Anyone But You Hits Huge Box Office Milestone Not Seen Since 2016

Romantic comedies are alive and well, it seems, and we have a couple of emerging, A-list movie stars to thank for it. "Anyone But You" has officially crossed the $200 million mark at the box office in one of the most unlikely turnarounds for a movie in years, financially speaking. But the star power of Glen Powell ("Top Gun: Maverick") and Sydney Sweeney ("Euphoria") got the attention of the moviegoing masses and they turned this lower-mid-budget rom-com into the biggest hit the genre has seen in nearly a decade.

The Sony Pictures release has amassed $87 million domestically to go with a stellar $113 million internationally, per Variety. That puts it past the total of other recent hits in the genre, including "Ticket to Paradise" ($168 million), which starred both Julia Roberts and George Clooney, as well as "The Lost City" ($192 million), which was led by Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum. Both of those movies were released in 2022, and both of them were led by far more established stars. It's fair to say that Powell and Sweeney have moved further up Hollywood's list of current A-listers.

Most surprising of all? It's the first rom-com of any kind to cross the $200 million mark since "Crazy Rich Asians" ($239 million) did it back in 2018. It's the first R-rated comedy to do so since "Bridget Jones's Baby" ($211 million) back in 2016. In those cases, we were dealing with an adaptation of a popular book series and an established franchise. "Anyone But You" made its hay purely on its own terms. Not bad for a movie that opened to just $6 million at the end of December.

The film centers on Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Powell) who look like the perfect couple. After an amazing first date, something happens that derails their blossoming romance. However, they later find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia where they decide to pretend to be a couple. Will Gluck ("Easy A") directed the film, which also stars Alexandra Shipp ("Love Simon"), GaTa ("Dave"), Dermot Mulroney ("Scream VI"), and Rachel Griffiths ("Six Feet Under").

There are more than a few positives to look at here. For one, the movie looked dead on arrival in December given its tiny opening weekend. But word of mouth caught up with this one and it has now made more than 14 times its opening weekend figure domestically. Those are legs that we just never see these days. It's arguably the best comeback story of the pandemic era, right up there with Pixar's "Elemental" last year. It's also very good news for those who not only want to see theatrical comedy thrive, but those who want to see original cinema in general.

For Sony, the studio stands to make a fortune on this one. The film was produced for a mere $25 million. Even when accounting for marketing, this is going to result in a windfall of profit. Are they going to try and get Powell and Sweeney back for a sequel of some kind? Or maybe they will try and turn them into this generation's Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan? Either way, they are surely going to try and capitalize on the success as much as they possibly can.

"Anyone But You" is in theaters and on VOD now.