{"id":7707,"date":"2026-02-18T12:29:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:29:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshgigz.com\/realpublisher\/hollywood-is-thirsty-for-more-romance-adaptations\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T12:29:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:29:26","slug":"hollywood-is-thirsty-for-more-romance-adaptations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/freshgigz.com\/realpublisher\/hollywood-is-thirsty-for-more-romance-adaptations\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollywood is thirsty for more romance adaptations"},"content":{"rendered":"


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After years of an on-again, off-again relationship, it seems like Hollywood is finally falling back in love with the romance genre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWuthering Heights<\/a>,\u201d a Victorian romance novel, breathed new life into the box office this weekend, with help from stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. \u201cPeople We Meet on Vacation,\u201d an adaptation of Emily Henry\u2019s popular novel, topped Netflix\u2019s movie list after its January release<\/a>. <\/strong>And \u201cHeated Rivalry<\/a>,\u201d a gay hockey romance book-turned-TV show, has become a cultural phenomenon in just three months since it was released. <\/p>\n

Producers, agents and executives working in the genre say the recent boom of romance in TV and film is due in great part to studios\u2019 seeing the power of the core audience whom authors help entice to screens. Some studios are now offering six- to seven-figure deals to those authors, making them hot commodities in Hollywood. <\/p>\n

\u201cAudiences want to feel the yearn,\u201d said Lauren Levine, the producing partner of bestselling romance author Colleen Hoover. The film adaptation of her novel \u201cIt Ends With Us,\u201d which cost about $25 million to make, racked up more than $351 million worldwide at the box office. Her next film, \u201cReminders of Him,\u201d which is being released by Universal Pictures, will debut in March. (Comcast owns NBCUniversal, which is the parent company of NBC News.)<\/p>\n

Millions of those fans are part of the online community known as \u201cBookTok.\u201d The avid readers, who often review and share their takes on the latest releases, particularly like to rally around the romance genre, or \u201csmut\u201d books, which include explicit, steamy scenes. Their interest has helped some authors who have been around for years suddenly see their books top bestseller lists almost overnight. It\u2019s a community that gained steam during the Covid-19 pandemic, Levine said, when fans had no other way to connect.<\/p>\n

\"Maika<\/picture>
Maika Monroe as Kenna and Tyriq Withers as Ledger in “Reminders of Him.”<\/span>Michelle Faye \/ Universal Pictures<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA lot of people think, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s about the sex,\u2019\u201d Levine said of the genre\u2019s popularity. \u201cThe books are spicy, yes, but that\u2019s the least interesting part. It\u2019s about the connection and the yearning and the romance.\u201d <\/p>\n

Of course, romance adaptations aren\u2019t new \u2014 long before \u201cIt Ends With Us,\u201d many popular books \u2014 including \u201cA Walk to Remember\u201d (based on Nicholas Sparks\u2019 popular book), \u201cPride & Prejudice\u201d (which has been remade several times) and \u201cBridget Jones\u2019s Diary\u201d \u2014 had huge commercial success in the \u201990s and the 2000s when they were adapted.<\/p>\n

But some in the industry credit streaming for helping fill a void that they say was left behind by traditional studios, which have spent the last decade doubling down on superhero adaptations<\/a> and recycled intellectual property<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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\u201cAudiences have always loved romance,\u201d said Kira Goldberg, Netflix\u2019s vice president of film. \u201cIt\u2019s just that the theatrical studios stopped making them for a time, and the streamers picked up the opportunity, knowing that those old films that people had made way back when are still classics.\u201d<\/p>\n

From 2020 to the third quarter of 2025, shows and movies adapted from romance books were responsible for 4.5% of Netflix\u2019s streaming revenue, according to Parrot Analytics, with the top shows being \u201cOutlander\u201d (which Netflix picks up after Starz), \u201cBridgerton\u201d and \u201cYou.\u201d <\/p>\n

The streamer continues to invest big in romance to meet what Goldberg described as \u201can underserved audience\u2019s needs.\u201d <\/p>\n

On a cold Los Angeles evening in January, Netflix held a summer-themed premiere for \u201cPeople We Meet on Vacation.\u201d Dozens of BookTokers were among the attendees, having scored tickets through fan sweepstakes. In addition to being among the first to see the movie, they were given special copies of the book, as well as tote bags celebrating the film. <\/p>\n

\"Emily<\/picture>
Emily Bader and Tom Blyth in “People We Meet on Vacation.”<\/span>Michele K. Short \/ Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The next day, Netflix announced<\/a> two forthcoming films based on other Henry novels, \u201cFunny Story\u201d and \u201cHappy Place,\u201d making Netflix home to the unofficial Emily Henry Universe. <\/p>\n

\u201cBuyers are always asking us for titles in the romance genre,\u201d said Mirabel Michelson, an agent at UTA who represents Ali Hazelwood, the author of \u201cThe Love Hypothesis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hazelwood\u2019s book began as a piece of \u201cStar Wars\u201d fan fiction about the relationship between the characters Rey and Kylo Ren. It\u2019s now a film due from Amazon MGM this year. <\/p>\n

And now, \u201cpeople are chasing Ali for her next novel,\u201d Michelson said. <\/p>\n

Among the keys to a successful adaptation, producers say, is casting \u2014 though that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean A-list stars. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to please the fans,\u201d said WME agent Mary Pender-Coplan, who represents Henry. \u201cYou want the core audience to love it and then that pulls other people in concentric circles.\u201d <\/p>\n

Elizabeth Cantillon, who is producing \u201cThe Love Hypothesis,\u201d likens the responsibility she feels to the book\u2019s avid fans to how she felt when she was an executive at Sony Pictures overseeing the James Bond movies and the franchise first cast Daniel Craig. <\/p>\n

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\u201cMy brothers called me and said, \u2018Don\u2019t screw it up,\u2019\u201d Cantillon said of choosing someone to play the British spy. \u201cWe had to respect the fans, but we couldn\u2019t just make a movie for the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the case of \u201cThe Love Hypothesis,\u201d the filmmakers made a casting choice that tickled the book\u2019s fan base, enlisting Tom Bateman, the husband of Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the \u201cStar Wars\u201d movies, to play the male lead. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not why we cast him,\u201d Cantillon said of Bateman\u2019s connection to the source material. \u201cBut when we did it, people went crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Often, romance adaptations have budgets in the $25 million to $40 million range, making them a cheaper option than many competing genres (though the budget of \u201cWuthering Heights,\u201d directed by Emerald Fennell, is closer to $80 million). That can remove some of the obligation to cast top stars and allow filmmakers to look instead for chemistry and authenticity to the source materials.<\/p>\n

The romance genre has also broadened to include \u201cromantasy,\u201d titles that blend romance and fantasy, like Rebecca Yarros\u2019 \u201cFourth Wing,\u201d which Michael B. Jordan\u2019s production company is developing as a series for Amazon Prime, and \u201cQuicksilver,\u201d which Cantillon\u2019s company is adapting for Netflix. <\/p>\n

Cantillon said she believes part of the proof of the renewed appetite for the genre came from audiences\u2019 rewatching old romantic comedies, like the films of writer-directors Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron, over and over again on streaming. <\/p>\n

\u201cThey play really well, and they\u2019re really rewatchable,\u201d Cantillon said. \u201cBut doesn\u2019t every generation want their own love story?\u201d<\/p>\n

Meyers, widely considered the queen of the romance genre, hasn\u2019t made a movie since 2015\u2019s \u201cThe Intern.\u201d Warner Bros. this month greenlit her next project, a romantic comedy due in theaters on Christmas Day 2027.<\/p>\n

It seems Meyers is just as excited to get back into it, writing on Instagram<\/a> about the news: \u201cSee you at the movies!\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n