'Crazy Rich Asians' Becomes The Most Popular Rom-Com In Nearly A Decade

Crazy Rich Asians is the most popular rom-com in the US in nearly a decade. Since its US release three weeks ago, the film has made an estimated total of $117 million (£91 million). The only rom-com to have topped that in recent years is Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds' The Proposal, which earned $164 million in North America in 2009.

Best on Kevin Kwan's best-selling book of the same name, the film has been lauded for featuring a predominantly Asian cast - a rarity in Hollywood - and for its heartwarming escapism. It tells a fish-out-of-water story of a Chinese-American woman who goes to Singapore for her boyfriend's best friend's wedding to discover her beau is of princely wealth with a formidable family. Cue comic cultural clashes aplenty.

"It clearly tells us all to take chances,” Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. head of domestic distribution told Variety. “Rom-coms aren’t dead, you just need to come up with something new and different. This really does stand out.”

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The film is the first mainstream Hollywood movie to feature a largely East Asian cast since 1995's The Joy Luck Club. Crazy Rich Asians pulled in $28.3 million over Labor Day Weekend, second only in earnings to Halloween which launched with $30.6 million in 2007. A sequel is already in the works.

While the film has been credited for reviving rom-coms, Nick Hornby adaptation Juliet, Naked, starring Rose Bryne and Ethan Hawke, and Netflix's Set It Up are also said to have had a boosting the ailing genre.

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This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR UK.