Anyone But You Is An Unlikely $100 Million Box Office Smash Hit

Things aren't looking great at the box office right now, as there are very few big releases in theaters that are getting moviegoers out in meaningful numbers. But there is something good to focus on today as Sony's rom-com "Anyone But You" has continued to quietly defy expectations for over a full month now. The film crossed the $100 million milestone over the weekend and is arguably one of the most unlikely movies to ever hit that mark based on how things started.

"Anyone But You" added another $5.4 million to its ever-growing total over the weekend, per The Numbers. That was good enough for a fourth place finish in its fifth frame, which is impressive. More importantly, director Will Gluck's romantic comedy has now earned $64.2 million domestically to go with $35.9 million internationally for a grand total of $100.1 million worldwide. Given its $25 million budget, this is going to be a huge win for Sony Pictures. More than that, it gives the industry something to celebrate at a pretty dour time.

The film, which stars Glen Powell ("Top Gun: Maverick") and Sydney Sweeney ("Euphoria"), opened on Christmas weekend and made just $6 million against a wave of stiff competition. Not that it was totally DOA since December movies can often have long legs, but it would have been foolish for anyone to predict what happened since then. The movie increased its take the following two weekends, signifying great word-of-mouth buzz. Even now, there appears to be a lot of gas left in the tank and a domestic total near $100 million is not out of the question. At this point, it's already made more than 10 times its opening weekend figure, which is rare air for a movie that opened on 3,000 screens or more.

The film centers on a seemingly idyllic couple: Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell). But after an amazing first date, something dismantles their blossoming romance. Later, they find themselves unexpectedly at the same destination wedding in Australia and decide to pretend to be a couple. Alexandra Shipp ("Barbie"), GaTa ("Dave"), Hadley Robinson ("Winning Time"), Michelle Hurd ("Star Trek: Picard"), and Dermot Mulroney ("Scream VI") also star.

I could only find a handful of other films in the modern era that have opened on more than 3,000 screens and have gone on to make 10 times their opening weekend. That small list includes "The Greatest Showman" ($8.8 million opening/$174.3 million domestic finish), "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" ($36.1 million opening/$404.5 million domestic finish), and "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" ($12.4 million opening/$186 million domestic finish). And "The Last Wish" posted one of the most impressive box office runs of the pandemic era. It's very good company to be in.

Given that there are no major wide-release movies hitting theaters this upcoming weekend (save for the black and white version of "Godzilla Minus One"), things look bleak for theaters as we head into February. The 2024 domestic box office is already down compared to 2023 at this time. We don't have another big movie hitting theaters until "Argylle" on February 2, and that movie's prospects are woefully uncertain. And if Sony's "Madame Web" can't break the rough streak for superhero movies when it arrives on February 14, we might be in the weeds until March. We could use more positive stories like this one as the industry seeks to weather the storm brought on by last year's strikes.

"Anyone But You" is in theaters now.