‘Anyone But You’s Glen Powell Calls Looking Down on Rom-Coms “Silly”

The Big Picture

• Anyone But You has become a smash hit, crossing the $100 million mark, proving that there is a demand for adult-skewing romantic comedies in theaters.
• Glen Powell argues against genre gatekeeping and snobbery, stating that rom-coms bring joy to audiences and offer actors diverse roles.
• The movie has resonated with Gen Z online and has been a treat for audiences, with Powell making appearances in packed theaters to thank fans.

Anyone But You has become a bona fide smash hit, via the once-forgotten trend of word-of-mouth. Coupled with an extremely effective TikTok profile, the movie has been propelled into rarified air for R-rated romantic comedies, crossing the $100 million mark today. The demand for rom-coms has never gone away, the genre was just thrown aside as studios, perhaps arrogantly, assumed that nobody wanted to see a love story on screen anymore. Speaking with Variety, Glen Powell, who stars in the movie alongside Sydney Sweeney, stated it was “kind of silly” for anyone to look down on the genre.

“At least for me, I’ve always been a fan of movies in general, and I always find it silly when certain actors diminish certain genres. At its best execution, it gives an audience such joy and such fun, and as an actor you do get to play a lot of gears. To kind of scoff at a genre and look down on it is kind of silly.” Powell said, making the strong argument that genre gatekeeping or snobbery made no sense, particularly when there is a demand for all kinds of movies in this day and age. Adding,

“For me, ‘Anyone But You’ was such a treat to see audiences dance out of the theater and feel so happy after watching a movie. To see the box office not just stick but grow has been such a cool lesson that sometimes the genres that have been forgotten are the ones audiences are craving the most.”

Well, the numbers don’t lie, and with its box office success, the movie has proven that there is demand in theaters for adult-skewing romantic comedies, which have, until now, been placed almost exclusively on streaming platforms. Admittedly, Anyone But You has struck a chord with Gen Z online. Powell himself has even been seen on the TikTok page for Anyone But You going into packed theaters weeks after release, with Sweeney on FaceTime as the pair thank audiences before their renditions of “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, a key song within the film, and for his character, Ben.

Who Else Stars in ‘Anyone But You’?

Powell and Sweeney star as Ben and Bea, a pair of enemies-turned-frenemies who come together at a destination wedding and try to cover up their hatred of each other for the benefit of their loved ones. The movie also stars Alexandra Shipp as Claudia, GaTa as Pete, Hadley Robinson as Halle, Michelle Hurd as Carol, Dermot Mulroney as Leo, Darren Barnet as Jonathan, Rachel Griffiths as Innie, Bryan Brown as Roger, Charlee Fraser as Margaret, and Joe Davidson as Beau.

Will Glen Powell Be in ‘Top Gun 3’?

Powell also briefly teased a return to the world of Top Gun, following a stand-out turn in Top Gun: Maverick, alongside Tom Cruise and Miles Teller, adding that some “fun stuff is going to be announced soon.

I talk to [Joseph] Kosinski, Cruise and Jerry [Bruckheimer] all the time. There is stuff happening and it sounds very exciting. I don’t know when I’ll be going back…I’m sure there is a jet waiting for me sometime in the future.”

Anyone But You is currently playing in theaters now. Here’s everything we know about the movie and stay tuned to Collider for updates.