Sydney Sweeney’s slightly disappointing update on Anyone But You 2 shocks me, because it shows that Hollywood is leaving money on the table. The original 2023 romantic comedy, which was directed by Easy A‘s Will Gluck, was a loose adaptation of the Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. It followed Bea (Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell), who have resented one another after their burgeoning relationship fizzled out amid a misunderstanding but who find themselves pretending to be in a relationship while at a wedding in Australia. They both have different goals, but they end up falling for one another instead.
While the potential Anyone But You 2 has not yet been officially greenlit, the door is open for the romantic comedy to spawn a sequel, because it was a mᴀssive runaway success at the box office. This did not seem to be the case at first, because the movie – which cost $25 million to make – had a debut weekend of just $6 million, taking No. 4 at the domestic box office over Christmas weekend behind Migration, Wonka, and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. However, it became a major sleeper hit, eventually rising to a whopping total of $220 million worldwide.
Sydney Sweeney Shared A Vague Update On Anyone But You 2
“It’s Not A No…”
Almost exactly a year and a half after the premiere of Anyone But You, which is one of the 30 highest-grossing romantic comedies of all time, Sydney Sweeney (who was an executive producer on the original movie in addition to starring in it) has shared an unclear update on the progress of the sequel. During an interview that was published in the most recent print issue of Empire magazine, Sweeney shared that she doesn’t have a concrete answer about the potential sequel, but the possibility of Anyone But You 2 is not off the table. Read her full quote below:
Ummmmm! You’ll just have to wait and see. It’s not a no, and it’s not a yes. It’s a, “I don’t have an answer that I can say for you.”
This update is a surprise to me, as the movie earned nearly nine times its budget, so even if a sequel was hit by huge diminishing returns, it could still be a major return on investment. Additionally, it would have made sense to immediately secure the return of both leads, because the stars have become increasingly busy since 2023. In addition to Sweeney starring in Immaculate and Madame Web, she has commitments to projects like Euphoria season 3 while Powell has starred in Twisters and is attached to a slate of upcoming projects including Edgar Wright’s The Running Man remake.
A 2025 Hit Proves Anyone But You 2 Should Happen
Rom-Com Sequels Are Rare But Can Become Hits
As Hollywood is dragging its feet on Anyone But You 2, a new romantic comedy sequel has proven how much of a hit a follow-up to the Much Ado About Nothing adaptation could be. This year, the Renée Zellweger movie Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy raced up the charts, earning $134.9 million worldwide and becoming the eighth highest-grossing movie of 2025 so far. While it is the lowest-grossing of the four Bridget Jones movies, it never received a domestic release, instead premiering on Peacock, so I think a full worldwide release could have prevented that from being the case.
In international theaters alone, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy outgrossed the worldwide totals of a number of major 2025 movies including Mickey 17, A Working Man, The Amateur, and The Accountant 2.
The fact that Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy was such a success in spite of its limited reach at the box office shows that modern global audiences are still hungry for theatrical romantic comedies. Additionally, the fact that Anyone But You 2 would be connected to a popular IP, whereas the first installment was an original, could give it an even bigger boost. However, even if it fails to outgross Bridget Jones, I think it is well worth the risk, because if the price tag remains the same, it could easily quadruple its budget, more than justifying its existence.
Source(s): Empire magazine
