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Review: 'Materialists' Doesn't Have the Same Punch as 'Past Lives'

NEW YORK CITY, JUN 19 – The film and real-world agencies reveal matchmaking as a transactional dating ecosystem with clients paying around $1,000 per first date, reflecting a shift from apps to curated connections.

  • Materialists, a theatrical romantic comedy focusing on contemporary dating and matchmaking, is helmed by filmmaker Celine Song and set for release in the summer of 2025.
  • The rom-com genre had largely vanished from multiplexes in the 2010s and 2020s due to costly flops and shifting studio priorities, but increasing interest in matchmaking revived audience curiosity.
  • Materialists depicts dating as transactional, focusing on dealbreakers like income and height, and follows Lucy, a matchmaker whose career faces crisis after a client’s assault.
  • Materialists grossed $12 million over its June 13-15, 2025 opening weekend, marking A24’s third-biggest launch and surpassing Song’s previous film Past Lives in domestic revenue.
  • Materialists’ commercial success suggests theatrical rom-coms remain viable, though the film’s subdued tone and atypical ending question traditional genre expectations.
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FNArena broke the news in on Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
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