The romantic comedy is dead

The reason, I think, is that our movie culture has been changing in ways that no longer favor the genre. I see five factors at work here.

The first—and most important, as usual—is Money. Since the turn of the century, the audience for mid-budget studio movies in general has dwindled. There are many explanations for this: the excellence of cable TV, which scratches a similar itch from the comfort of home; the proliferation of streaming video, which gives adult audiences yet another excuse not to pay $15 for a movie ticket; the dozens of other digital divertissements and distractions that now compete for our time.

As a result, Hollywood has reoriented itself toward metastasizing foreign markets like China and India—where translating an explosion makes more sense than translating a screenplay—and decided to put all of its chips on what the industry rags refer to tentpole pictures: pricey comic-book spectacles, superhero reboots, and 3D IMAX sequels that can be marketed as “events” rather than mere movies. As Zachary Wigon has written, “You load up on potential tentpole projects, pour an enormous amount of money into all of them, and assume that the hits—and their forthcoming sequels and TV and DVD deals—will cover the losses from the misses, with enough money left over for a healthy profit.”

The second reason why romantic comedies have been suffering is Boys—both in the audience and behind the camera.