‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Most Successful Studio Rom-Com in 9 Years

Warner Bros. have just come off the back of an incredibly successful 2nd weekend at the top of the North American box office with Crazy Rich Asians to land the highest gross of any studio-driven romantic comedy this decade, with Jon M. Chu’s movie boasting a $117million accumulation to date.

The PG-13 movie, lauded for its inclusive cast made up mostly of Americans of Asian descent, surpassed Amy Schumer’s 2015 release Trainwreck ($105million) to earn the title of the 2010s’ highest grossing romantic comedy released by a studio; the highest grossing rom-com of its type since 2009 when The Proposal starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds hit $165million overall.

The movie’s popularity seems to solidify the notion of a recent upturn for studio driven comedies, joining the likes of Game Night (2018) and Girls Trip (2017) in earning decent money from relatively small budgets ($30million in the case of Crazy Rich Asians), but it’s perhaps more notable in how it marks the first major box office success of a studio rom-com for years.

Crazy Rich Asians has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, with ethnically diverse audiences becoming the major players in its success. Awkwafina, who also starred in the early summer success Ocean’s 8, and co-star Michelle Yeoh, have already felt the pull of success towards other projects, earning roles on a new DANIELS action film that is set to be produced by Avengers: Infinity War directors The Russo Brothers.

At around $47million behind the total earned by The Proposal in 2009, Crazy Rich Asians seems more than capable of catching it in the next few weeks, and it has already earned the title of most lucrative comedy in North America for the past two years, overcoming the record set by Girls Trip over the weekend.

Crazy Rich Asians marked the first Asian American driven wide release in North America since The Joy Luck Club was released 25 years ago, though its success is bound to bring about more films with similar leanings.

CRA currently sits on $137million worldwide making it an incredible success for Warner Bros. both inside their home territory and elsewhere.

Source: THR

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