Sony Pictures wants to put an end to the poor performance of romantic comedies with the release ofAnyone But You, a rom-com starringSydney Sweeneyand Glen Powell. Romantic comedies, especially R-rated romantic comedies, have pretty much gone extinct at the box office. This used to be a sub-genre that was an easy sell based on a popular actor in the lead role and an easily digestible premise: Girl meets boy. Girl falls in love with boy. Plot device gets in the way of their romance. They might part ways, but before the credits roll, they find each other once again and live happily ever after.
Nowadays, these films are relegated to streaming services because they do reasonably well on that platform, but that might be about to change.Anyone But Youis being shamelessly promoted with the actors' good looks and the idea that these two stars may be experiencing romance off-screen. While it might be extremely shallow to make this the hook for their film, it’s an angle that might just work and prove that there is some life left for romantic comedies on the big screen. We don’t really get films like this anymore because they’re not financially viable enough for studios, but Sony is working on some angles in marketing to change all of that.
What Is the Premise of Anyone But You?
Anyone But You
Anyone But You is a romantic comedy by director Will Gluck starring Sydney Sweeny and Glen Powell. Sweeny and Powell star as Bea and Ben, two strangers with an incredible first date that goes sour following one incident at the tail end. Thinking the worst is behind them, the two are roped into a destination wedding in Sydney, Australia, where they’ll have to pretend to be a couple despite absolutely hating each other.
Anyone But Youis directed by Will Gluck (known forEasy A) from a script he co-wrote with IIana Wolpert. It follows two people (Sweeney and Powell) who have an amazing first date but, soon after, their red-hot chemistry turns ice-cold. As romantic comedy rules indicate, the two find themselves unexpectedly reunited at a destination wedding in Australia.
To keep up appearances, the two pretend to be a couple, and this is also done to make other parties jealous and avoid unwanted pursuals from undesirable wedding guests. There are many tropes at play here, and it’s said that the film is inspired by William Shakespeare’sMuch Ado About Nothing, which deals with the enemies-to-friends-to-lovers plot device. If it sounds like the plot is from an era that feels ever so distant, that’s because it is.
Are Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell Dating?
Through Sweeney and Powell, Sony has been teasing the chemistry between these two good-looking leads since the film was announced in January of this year. This was sparked by on-set photos of the two, which didn’t showcase much except that they’re both aesthetically pleasing, and it appeared that they were having fun together. But on-set photos weren’t enough. The marketing Gods needed something more candid, so eventually, on-set photos turned into photos taken by the two actors on their respective Instagrams that showed them merely hanging out down under and having a good time.
By April, the photos did enough to produce media speculation that the two were more than just friends. Amplifying the juiciness of it all is that Powell had a girlfriend at the time and Sweeney is actually engaged. While cheating would look bad for the actors themselves, when considering Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie filmingMr. & Mrs. Smith, you can see how infidelity can be turned into box office gold. On the surface, this all feels rather salacious, but it’s much more likely that these two were playing a very long game to promote their film, and judging from the early interest, it might just work.
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Promotinga romantic comedythrough traditional methods just doesn’t work the same in this current marketplace. WhenThe Lost Citywas releasedstarring Sandra Bullockand Channing Tatum, the marketing focused less on the romance and more on the adventure aspect of the film. It didn’t hurt that the film had two leads with impeccable comedic timing, but the romance wasn’t completely sold until you were sitting in the theater watching the movie. In the end, that method worked asThe Lost Citygrossed over $190 million worldwide on a $68 million budget, making it a rare theatrical rom-com hit in this day and age.
A New Era of Movies Requires a New Era of Publicity
Now look at the recently releasedWhat Happens Later, which was marketed as the return to romantic comedies of its star and director, Meg Ryan. This is a genre that Ryan once ruled at the box office with hitslikeWhen Harry Met Sally,Sleepless In Seattle, andYou’ve Got Mail. However, that was then and this is now, and the actress hasn’t been a fixture in the genre for years. Times have changed, and traditional marketing ploys just don’t apply. Since opening on Nov. 3,What Happens Laterhas only grossed $3.3 million on a $3 million budget. That’s not to say the film isn’t good, but it shows that the wants and desires of moviegoers have definitely changed.
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This is why Sony and all involved shouldn’t be ashamed of how they have been promotingAnyone But You. The leads are attractive and popular enough to attract a young audience, but the concept alone could also attract an older crowd looking for a raunchy romantic laugh. Did the duo hook up while making the movie? It’s possible, but it’s more than likely they just leaned into what the audience might want to see from them. Sweeney summed it up bestduring a recent interview:
“It’s a rom-com. That’s what people want! Glen and I don’t really care. We have so much fun together, and we respect each other so much.”
At the end of the day, as long as these two know what’s going on, that’s all that matters. If Sweeney’s fiancé, Jonathan Davino, is cool with how the film is promoted, why should any of us care? These two are trying to makeAnyone But Youa hit, and they put in the work long before a press tour even started. With the strikes all over, expect more press, more faux flirting, and more shameless attempts to get bodies in seats when the film hits screens on December 22nd.
