“Anyone But You,” a romantic comedy starring Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell, first hit theaters Dec. 22, 2023, and received an underwhelming amount of viewers during the opening weekend.
The film by Sony and Columbia Pictures shows the toxic dynamic between Bea (Sweeny) and Ben (Powell) when they are forced to spend time together in Sydney, Australia for a wedding.
It was considered one of 2023’s worst opening weekend films as it grossed $6.3 million in the four-day span. During the next few weekends, the film seemed to hit a plateau when it continued to gross under $10 million each weekend. It wasn’t until the new year hit that it finally started to see greater numbers.
“Collider” writer, Chris Mcpherson explains, “The film crossed the massive milestone this weekend and, in doing so, set a new record as the most successful R-rated romantic comedy since ‘Bridget Jones’ Baby’ in 2016.”
But why is the movie doing well all of a sudden?
“Screenrant” writer Maxance Vincent states that, “the positive word of mouth from audiences helped ‘Anyone But You’ become one of the most surprising hits of 2023 and one that likely saved the rom-com from becoming a streaming-only affair.”
This is explained to be the reason why the film surpassed $100 million globally this past weekend, becoming one of the biggest rom-coms of 2023.
The film brings new light to romantic comedies as directors and major film companies have relegated the genre since the pandemic. Fans are saying “Anyone But You” focuses heavily on the comedic aspects of the genre and is paving the way for new rom-coms to come.
