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.
71 Articles
71 Articles
'Materialists' Totally Set Dakota Johnson's Character for Up Failure and You Can't Convince Us Otherwise
The choice between Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans is a tough one, but Dakota Johnson's character still manages to get the short end of the stickA24 'Materialists' CastNEED TO KNOW Materialists poses the question of whether or not we should be going for love or for money and the choice Dakota Johnson's character makes has people on internet dividedThe film also stars Pedro Pascal and Chris EvansMaterialists is in theaters nowMovies have long wanted…
I can't stop thinking about this plotline in 'Materialists'
A money-obsessed NYC matchmaker is wooed by a financial investor and a cater waiter in a romantic drama that has its protagonist finding strength and emotional growth via a side character's suffering.
A matchmaker's verdict on Materialists and his advice for singles
ABC News gave the CEO and lead matchmaker at Bachelors Inc, Joseph Dixon an assignment — watch Materialists. Here's what he thinks of the movie, and he shares his advice for singles wanting to meet that perfect match.
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