Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney hit it big last year with Anyone But You. The romantic comedy was credited with revitalizing the genre after many years of rom-coms not attracting much business at the box office. Participating in the film was a bit of a risk, especially with stars just starting to make names for themselves in Hollywood. Thankfully, both actors took the risk and it ended up being a surprise success. However, the movie didn’t have an easy path getting there, and Powell recently recalled the skepticism the duo faced.
The Texas-born star discussed his meteoric rise to fame and his roots with Sharp Magazine. During the chat, Glen Powell also discussed the romantic comedy genre, which has been good to the actor. He garnered a lot of attention after starring in the Netflix hit Set It Up, which eventually led to the industry seeing the actor as a leading man and success for Anyone But You. When the latter came along, it felt like the right time for a big studio rom-com. Still, not everyone in Hollywood felt that way, making studios less than confident in the project. He said:
The business at large was skeptical of what that movie was and where it could go.
Even so, that didn’t diminish Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney’s confidence in the project as well as that of director Will Gluck. The filmmaker previously had success with iconic rom-coms like Easy A and Friends with Benefits. It had been a while since an R-rated comedy had taken off, but that didn’t necessarily mean there wasn’t an audience for it.
It’s interesting that two buzzy, young actors would participate in such a risky endeavor. But it was ultimately that youthfulness that arguably made the movie feel relevant and attractive to young audiences. The Twisters star believed this from the start, saying:
I think we were all confident that when a genre is being ignored, it just means you haven’t made a really good one in a while. It doesn’t mean the genre is poisonous. It doesn’t mean that audiences don’t want it. The genre isn’t dead — you just stopped caring!
He ended up being right, of course and, hopefully, this sparks a slew of romantic comedies in the future that get theatrically released. As of right now, this seems to be the case. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is set to hit theaters this February, and Disney’s Freakier Friday is bringing back Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis for what will hopefully be another Y2K style rom-com. I certainly wish there were more original titles in there, but these baby steps will have to satisfy rom-com lovers in 2025.
Maybe it will take Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney reuniting to recapture the Anyone But You box office magic. The two have both discussed working together on another project related to the genre, so here’s hoping this comes to fruition.
Of course, both actors have been quite busy, with Glen Powell traveling the globe to film his latest A24 movie, Huntington, and his Edgar Wright collaboration, Running Man. In addition, Sydney Sweeney has the upcoming third season of Euphoria on her plate as well as movies like Echo Valley and Ron Howard’s Eden. Even with these busy schedules, though, I’m hopeful that the two can find time to do yet another rom-com and continue to get people excited for the genre that some were skeptical about.
In the meantime, you can watch Anyone But You, which is now streamable with a Netflix subscription. For more information on other exciting flicks heading to streaming and cinemas in the near future, make sure to consult the 2024 movie release schedule.