The era of blockbuster rom-coms may be behind us, but Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts and Heath Ledger are still a popular part of today’s streaming mix. In addition to satisfying audiences’ desire for romance, these classic movies now also satisfy cravings for nostalgia.
“Love Actually” reigns supreme among classic rom-coms when it comes to the amount of revenue it has delivered for major streamers since 2020. Parrot Analytics’ Streaming Economics model calculates that this movie has generated over $40M in subscriber revenue for streamers globally in this time. This is likely due to the fact that it is doing double duty as both a classic rom-com and a perennially favorite Christmas movie.
Behind “Love Actually” are two staples of the ’90s rom-com boom. “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Clueless” are both neck and neck, having brought in $29M in global streaming subscriber revenue since 2020. Julia Roberts’ hits “Pretty Woman” and “Notting Hill” follow closely with $19.8M and $18.2M respectively. This further cements the ’90s as the peak decade for rom-com movies.
One surprising takeaway from our analysis of the financial impact of classic romantic comedies is that 2003-2004 was a window of time that gave us some of the most evergreen rom-coms that continue to deliver value to this day. In addition to “Love Actually,” nostalgic rom-coms “13 Going on 30,” “The Girl Next Door,” “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and “50 First Dates” premiered during these years and rank in the Top 10 classic rom-coms that have delivered the most value for streamers. Collectively, these movies have generated $107M in global subscriber revenue since 2020.
In terms of contemporary rom-coms, Netflix original movies are delivering value for the platform. Out of all romantic comedies, we calculate that Netflix’s teen rom-com, “The Kissing Booth”, has delivered the most value in this time period (just over $60M). The Jonah Hill-led rom-com “You People” has contributed $58M in global revenue for Netflix since premiering on the platform in January 2023. This was mainly due to a few quarters of outstanding performance (we estimate $20M of this number was in Q1 2023 alone). These movies have shown their ability to deliver immediate financial impact, but the jury is still out on whether they will continue to be moneymakers 20-plus years in the future like today’s classic rom-coms are.
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