Romantic comedies, or rom-coms, have been a beloved genre since the 1920s. However, they truly hit their stride in the 1990s and 2000s, creating a blueprint for many films of the genre for years to come. In the 2020s, film enjoyers and, more recently, the general public have begun to notice the lackluster of the newer romantic comedies. It’s not just something you’ve been noticing, it’s a real thing; the romantic comedy genre is dying out.
The question is why is the romantic comedy, a pretty formulaic genre, losing its interest. Looking at box office history, romantic comedies were at its peak with a gross revenue of $873,903,162 in 1999 while in 2024 the gross revenue for the genre was $86,267,614. It’s clear that something has been lost in the past decades that has led to this drastic change in popularity. To understand this shift, it’s important to look at the history of romantic comedies and the essential pieces of these films that made them so popular and a staple of the period’s culture.
The first romantic comedy was a silent film created in 1924 called Girl Shy. The film follows a poor boy who longs to be a writer. As he travels to the city to sell his novel, he meets a rich girl and helps her hide her dog on the train. From there chaos ensues as the poor boy tries to both follow his dream of being a writer and pursue the girl he loves. The story ends with the guy and girl ending up together through the adversity and mayhem surrounding them. Throughout the film, it holds a certain sensational quality that many silent films of the roaring twenties maintained. Although the plot is not a novel idea to us, it was a trailblazing film of the era. This plot became an example for the genre. Built upon this movie and many others in the 1920s, the romantic comedy had come to be. While romantic comedies had yet to hit the top of the charts in the 1920s, they now had a place on the map of the film industry.
Romantic comedies would truly come to fruition around the 1990s. The rise of romantic comedies in the 90s almost felt like it was at the right place, at the right time. There were two sub-genres that sparked popularity: teenage romantic comedies and young adult romantic comedies. Teenage romantic comedies included movies like 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) and Clueless (1995). Interestingly enough, both these movies were based on literature by Shakespeare and Jane Austen. Films in the 1990s took inspiration from beloved romantic classics such as “Emma”, “Taming of the Shrew”, and many others. These films focused around youthful romance filled with hope, satire, and likable characters. It appealed to several audiences as children, teens, and even young adults sat in the theater to enjoy the light hearted, warm experience of a romantic comedy. A popular culture was forming, filled with humor and optimism. This shift in American culture was reflected in the outpouring of romantic comedy films in Hollywood. In a time of political instability and anxiety, it was natural for people to seek comfort in the escapism of a light and airy romantic comedy. Not only were teenage romantic comedies rising to fame in the 1990s, young adult romantic comedies were up there too. Movies like When Harry Met Sally (1989), Pretty Woman (1990), and Notting Hill (1999) were hits in the film industry. These stories were more complex than many romantic comedies of the past. The movies weren’t just focused on romance, they surrounded various issues that people watching could relate to. Additionally, these movies became more popular as the stories shifted focus to a female protagonist. However, we will not see true leading ladies until the 2000s.
Going into the 2000s, the romantic comedy had now become a solidified part of the Hollywood film industry. Escapism was needed now more than ever during a time of international uncertainty, financial crisis, and natural disaster. For movies such as How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), 13 Going on 30 (2004), and The Proposal (2009) the romantic comedy was something the public could take solace in. Romantic comedies encapsulated life in a way that the genre had yet to have done. Additionally, the boom of romantic comedies in the 2000s can be accounted simply to the demand they had garnered with a rise to fame in the 90s. Romantic comedies had become a solidified piece of the film industry and it seemed there was no way to break the hold it had on the American population.
The 2010s were a time that closely resembled the 2000s in romantic comedy mold, however the industry began to shift to more complex story lines and move into creating longer form content like television shows rather than movies. Towards the end of the 2010s, romantic comedies were slowing down and in came the rise of franchise films like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018-2020) or The Kissing Booth (2018). With that rise, movies became more character driven and increasingly trivial at the same time. People found it harder to connect to these larger than life characters. This was the precursor to the state of the romantic comedy industry of the 2020s.
Entering into the 2020s, romantic comedies have slowly tapered out. Action franchises have become the most profitable industry with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other film series’ similar to that. In the beginning of the 2020s romantic comedies were just not in demand, however there has been a growing outpour of people in the past years who have pleaded for a revival of the romantic comedy industry. In response to this plea, the film industry answered with Anyone but You (2023). This film centers around two characters: Ben and Bea. The story follows them through a series of miscommunication, forced proximity, and unrealistically awkward moments. The romantic comedy enjoyers were hopeful and had high expectations for this upcoming film that was supposed to ‘bring back romcoms.’ However, when romcom enthusiasts rushed to watch, many found it fell short. People felt there was a considerable lack of warmth and hopefulness that a classic romantic comedy had. Most certainly the movie had all the tropes of popular romantic comedies, however it felt as if they chose the worst tropes possible and put them all together into the mess that is this movie. The movie tried to call back to classic rom coms but failed to create well-rounded characters, reflecting the growing trend throughout the ends of the 2010s and beginning of the 2020s. Romantic comedies were supposed to feel hopeful and relatable, but in the past decade they have felt lackluster and uninspired.
Certainly the romantic comedy is still a treasured part of the film industry, but many believe it’s passed its prime. Data and the general public opinion indicate that conclusion to be true. To many people, romantic comedies weren’t just love stories, they gave us something to feel hopeful for and something to believe in during times of uncertainty. Romantic comedies continue to still be revered as a fantastic, hopeful genre even though the golden age of the romantic comedy has most likely come to pass.
Work Cited
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Herenda, Devin. “The History of Romantic Comedies.” Rom Com Fest, 2 Feb. 2022, www.romcomfest.com/blog/history-of-romantic-comedies. Accessed 06 Mar. 2025.
Anushka. “Why We’ll Never Get Over the Hollywood RomComs of the Early 2000’s.” Medium, 30 Aug. 2024, anushkagopal07.medium.com/why-well-never-get-over-the-hollywood-romcoms-of-the-2000s-cff42181745d#:~:text=In%20the%20end%2C%20the%20RomComs,all%20its%20messiness%20and%20imperfections. Accessed 06 Mar. 2025.
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Greenwood, Marken. “Where Have Rom-Coms Gone? (And Our Nostalgic Watchlist).” The Good Trade, 4 Oct. 2024, www.thegoodtrade.com/features/rom-coms/#:~:text=The%20common%20wisdom%20is%20that,permeated%20the%201990s%20and%202000s. Accessed 06 Mar. 2025.
