I’ve always been a movie person. There’s nothing I love more than settling down with a blanket and some popcorn, dimming the lights and hitting play as a cinematic score envelops me. I’m a fan of most genres, especially action, thriller and drama. However, the one type of movie that will always hold a special place in my heart is the romantic comedy, or “rom-com.”

Between the fashion, the music choices and the sizzling chemistry, what’s not to love with movies like “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days,” “27 Dresses” and “You’ve Got Mail”? However, rom-coms sometimes feel like a thing of the past. You might notice that all the titles I mentioned were released from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. After this era, rom-coms fell out of style and dropped off the Hollywood docket. 

This drop-off was the result of many factors, chief among them the collapse of mid-budget movies in the industry. As streaming services came to dominate the market, people increasingly avoided movie theatres due to high ticket prices and the convenience of platforms like Netflix and Hulu. Theater attendance slowly became an event reserved for monumental blockbusters, such as new entries in the Marvel or Star Wars franchises. Meanwhile, rom-coms, a low-stakes, mid-budget genre, began to lose money, with many films failing to break even. 

In response, producers and directors shifted away from modestly profitable films to large-scale franchises and series. 

By the 2010s, focus shifted to action movies starring superheroes and animated films marketed toward children, leaving rom-coms essentially absent from the box office. Without appreciation in the theater, studios invested less time, money, and talent into the genre, generating fewer quality productions. 

While scouring for good, fresh rom-coms, I’ve watched some decidedly rotten movies. But as the years have passed, it’s become easier to find rom-coms worth my while. In 2023, I was surprised by the adoring public reaction to “Anyone But You,” starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney. While critics argued that the movie fell short compared to the golden films of the ‘90s and ‘00s, the people seemed to love it. “Anyone But You” earned a whopping 87% audience approval rating.

In 2025, the Netflix rom-com “The Life List” starring Sofia Carson and Kyle Allen garnered a similar reaction, flooding TikTok pages with fan-made videos about the movie. Like with “Anyone But You,” critics and audiences were bewilderingly split on their opinions of “The Life List,” with the movie receiving a 46% on the Tomatometer and a 70% on the audience rating. The high audience scores demonstrate that rom-coms still appeal to public demand.

The most notable recent addition to the rom-com discourse is the 2026 Netflix “People We Meet on Vacation,” an adaptation of the Emily Henry book that stars Tom Blyth and Emily Bader. When “People We Meet on Vacation” came out, almost everyone I knew asked me if I had seen it yet. I had no less than three movie nights with different friend groups dedicated to watching Tom Blyth do the worm on my screen. When I opened my phone, I was greeted with TikToks of “Forever Your Girl,” a song featured in the film, and petitions for further Emily Henry film adaptations. 

Viewership statistics reflected enthusiastic reactions worldwide, with the movie debuting to 17.2 million viewers in its first weekend and reigning as the number one English-language movie on Netflix for Jan. 5-11. The combination of rom-coms slipping back into the mainstream over the past few years and the incredible reaction to this most recent addition to the genre led me to wonder: are rom-coms back? 

If so, why now?

Now, love stories have been central to storytelling since the dawn of time, but the rom-com occupies a special subset with its promise of a “happily ever after.” While many drama romances and historical romances incorporate heavy topics like grief or war, rom-coms tend to be more surface-level, giving the audience a chance to turn off their minds and participate in a low-stakes, feel-good experience. With economic, political and environmental struggles dominating the news, rom-coms may be flourishing again because they can offer an escape from the chaos.

Another reason for the resurgence: ‘90s and ‘00s trends are back and stronger than ever. The craze for low-rise jeans and little purses may also drive a burgeoning interest in contemporary media, including golden age rom-coms. 

Finally, Hollywood may be finally adjusting to the new streaming landscape with Netflix releases that may not flood the box office with revenue but hold widespread, heartwarming appeal to a growing percentage of the public. 

All-in-all, the rom-com seems to be on the up. Whether that be because it offers comfort in the chaos, style in the trends or ease of streaming, I, for one, am happy to see one of my favorite genres back on the screen. Because again, what’s not to love about a good old-fashioned rom-com?