After a quietly successful theatrical run and an extended run of success on PVOD, director Celine Song‘s sophomore feature, Materialists, debuted with a bang on HBO Max. The romantic comedy drama instantly took the top spot on the streamer’s domestic viewership charts, pushing Zach Cregger‘s Weapons down to the number two spot. Materialists featured the A-list trio of Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal in the lead roles and set them in a love triangle against the backdrop of modern dating. Song broke out with her critically acclaimed and Oscar-nominated romantic drama Past Lives.
Released in 2023, Past Lives emerged as a sleeper hit, grossing over $40 million worldwide against a reported budget of $12 million. Materialists, on the other hand, cost a reported $20 million to produce and ended up grossing nearly $110 million globally. This makes it the highest-grossing independent film of the year, and the third-biggest to be distributed by A24, behind Civil War and Everything Everywhere All at Once. The movie served as a much-needed shot in the arm for Johnson and Pascal, who are still dealing with the underperformance of their superhero outings, Madame Web and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, respectively.
Materialists opened to mostly positive reviews, and is currently sitting at a “certified fresh” 78% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences seem to be less enthusiastic about the movie, and have given it a slightly inferior 66% score on RT. The critics’ consensus reads, “A mature deconstruction of the conventional rom-com, Materialists provides its trio of swoon-worthy stars some of their meatiest material yet while reaffirming Celine Song as a modern master of relationship dramas.” In his review, Collider’s Ross Bonaime praised Song for having made “another modern romantic classic that shows just how much love and beauty can still exist in the genre.”
Romance Movies Have Been Relegated to Streaming
Materialists‘ success comes at a time when the genre has mostly been relegated to streaming. That said, there have been a handful of romance hits in recent years, although they’ve been diluted with other genres, such as comedy and action. For instance, both Anyone But You and The Lost City did exceedingly well in theaters, although the majority of these films’ target audience seemingly prefers watching them at home. And now you can watch Materialists from the comfort of your home as well. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Release Date
June 13, 2025
Runtime
117 minutes
Director
Celine Song
Producers
Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, David Hinojosa, Celine Song
