'Nobody wants to have fun anymore.' The decline of the mid-budget rom-com.

I've always loved romantic comedies. We can blame my mother for that.

While my siblings squabbled over the play station, I sat with mum watching While You Were Sleeping, Notting Hill and Runaway Bride. I used to read her magazines and obsess over interviews with leading ladies (and the men wooing them on screen).

Watch the trailer for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy. Story continues below.

I remember seeing the poster for Wimbledon, starring Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst, and counting down the days until it was released in Video Ezy. I reserved the first copy and then I forced my family to watch it multiple times. I was 11.

It didn't stop as I aged, either.

I dragged my friend to see 27 Dresses against his will because I couldn't bear the thought of missing it in cinemas. I think he dissociated the whole time while I sat wide-eyed staring at James Marsden and weeping during Katherine Heigl's dramatic monologue. I can't count how many times I've seen it since. I recently purchased a filofax and I think we can all agree that decision was motivated 10% by the desire to be organised and 90% by the vision of James Marsden adding his number to my planner. 

As such a rom-com-obsessed child and teen, it's fair to say I had an overdramatised view of love and romance... which was swiftly crushed as I entered my own romantic years. It happens, doesn't it?

But I still love rom-coms for the sheer hope and joy and fun they deliver. And let's be honest, in this current climate it's just nice to switch off your overstimulated brain for 90 perfect minutes and see what it'd be like if two hot and funny people could make it work in this crazy mixed-up world. 

All I want to do is spend my time in the cinemas chomping on popcorn and watching delightful mid-buget rom-coms with quippy dialogue, charming co-stars and a pop song or two.

And yet, I can't seem to find any. 

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in You've Got Mail, you are so precious to me. Image: Warner Bros.

Once upon a time there was a golden age of cinema. You used to be walking along, minding your own business, and BAM! Another perfect romantic comedy would fall from the sky and into your local movie theatre. The film would star two Hollywood A-list actors and it would make millions of dollars and there would be a new one next week.

In 2003 alone, we had Sweet Home Alabama, Uptown Girls, Love Actually, How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, Two Weeks Notice, Maid In Manhattan, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Under The Tuscan Sun, and Something's Gotta Give. Just to name a few.

But I can't name a single blockbuster romantic comedy that was released in cinemas in 2024. 

So, where are they? The ridiculous rom-coms with high-quality star power? Where are the cinematic releases?

Used to be that you could get Julia Roberts to star in a rogue movie about a woman who leaves various men at the altar, starring opposite Richard Gere as the sassy journalist who hates her.

Used to be that you could get Julia Roberts, period.

Julia Roberts recently graced us with her presence alongside George Clooney in the 2022 film Ticket To Paradise, a movie that had the entire internet abuzz with excitement. Were we finally back? Were we in an A-list rom-com resurgence? No, as it turns out, we were not.

The decline in mid-to-big-budget romantic comedies isn't just annoying me and my desire for content. It's also minimising opportunities for stars on the cusp of A-list status.

Pretty Woman was Roberts' big breakout. Image: Walt Disney Studios.

Julia Roberts, whose full name I will continue to use throughout this article, is living proof of the ultimate Hollywood phenomenon: the mid-budget pathway to fame.

Pretty Woman catapulted Julia Roberts' rising star — and throughout her career she never once sneered at the opportunity to return to her rom-com success. She'd flip between genres; shooting My Best Friend's Wedding and then Erin Brokovich; starring in Mother's Day and then August: Osage County. 

Similar to Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon had been around a long time when she signed on to Legally Blonde. But that pink-loving lawyer was the role that finally showed she was a bankable leading lady. She appeared in four more romantic films before taking on Walk The Line, a film for which she won an Oscar. She's now one of the biggest names in Hollywood, not just as an actress but as a director and executive producer. 

Once upon a time, you could hustle your way up the fame ladder with a few blockbuster rom-coms. But the key thing here is that these stars routinely returned to romantic comedies. They knew the power of a good will-they-won't-they romance.

We're losing the ancient texts! And by that, I mean we're losing the ancient scripts that gave actors like our current favourite, Ayo Edebiri, the chance to take on a lead role. People are screaming for Ayo to be in a rom-com (she's asking for it, too) but what, I ask you, would she even star in?

And the thing is, we would pay to see these movies. 

Everyone wants Ayo to be in a rom-com. Why is Hollywood not picking up what we're all putting down? Image: Criterion Closet/Instagram.

Making money through ticket sales is increasingly complex for dramatic films. Your superhero franchises and big-budget action flicks are kind of the only way to really make bank. The exception, of course, is the rom-com. Which makes a whole load of money whenever it's allowed out of its dark cave in the Hollywood Hills.

They just need to be given a chance, damn it.

In 2023, Anyone But You made $220 million at the box office against a budget of $24 million.

And if Powell's continued success into 2024 has taught us anything, it's that thirsty people will travel to cinemas for content. It's no rom-com, what with the tornadoes and all, but Powell's success as a romantic leading man and his commitment to delivering the ultimate press tour experience saw Twisters make $371 million against a budget of $155 million. 

We're so desperate for that certain je ne sais quoi of the romantic lead, that the charm offensive works on rom-com lovers even when the film is action-packed.

I know Top Gun: Maverick is about men in the navy flying planes, or whatever, but do you remember how they marketed that film in 2022? Montages of shirtless men playing football. Scenes of Tom Cruise gazing lovingly at Jennifer Connelly. I don't think that was aimed at luring your dad to the cinema. No, it was for the girlies. And we took the bait.

Last year, the fourth instalment of Bridget Jones's Diary made headlines for two reasons. 

One, the trailer was released and people realised Mark Darcy was going to die. Two, it was announced the film would be released direct to streaming in the United States. Though, we Australians were blessed with a cinematic release.

Thank you, Universal Pictures! 

Bridget Jones's Baby was a box office success in 2016, and grossed over $211 million worldwide against a production budget of $35 million. But in 2025 its follow-up will head straight to streaming in America, one of the biggest markets. We're lucky we got a film at all, to be honest. 

Love you Bridget and Mark! Two icons! Image: Universal Pictures.

While the streaming services are — here and there — delivering some top-notch rom-coms like Set It Up and Palm Springs, it's not quite the same thing as heading to the cinema to watch Hugh Grant fall in love with Julia Roberts.

The lighting in my house is certainly worse. The sound quality? A joke. And the popcorn isn't nearly as good. At home, you're distracted and you're wishing you were in a cinema full of gals so you could be gawking together.

Streaming services have been doing their bit when it comes to romantic TV shows: Nobody Wants This, Rivals, and Bridgerton were bonafide smash hits last year, all pointing to one thing: we love high-quality romance and would like you to produce more. We'd like to pay you for it, too. 

The urge is so strong, I know I'm not alone in hosting girls' nights where we commune to watch silly little rom-coms together.

We've seen sparks of rom-com glory here and there through streaming services like Prime Video, Netflix and Disney — and do you know what happens to those sparks? They catch fire and spread like wildfire across the internet, sprouting think pieces, online communities, and of course, the ultimate content form, the TikTok thirst edit. 

We are quite literally begging for more romantic comedies. What do we need to do to capture your attention, Hollywood? Run through an airport at the last minute? Interrupt your wedding vows with a daring speech? Entrap you in an email scam with ultimately good intentions à la You've Got Mail?

Consider this my third act dramatic monologue, Hollywood. I look forward to the fourth act when you finally listen.

Feature Image: Universal Pictures/Getty.