The culture of same-sex relationships has changed. These days, the LGBTQ+ is more so accepting around the world, especially in Tinseltown. More often, more gay and lesbian characters are being featured in films and television; however, the odd aspect of this notion is that there’s still a shockingly low number of same-sex romantic comedies coming out in the mainstream. To be honest, romantic comedies have become somewhat of a dying breed in modern times. They exist, but they’ve usually been trapped under more popular blockbusters or award hopefuls. Still, it’s surprising that Hollywood hasn’t tried to develop more intimate stories about love involving the queer community. The last big mainstream (not on streaming services or anything like that) that showcased a same-sex relationship in the form of a romantic comedy was Love, Simon.
The movie was a hit with the critics, but it wasn’t exactly a box office smash hit domestically. However, it did manage to form the spin-off, Love, Victor on Hulu so it wasn’t a total failure. However, there’s still been a surprising lack of gay and lesbian representation when it comes to the romantic comedy genre. Why is that? It’s an easy guess as to why these types of films barely existed in the past. That’s pretty much due to Hollywood not really accepting homosexuality until recently. You get movies like Brokeback Mountain and Moonlight that document love, but it’s not the same as a romantic comedy. In fact, if you looked at the top 50 highest-grossing romantic comedies of all time, none of them feature a same-sex couple as the focal point. There’s likely a gay side character here and there, but this article isn’t about supporting characters. One of the likely reasons that same-sex romantic comedies barely exist these days is due to the fact that executives aren’t exactly sure if it’s a draw. Just because more people in Hollywood are accepting of queer relationships, doesn’t mean the masses do.
In 2021, a record number of 70% of people in the United States supported gay marriage, according to Gallup’s report. Considering that a minuscule 27% only supported gay and lesbian marriages in 1996, that showcases how much the culture has changed from that time period. Whether that would translate to a billion-dollar film is unlikely since the top 20 highest-grossing films of all time are all blockbusters, with Frozen and Frozen II being the only feature to stand outside of the normal on this chart. That still shouldn’t stop Hollywood from making same-sex romantic comedies in today’s landscape. If executives always thought that a movie shouldn’t be made because the probability of it making a billion is slim, then classics like Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, or Seven wouldn’t exist. Why is it that gay or lesbian relationships get the best representation when it’s a coming-of-age story like Moonlight? Exactly how many times do we need to see a closet queer man or woman discovering his/him sexuality? Look, I’m not trying to rally a battle cry for more same-sex romantic comedies, but it’s interesting that the trauma and struggles of a person coming to terms with their sexuality gets more love in the movie spectrum.
It doesn’t help that romantic comedies haven’t set the world on fire recently. When you examine the top 50 grossing films of 2021 and 2019, there’s not a romantic comedy in sight, at least according to the data found of The Numbers. The last film of this genre to make the list was 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians. Even then, the only other film to make that list is Book Club, which garnered a low $68 million. The problem doesn’t appear to be the fact that studios are afraid to shell out money for same-sex romantic comedies. The bigger issue is that the genre is a dying breed. Romantic comedies will never stop existing in media, but since we’re living in the age of superheroes, and blockbuster films entirely, that specific genre just isn’t grabbing the world’s attention like The Avengers or Fast and Furious franchise. Perhaps it’s also a combination that not many writers or directors are exactly pitching these type of movies to executives. That’s purely speculation (like much of the article) as I haven’t come across any filmmakers who are having this issue. Whatever the case may be, it’s clearly affecting the output of same-sex romantic comedies. Likely, the results will get better when more romantic comedies start showcasing their box office prowess. Until then, same-sex romantic comedies appear to be suffering because it’s a genre that isn’t a hot commodity. When will it get better? That might not be answered any time soon.
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