Now, presently in the decade of the 2020s, where did all the love go? Filmmakers seem to have abandoned the typical romantic movies. Instead, audiences globally are enjoying films presenting a satirical and skewed side of romantic cinema. Take Drew Hancock’s 2025 release “Companion”. This piece parodies what audiences have been shown of romance before and leans into the horror genre.
The trailer for this movie mirrors the archetypal expectations of a typical romance picture: soft music, a romantic candle lit dinner before it gives way to reveal a more sinister direction. The harsh contrast between the intimate fairy-tale opening to the trailer and the ominous reality of the film was received well by audiences- as viewers in this decade, we are increasingly enjoying the decline in romance as we know it.
But why could this be? Are we really all so heartless to disregard the romance genre entirely? Firstly, and perhaps controversially, the romance genre was nearly rung dry in the early 2000s and the lasting tropes and stereotypes created in such cinema seem to creep into most mainstream romantic works made since this time. Alternatively, the increasing traction of mainstream feminism in the past decades has eliminated the silence towards stereotypical and heteronormative portrayals of on-screen couples. Viewers want more, we want something real, something that we cant guess the ending to.
Both audiences and filmmakers alike are ready for something new, something that challenges the pre-established boundaries of the genre.