Crazy Rich Asians has had a solid run over the last couple of months in movie theaters, especially domestically. The film, about a young Asian American woman who visits her boyfriend's Singapore home just when their relationship is progressing, has already landed a sequel and has been a big box office success for Warner Bros. This week, it has also hit yet another box office milestone, becoming the highest grossing rom-com in nearly a decade.
While Crazy Rich Asians hasn't quite become the highest grossing rom-com of all time domestically, it has slowly but surely been climbing the ranks since its August 15 release. By Box Office Mojo's latest count, Crazy Rich Asians has surpassed The Proposal at the box office to become the sixth highest box office-grossing romantic comedy of all time. The other six movies that are still ahead of Crazy Rich Asians are even older: My Big Fat Greek Wedding, What Women Want, Hitch, Pretty Woman and There's Something About Mary. Of those, The Proposal is the most recent, but that flick still came out nearly a decade ago in 2009.
Previously, Crazy Rich Asians hit a box office milestone when it became one of only a few movies (like Avengers: Infinity Wa_r) to three-peat at the box office in 2018. The other movies that have been able to win three weekends in a row have been blockbusters this year, but _Crazy Rich Asians came out at a relatively quiet time at the box office, which helps to explain how it held on to that crown for three weekends, despite not have the same sort of box office cume as the aforementioned Marvel movie.
Rom-coms in general have declined in number at the box office in recent years, as female-geared movies have moved more toward raunch comedies and other genre films. While rom-coms still have remained strong on channels like Hallmark and Lifetime, it was only recently that rom-coms started gaining a higher profile again thanks to flicks like Crazy Rich Asians and streaming movies including For All The Boys I've Loved Before and Set It Up. At one point, Netflix even bid to bring Crazy Rich Asians to the streaming service, which would have superseded a theatrical release. Thankfully, those involved decided the theater was the best route for the flick, even though it was uncertain if audiences would respond to the film at that point.
Looking back, the theater gamble paid off. The release is helping to revitalize the genre and the studio has already signed on for sequel China Rich Girlfriend, although when that flick will film and when director Jon M. Chu and the rest of the cast will be available is still up in the air. CinemaBlend is on the case and we will let you know as soon as more details about the upcoming sequel can be confirmed. In the meantime, Crazy Rich Asians is still in theaters, so perhaps you'll want to "three-peat" yourself. Or see what else is coming to theaters in 2018 with our full schedule.
