How Anyone But You became a surprise, slow-burn box office hit

The Australian-shot romantic comedy Anyone But You has become one of the cinematic success stories of the year. And it has TikTok to thank for it.

Starring two Sydneys – the actor Sydney Sweeney, and the harbour city – and rising star Glen Powell, Anyone But You was made on a reported budget of $US25 million ($A38 million) but has now passed $US126 million at the global box office, enough to qualify the MA-rated (the equivalent of R-rated in the US) rom-com as a genuine, and surprising, hit.

Loosely based on Much Ado About Nothing, Anyone But You hits all the familiar rom-com sweet spots.Credit: Brook Rushton/Sony via AP

By way of comparison, the last major R-rated comedy released at the cinema, No Hard Feelings, took a little over $US87 million worldwide last year, on a budget of $US45 million – $US25 million of which went to star Jennifer Lawrence.

Anyone But You is a loose and louche retread of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, with Sweeney and Powell playing a couple who fall for each other on a one-night stand, quickly hit a massive relationship hurdle, and eventually – after being thrust together by the sort of chance event only a Hollywood screenwriter could concoct – realise they are indeed meant to be together.

And audiences have fallen for it despite a sluggish start, middling reviews, and a distinct lack of subtlety onscreen.

What makes the film’s success remarkable is that it landed with a thud when it opened in December (Christmas Day in much of the world, Boxing Day here). But strong word of mouth, hot pre-release gossip, and viral social media posts have combined to push it to the top of the charts.

Anyone But You has outperformed last year’s raunchy comedy No Hard Feelings, which starred Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman.

In Australia, it took $1.6 million in its first week and finished in fifth place. It took $US6 million in the US, landing in fourth spot. But in each of the next four weeks, it outperformed that opening.

Last weekend, its sixth in cinemas, it pulled in $US4.8 million in the US. It took $2.4 million in Australia and finished in the top spot. That is virtually unheard of for a movie in its sixth week of release. Its total local haul now sits at $18.27 million, just a whisker behind the big-budget Aquaman sequel, released the same day.

At least some of the film’s success can be ascribed to the appeal of Sweeney, who has almost 17 million followers on Instagram and 1.7 million on TikTok. But the love on social media has extended beyond her.

According to Vulture, the hashtag #anyonebutyou has clocked up 1.5 billion views on the short-form video sharing platform, many of them featuring people coming out of the cinema singing the song Unwritten. The 2004 track from Natasha Bedingfield figures as a plot point throughout the film, and as a major feelgood takeaway in the end credits, where cast members are shown singing along to it in ostensibly candid on-set moments.

Social media posts, and mainstream celebrity gossip, were also crucial in raising awareness of, and interest in, the movie long before its release. As shots circulated of its young stars clearly enjoying each other’s company in Sydney even when not in character, speculation swirled about what that meant for their respective real-life relationships. And that propelled the film up IMDb’s starmeter – which tracks interest in people, companies and titles in the business – from around the 12,000 mark to 718 in late April 2023. By the week of its release, the film was number 9, Sweeney at number 4, and Powell at 35.

Of course, none of this would make any difference if audiences didn’t respond to the film itself. But they have, young women in particular.

Across all trackable users who bought a ticket online for any cinema in Australia, 70 per cent were aged 18-44, with two-thirds female.

“Obviously, lots of young lovers came to see it,” says Benjamin Zeccola, chief executive of Palace Cinemas. “We love a rom-com and knew this had appeal, but it’s so hard to make a good one and it feels like it’s been a while, so fans have lapped it up.

Starring two Sydneys – the actress Sydney Sweeney, and the harbour city – and rising star Glen Powell, Anyone But You was made on a reported budget of $US25 million ($A38 million) but has now passed $US126 million at the global box officeCredit: Louise Kennerley

“Plus, seeing Sydney city as an exotic location and Sydney Sweeney the superstar on the rise made it all the more appealing.”

International audiences could be forgiven for thinking Australia is the perfect place to find love, with Anyone But You just the latest rom-com to make elaborate use of our picturesque locations.

A Perfect Pairing, which was shot in the Gold Coast hinterland and featured a visiting American businesswoman (Victoria Justice) falling for a hunky Australian farm manager (Adam Demos), spent five weeks in the global top 10 on Netflix, racking up 91.6 million hours, the equivalent of 54 million views.

The George Clooney-Julia Roberts comedy Ticket To Paradise, shot in the Whitsundays in North Queensland, grossed $US172 million globally in 2022, becoming the biggest rom-com of the year.

Julia Roberts and George Clooney starred in the Queensland-shot (but Bali-set) Ticket to Paradise.

And the Delta Goodrem rom-com Love Is In The Air flipped that familiar scenario, and had a visiting English banker (Joshua Sasse) falling for a female pilot in Far North Queensland. It spent two weeks in Netflix’s global top 10, racking up the equivalent of 24.9 million views along the way.

All four films were supported by the Australian government’s Location Offset program.

The producers of Anyone But You received $9.4 million of taxpayer funding towards the film’s budget. The federal government claimed last February that would support a spend of $41 million locally.

But if the interest in the film and its stunning locations triggers a surge in tourism – especially from those seeking an exotic international wedding destination – the payoff could be much higher than that.

Contact the author at [e-mail], follow him on Facebook at karlquinnjournalist and on Twitter @karlkwin, and read more of his work here.

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