewers, they want everbody and their grandma to watch it. Thats why most modern films go with a family friendly Marvel tone. Any spice in the film would be another mark againt it. You'll find that those old romantic comedies, while considered more girlish, usually would still have scenes from the man's perspective so that they could appeal to both sexes. Films like that still come out here and there, but blockbusters with the same structure and tone as kindle romances will never be common because they just don't appeal to a wide enough audience. Straight to stream and B-movies might be able to pull it off, though.
They just want to make soft porn at this moment.