Why Anyone But You Blew Everyone Away At The Box Office
"Anyone But You" has unexpectedly become the little rom-com that could. Starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, the feel-good flick has surpassed expectations at the box office despite facing competition from big-budget features like "Wonka," "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" and "The Color Purple."
The movie, which premiered on Christmas Day, begins with an ever-so-sweet meet-cute between law student Bea (Sweeney) and businessman Ben (Powell) in a coffee shop. The duo spend an amazing night together but quickly squander their connection through a series of misunderstandings. Months pass until Bea's sister Halle (Hadley Robinson) announces her engagement to Claudia (Alexandra Shipp), the sister of Ben's childhood friend Pete (GaTa), throwing Ben and Bea back into each other's orbit as they're suddenly whisked away to Australia for the wedding. But with their exes circling and their hatred for each other palpable, Bea and Ben pretend to be together just to get through it.
"Anyone But You" got off to a shaky start when the teaser trailer, which presented more like a psychological thriller than a cute rom-com, was released and immediately put viewers off. But the film has been able to turn things around, employing all the essential ingredients needed to make a hit rom-com. Yet there are also several other factors contributing to the film's success, so keep reading to learn why "Anyone But You" blew everyone away at the box office.
What did Anyone But You make at the box office?
"Anyone But You" didn't make a massive splash during its first weekend out in theaters, grossing $6 million domestically. But, like Bea and Ben's relationship, the popularity of the film has proved to be something of a slow burn, as it has continued to bring in money each week since. By the end of January, the romantic comedy had surpassed the $100 million mark with its worldwide earnings, with a total gross of $151.7 million as of February 5. On a modest budget of $25 million, this makes the movie one of the most profitable of the year after marketing and exhibitors' costs.
To put this into perspective, "Anyone But You" holds a passable 51% critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the 70% rating Sony's last R-rated rom-com, "No Hard Feelings," boasts. But it easily out-earned the Jennifer Lawrence flick. "No Hard Feelings" was also released last year, grossing just 87.2 million worldwide on a reported budget of $45 million. Although "No Hard Feelings" started out strong, bringing in double what "Anyone But You" did on its opening weekend domestically, the difference between the two films, in terms of profits, is longevity. The sustained and increasing popularity of "Anyone But You" weeks after its release has kept theaters full and allowed profits to climb.
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell have star power
Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell have played a huge part in the success of "Anyone But You." Gen Z icon Sweeney came to the movie off her impactful roles in series like "The Handmaid's Tale," "The White Lotus," and "Euphoria." When the second season of the HBO high school drama gave her some really dark storylines to sink her teeth into, Sweeney showed what she could really do. "I thrive doing that s***. People talk about how heavy this season is, but I love it," she told The Hollywood Reporter after the season aired in 2022.
What really highlights Sweeney's star quality is her ability to transition easily from dark drama to lighter comedic fare, which "Anyone But You" director Will Gluck has said is more akin to her real-life personality. Likewise, Sweeney's co-star has proved his ability to traverse genres throughout his diverse career. From "Scream Queens" to "Devotion" to "Top Gun: Maverick," Powell has made viewers laugh, gasp, and cry. He also demonstrated that he has what it takes to be a romantic lead when he starred opposite Zoey Deutch in "Set it Up."
Both Sweeney and Powell's track record make them bankable stars, and the success of "Anyone But You" is proof they can draw a crowd and capture their attention. As Gluck told THR, "If you want to spend time with Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell and watch them fall in and out of love and all that, that's most important."
Their chemistry is very authentic
This comedic two-hander relies on chemistry and Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell have it in spades. This is something director Will Gluck observed immediately. "They sat down where we were staying and started rehearsing, and within about a minute, I was like, 'Oh, my God, thank God. This is incredible,' and nothing else mattered except for these two, and then we're off to the races," the rom-com director told Above the Line.
The chemistry between the duo has also been clocked off-screen. Sweeney and Powell have actually sparked romance rumors as they were spotted flirting and holding hands at CinemaCon last year. Powell later commented on his dynamic with Sweeney, and admitted to Business Insider that it felt very natural working together. "I had such a wonderful journey with her on this thing," he added. However, during the interview, Powell did also confirm that the pair are not romantically involved in real-life. Nevertheless, their undeniable chemistry makes the connection between Bea and Ben not just believable, but relatable, and that's certainly the mark of a successful movie.
Anyone But You plays on the popular enemies-to-lovers trope
Every romantic comedy plays into one of the tropes of the genre in some way or another. Popular tropes include the makeover, the love triangle, or best-friends-to-lovers, but "Anyone But You" skips over those and plays heavily on fake dating and enemies-to-lovers. Perhaps the latter theme, which in this case is taken straight out of William Shakespeare's classic play "Much Ado About Nothing," has been its road to success. There's a fine line between love and hate, after all.
We as viewers can't get enough of enemies-to-lovers right now. Rom-coms like "The Hating Game," "Falling Inn Love," and "Set It Up" are proof of that. But it's not just a flash in the pan. When done right, the enemies-to-lovers trope can produce cult-classic rom-coms like "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days," "Clueless," and "You've Got Mail," which are mainstays in the pop culture zeitgeist.
This trope is what stood out to "Anyone But You" screenwriter Ilana Wolpert when she decided to adapt the Shakespeare play. She explained to Vogue, "I love that the play is this classic enemies-to-lovers thing that feels like a big ensemble piece; to me, it always felt like there were these two characters at the center, Beatrice and Benedick, and everyone just orbited around them and puppeteered them and it seemed so right for a rom-com."
Producer Sydney Sweeney knows what her audience wants
It's been widely acknowledged from everyone who worked on "Anyone But You" that Sydney Sweeney was very hands-on behind the scenes as an executive producer. Screenwriter Ilana Wolpert has spoken about Sweeney's passion for the project, saying it was a major driving force during pre-production. Wolpert also revealed that the "Euphoria" star was the one who suggested Glen Powell for the role of Ben. Meanwhile, Powell has gushed about Sweeney, praising her for being as committed to the movie behind the camera as she was in front of it.
Writer-director Michael Mohan, who previously worked with Sydney Sweeney on "The Voyeurs," observed that this might just be the secret to the success of "Anyone But You." He told Vulture, "Having worked with Sydney as a producer, I think she just has her finger on the pulse of what her generation wants to see. And I get the sense when she's making a movie or when she's choosing to make a movie in a producer capacity, that she is just making films that she herself would want to see. And that's how they're connecting."
Glen Powell knew what to emphasize about his role
Like Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell also put in the work to make "Anyone But You" shine. The "Top Gun: Maverick" star explained to Business Insider that he put a lot of effort into making sure his character Ben hit the correct comedic notes. "I believed we are taking this journey in the movie through the eyes of Bea, Sydney's character, and the job of a male in a rom-com is to not look cool," Powell said. "If that character leaves the movie looking cool, you have failed the audience. He needs to take as many punches, get your clothes ripped off, and be as embarrassed as possible."
Although Powell gets naked a few times in this movie, when he talks about getting his clothes ripped off he is, of course, referring to the scene where Bea, Ben and their friends go for a hike in the Blue Mountains and, after coming into contact with a spider, he very dramatically strips down to his birthday suit. As a result, Ben ends up walking back in Bea's shorts while she strips down to her underwear. The comedy gags such as these in "Anyone But You" largely hit all the right notes and they can certainly take credit for the film's feel-good tone.
The movie's rating works in its favor
Director Will Gluck had a vision when it came to making "Anyone But You." "We're trying everything we possibly can to make as good and as real and as edgy and an adult comedy as we possibly can to get people to go see it," he explained to Above the Line days before the movie's release. This vision led to the movie's R rating, which warns that viewers should be over the age of 17 — or accompanied by a parent if they're not — because such movies may include violence, drug abuse, sexuality, profanity, nudity, or other adult themes.
These days, rom-coms that fall into this category tend to make their debut on streaming services rather than on the big screen. But as Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Vulture, "Those who thought the hard R-rated rom-com was relegated to the discount bin should think again." "Anyone But You" thrives off its use of raunchy humor, and it's clear from the movie's reception — it's the highest grossing rom-com since "Bridget Jones' Baby" was released in 2016 — that that's something viewers want more of. "Despite lukewarm reviews from critics, audiences are clearly embracing 'Anyone But You.' And creatives and studios alike should take notice," Dergarabedian added.
The soundtrack hits just right
Music can elevate a movie to another level: the soundtrack to James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise and every score Hans Zimmer has ever composed is proof of that. While Will Gluck might not have done anything monumentally groundbreaking with the music for "Anyone But You," it definitely completes the film. In fact, if you've seen it recently, you're probably still singing the Natasha Bedingfield tune "Unwritten" to yourself.
When determining which song would be used as Ben's comfort song, and ultimately become the theme song of the movie, Gluck immediately has "Unwritten" in mind. Although he was also thinking about another tune, he decided to stick with the Bedingfield track. Her song "Pocketful of Sunshine" proved popular for him when he directed "Easy A," so why break the mold?
"Unwritten" ended up becoming a huge part of the movie, and not just for Bea and Ben. As the credits roll, the cast each sing lines from it, and in reality they sang it every day. "For 42 days of it, once we finished a scene, we were like, 'Now we've got to do the song.' So, yes, we did it every day. By the end of the movie, the entire crew of 200 Australians were all singing the song ... everyone really got into it as you can see from the end," Gluck told The Hollywood Reporter.
The location provides the perfect escapism
Like music, setting plays an important part in the overall feel of a film and, for the most part, "Anyone But You" takes place in the glistening Australian sun. For almost 103 minutes, "Anyone But You" proudly declares its love for Australia and showcases the country's iconic landmarks like Bondi Beach, the Blue Mountains, the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House in all their glory — and it's the perfect escapism. Watching the movie on the big screen allows viewers to properly indulge in the setting and even feel as if they are escaping to the land down under themselves, if only briefly.
For Will Gluck, this setting was an important element of the movie. As he noted to Above the Line, more often than not when movies are made in Australia they're actually set somewhere else (Baz Lurhmann's "Elvis" biopic, for example). This wasn't the case for "Anyone But You," so the state of New South Wales were willing to give the crew an all-access pass. "Once they realized that we really wanted to make it a love letter ... [they] let us shoot everywhere. They let us shut down a bridge and land a helicopter at the Opera House. Landing a helicopter at the Sydney Opera House, that's like asking to land a helicopter outside of Times Square," the director revealed.
The impact of TikTok
"Anyone But You" has enjoyed a sustained period of popularity at the theater, which was reflected in its box office earnings remaining steady from week to week. This, in part, is definitely due to the power of social media, particularly TikTok. As of the end of January, the hashtag #anyonebutyou had clocked 1.5 billion views, with #unwritten claiming close to 400 million views. Many of the videos using these hashtags have been from moviegoers filming themselves dancing out of theaters after seeing "Anyone But You" and gushing about the movie.
To top things off, star Sydney Sweeney (who had a devoted Gen Z following on TikTok) has been reposting some of the videos on her account, making it a very wholesome experience for viewers and giving them an even stronger connection to the film. The phenomenon, along with Sony's own TikTok marketing campaign which has included behind-the-scenes videos of Sweeney and Powell, has proven an effective way to fill seats in theaters. "I think this movie took off because the audience made it an event themselves," Will Gluck observed to The Hollywood Reporter.
Rom-coms are on the rise
Despite going up against some fierce competition at the time of its release, "Anyone But You" managed to stand out against the noise. Part of the reason for this is that it is actually catered to a large, underserved audience. Director Will Gluck made it his mission to tap into this. "One thing we're all trying hard is to get people to come to theaters to go see romantic comedies, because as you know, in the last five or six years, it's defaulted into seeing them on streaming at home. Before that, it was always go to the theater with your friends or your partners or your loved ones or your dates to go see romantic comedy," he explained to Above The Line.
As rom-com lovers have largely been stuck getting their fix at home, having the opportunity to go out solo or in a group and enjoy one on the big screen in "Anyone But You" presented an enticing offer. While some viewers may have initially been skeptical to fork out for the type of content they can stream at home, factors like TikTok have encouraged many of them to check it out, and Gluck certainly feels it has paid off. "These types of stories are still viable in front of audiences in movie theaters today. I feel the most important thing that's been missing these last few years is sharing rom-coms with other people," Gluck added to The Hollywood Reporter.
This modern Shakespeare retelling is in good company
"Anyone But You" is more than a nod to William Shakespeare. It's a direct adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing" and features direct quotes from the popular play. This, of course, puts it in good company with other rom-coms that have done the same, such as "10 Things I Hate About You" (loosely based on "The Taming of the Shrew"), as well as "She's the Man" ("Twelfth Night") and "Get Over It" ("A Midsummer Night's Dream").
Along with getting to utilize the enemies-to-lovers trope, one of the things writer Ilana Wolpert loved most about adapting the Shakespeare text was bringing to life the characters' journeys. She explained to Vogue: "There's some quote I'm forgetting the exact wording of where Beatrice basically says, "I would rather do some impossible thing than hear a man say that he loves me," and then she just comes so far. She loves this person, and to see them overcome their immense hatred and sparring felt so fun to watch and read."
In bringing all these elements to life, "Anyone But You" seems to have found the perfect blend, balancing typical rom-com tropes with a story that feels fresh, while mixing in two rising stars who can clearly capture and keep the attention of their audience.