The summer movie season is finally here, and it’s looking to be a good one. Whether you want to learn how to train your dragon yet again, watch Tom Cruise defy death, or hopefully see Marvel finally get The Fantastic Four right, there seems to be something for everyone. Yet one of our most anticipated, Materialists, hasn’t quite matched those films in terms of hype, even though, on paper, it seems to have a lot going for it. Firstly, it’s the sophomore feature of Celine Song, who previously helmed one of 2023’s best movies, Past Lives.
Second, it stars three of the biggest actors on the planet: Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and everyone’s favorite father figure, Pedro Pascal. And most enticing of all, it promises an honest-to-goodness return to a genre that mainstream Hollywood has sadly slept on over the last decade: the romantic comedy. Like Song’s previous film, it also centers around a love triangle, though Materialists promises a more light-hearted approach to the subject, and we couldn’t be more excited about that prospect.

Materialists

Release Date

June 25, 2025

Director

Celine Song

Writers

Celine Song

Producers

Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler

Early ‘Materialists’ Reactions Promise a Delightful Rom-Com

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Last week, Materialists had its first round of test screenings, and the reactions thus far have been widely positive. For X/Twitter user Bill Bria, the film is both a love letter to New York City and a classic fairy tale romance.

“Celine Song brings an exquisite sense of depth & yearning to the modern fairy tale rom-com in #Materialists, & if you’re like me, it’ll make you swoon hard. The three leads blend charm & thoughtfulness with ease, & Song helps prove that NYC is the most romantic city in the world.”

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Meanwhile, film critic Carlos Aguilar praised Celine Song’s willingness to simultaneously embrace and subvert genre conventions, as well as Chris Evans’ performance.

“I really liked MATERIALISTS. Celine Song plays with romcom tropes to deliver something edgier, moving but not saccharine. The standout for me is Chris Evans playing a broke actor working catering jobs. It’s refreshing to see him play a normal person with depth and insecurities.”

Overall, it sounds like another win for Song and proof that, even while working within a plot similar to Past Lives, she can still make something new and unique. It also sounds like further evidence of Pascal’s talent, and a welcome return to form for both Dakota Johnson (after the embarrassing Madame Web) and Chris Evans (after a series of streaming-based movies that were so clearly beneath his talents).

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Much debate has raged about why major Hollywood studios have moved away from romantic comedies over the last decade. Throughout the ‘90s and early 2000s, the genre was one of the box office’s most reliable, thanks in part to the constant presence of A-listers like Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, and Sandra Bullock, and acclaimed directors like Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron. Films like Runaway Bride, Notting Hill, What Women Want, and Hitch easily grossed upwards of $100 million domestically, and even the independently released My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a massive sleeper hit.
Yet almost as soon as the 2010s rolled around, the genre seemed to spontaneously evaporate from the public consciousness. The cultural domination of comic-book movies may have been a factor for this, as well as the fact that major studios were starting to prioritize sequels, reboots, and existing IP to ensure a $1 billion worldwide gross minimum. While there have been a few successful romantic comedies in recent years, namely 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians and 2022’s The Lost City, for the most part, the genre has been relegated to exclusives for streaming services.

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Another factor in this may be the fact that the theater business is still in the midst of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, studios would want to prioritize blockbusters that demand to be seen on the biggest screen possible. But it’s clear that there’s still a viable audience for romantic comedies, as evidenced by how 2023’s Anyone But You became an out-of-nowhere sleeper hit, eventually grossing over $200 million worldwide. Despite studio executives’ seeming aversion to mid-budget films like these, it’s undeniable that if they were willing to prioritize them, people would come.
So, at least on paper, Materialists has all the ingredients to be one of the summer’s surprising successes. It has a talented writer/director helming it, who clearly understands that part of the genre’s appeal is how a simple setup can be a nice excuse to showcase big-name stars displaying sizzling romantic chemistry onscreen. Everybody loves Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal, who wouldn’t want to see which of them Dakota Johnson will pick? Overall, it looks to be a charming return to a genre forgotten by Hollywood, and hopefully, it’ll set a path to revitalize said genre. Materialists is in theaters on June 13.