Rom-coms arguably saw their heyday in the late ’90s and early ’00s. Now some of the stars who powered hit movies then are helping bring the genre back, and getting their own career boost in return.
The chief example may be Reese Witherspoon, who took a break from producing and starring in hit TV series to return to an old-fashioned romp with Netflix’s “Your Place or Mine,” which premiered on Feb. 10. Jennifer Lopez, Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts — actors who defined the genre back in the day — have all returned to rom-coms in the past year. All four have gotten a measurable lift in Parrot Analytics‘ Talent Demand score, which takes into account consumer research, streaming, downloads and social media, among other engagement.
Audiences watching newer works are going on to revisit classic films — think Roberts’ “Notting Hill” or Lopez’s “Maid in Manhattan.” “Titanic” led the field with 28.64 times the average movie demand in 2022. With the movie returning to theaters this year to celebrate its 25th anniversary, it could reach fresh highs. Following “Titanic” are high-school rom-coms “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Clueless.”
Streamers, in particular Netflix, saw a potential for the genre and invested in developing new franchises. To date, “The Kissing Booth” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” are the only non-Christmas Netflix original franchises with three movies released. Both film series were adapted from novels.
The first “To All the Boys” movie generated almost 50 times the demand of the average title. Although its subsequent chapters struggled to reach the same level of demand, the movies were still able to maintain solid numbers in their home market.
Another important factor in the recent revival of the genre has been increasing diversity. Love stories with Asian, Black, Latino and LGBTQ+ characters showed that they could resonate with audiences and bring fresh perspectives to the genre. In previous years, the top-performing movies with diverse leads generated at least 10 times higher demand than the average title during its first month, with “Crazy Rich Asians” seeing the best performance.
“Heartstopper,” a Netflix original series and graphic book adaptation, conquered the world during its release. The British coming-of-age story about two boys falling in love had outstanding global demand, generating around 20 times average demand in key markets like the United States and Brazil, in addition to its home market.
Lucas Mascarenhas is a partner insights analyst at Parrot Analytics, a WrapPRO partner. For more from Parrot Analytics, visit the Data and Analysis Hub.
