‘Crazy Rich Asians’ compared to highest-grossing studio romantic comedies

Warner
Bros.

• “Crazy Rich Asians” has proven that people want to see
  diverse stories on the big screen, and that people still want
  to watch romantic comedies, which have been ignored by studios
  for years.
• Business Insider put together a graphic showing the
  highest-grossing rom-com every year since 1997 to show the
  box-office numbers at their peak and at their worst — and to
  show how “Crazy Rich Asians” compares.
• “Crazy Rich Asians,” which opened August 15 and is
  still in theaters, has already made more money at the box
  office than multiple films on the list.

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Romantic comedies were once a cinema staple and a reliable money
maker for studios. But they saw a major slump in the 2010s. A
once-fun genre that — at its
best— provided a culturally relevant twist on a
predictable story became dated in its inability to adjust over
time. 

Because of their lack of originality, rom-coms started to bomb at
the box office. And studios stopped making an effort with
rom-coms, so much so that there were no rom-coms released by any
major studio in 2017. 

But “Crazy Rich Asians” has changed this attitude. It exceeded
box-office predictions, and is the first romantic
comedy since 2015’s “Trainwreck” to top $20 million its opening
week. And three weeks later, “Crazy Rich Asians” has already made
more money than “Trainwreck” did throughout its entire theatrical
run. 

“Crazy Rich Asians” continues to break box-office records.
In its second weekend, the box-office numbers
only dropped a rare 6%. For context, “The Incredibles
2,” the biggest movie of the summer, saw a 56% drop in box-office
turnout its second weekend. “Crazy Rich Asians ” had the
biggest Labor Day weekend box office in 11
years. 

Business Insider made a graphic to show how much money the
highest-grossing studio rom-com made each year since 1997. In it,
you can see the decline of interest in the traditional rom-com in
the 2010s. It also shows how well “Crazy Rich Asians” is doing in
comparison to the highest-grossing rom-coms since 1997.

Three weeks into its theatrical run, “Crazy Rich Asians” has
already made more money than seven films listed: “America’s
Sweethearts” (2001), “Valentine’s Day” (2010), “Just Go with It”
(2011), “The Big Wedding” (2013), “The Other Woman” (2014),
“Trainwreck” (2015), and “How to Be Single” (2016). And it will
no doubt pass more as its run continues.

Note: There is no movie listed for 2017, when there
were no rom-coms released by major studios. 

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider