Promoting early screenings of “Girls Night Out” and hosting an interactive pop-up in Tampa, Florida, screening one of the most anticipated films of the year, It all ends with uswhich is just part of the reason why the Colleen Hoover adaptation did so well at the box office this weekend. Despite going head-to-head with video game adaptations, Deadpool and Wolverinethis dark romance film has maintained a certain influence in theaters.
But it does highlight a changing tide in filmmaking.
It all ends with us become a big hit
The $25 million film, starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, grossed $50 million over the weekend despite no premium screen tickets and no positive reviews , 84% of the audience were women. Although many thought the film might be front-loaded by Hoover superfans, the film is still drawing huge audiences nearly a year after its release Barbie Dominated the box office for nearly six weeks.
While the overall health of the box office has improved over the summer, there’s something special it’s overeven though the movie’s subject matter is shocking to those unfamiliar with the story.
This dark love story follows Lily Bloom (Lively) as she falls in love with the dark and mysterious neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid (Baldoni). Like most of Hoover’s books, the story follows two characters who need to face and overcome trauma. Unfortunately, the relationship ended in domestic violence, and Lily found comfort in her first love, Atlas (Brandon Skrennar).
Sales volume reached 8 million copies, it’s over Taking the taboo about the insidious nature of domestic abuse as its central premise and combining it with a trope-laden and often absurd love triangle romance. Of course, the twist in the story may have caught many people off guard, but that’s why the stories Hoover wrote sold better than the Bible.
Read more: 101 Romance Story Tips
Romance has and will always be popular
success It all ends with us To the surprise of many, you have to step back and realize that romance is still a powerful genre. In 2024 only, your thoughts, anyone but you, and family affairs are some of the hottest movies of the year. While the streaming service allowed two of the films to disappear after performing well for a few weeks, anyone but you It became the first notable romantic comedy in years, grossing $219.2 million at the box office.
Don’t even get me started on how bridgeton Successful
from Mae Owen’s Kissthe first known romantic movie ever TitanicOnce holding the title of the highest-grossing film of all time, and a modern adaptation of the romance story that captured BookTok’s brief attention, romance is a genre that will never die.
Why we are obsessed with romantic movies
People often refer to romance movies as flawed but interesting movies, but I think most movies are meant to be “fun,” or at least entertaining. Evoking strong emotions and transporting the audience into a world where we long for romance is a strength of the genre, using tropes to draw us into the tension created by themes of passion, intimacy and emotional connection.
Although we may have never been involved in a love triangle or wooed by a duke, these stories evoke powerful emotions in our universal sensibilities.
This genre often relates to the “chick flick” genre, showcasing Hollywood’s greatest actresses overcoming the ever-present social norms that stifle real-life women who fall in love. People want to see leaders overcome the struggles they often suffer in silence over even the simplest ideas, such as the transformative journey from innocent childhood to adult independence, because a romantic partner sees them for who they are and accepts them.
“The End of Us” (2024)
A less romantic reality
Many people roll their eyes at romance movies, considering them to be cheesy, poorly written movies aimed at a very small audience, namely women between the ages of 18 and 34. .
Romance movies tend to follow established genre tropes, causing the audience to lose interest when they see a pavement of where the story is going. Of course, predicting the death of romantic movies in theaters is a bit cynical, but it’s true. Predictability is what kills superhero movies.
Another aspect of the not-so-romantic demise of the genre is the story’s disconnect from reality. While the characters can stray as far away from reality as they want—owning a successful flower shop in 2021, trying to lose a guy in 10 days, or pretending to date a guy at your wedding to make your ex jealous—the story is driven by romance Moving forward is inconsistent with the modern experience of love.
Finding love is hard. It’s awkward, complicated, and embarrassingly vulnerable. Movies have been unable to find the sweet spot between romantic fantasy and the harsh reality that exists outside the bubble, threatening to burst it.
Romance on streaming services is considered safer, shielded from reality in its bubble. But something has changed.
Read more: 9 elements of all great romantic comedies
“The End of Us” (2024)
It all ends with us Beginning a new era of romance
Whether you like Hoover’s novels or not, you can’t deny this it’s over and other new adult romance books taking BookTok by storm have the potential to be adapted for the big screen or inspire modern, original romance stories.
Currently, Emily Henry, Sarah J. Mass, and Hoover—some of the greatest romance writers working today—are preparing an adaptation. The fan base of these stories is so eager to see these romances brought to the screen because the romantic tension is just That’s good. When this tension is released, often with a passionate kiss, the audience can’t help but feel a little dizzy.
But romance is more than just the tension that builds between characters.
Romance novels declined because writers relied too heavily on tropes. While the trope exists for a reason, the stakes must be established in order for the audience to feel invested in the success or failure of the romance. it’s over Take these bets to the land of shocking domestic violence, but the stakes could be the threat of embarrassment or the loss of career opportunities. The stakes may be low in reality, but they have the power to fundamentally change the protagonists we love.
The audience’s excitement comes from the unknown – where a story might go, or how a relationship might flourish even as a haunting past is slowly revealed. By using metaphors to help establish the stakes of your story, you can push your romance in multiple directions to tug at your audience’s heartstrings. Remember, happy endings are highly appreciated.
Read more: How to Create Compelling Romance in Movies
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