Giving R-rated studio comedies a much-needed shot in the arm, Sony’sNo Hard Feelingshas passed an important milestone at the global box office. After a little over 10 days in theaters, the film has crossed the $50 million mark worldwide, and is on track to becoming the highest-grossing original R-rated studio comedy since 2019’sGood Boys. Incidentally, both movies have been directed byGene Stupnitsky, who, before becoming theJames Cameronof raunchy cinema, was best known for his work on NBC’sThe Office, along with his producing partnerLee Eisenberg.
StarringJennifer Lawrence— who also serves as producer on the picture via her Excellent Cadaver banner —No Hard Feelingshas grossed $31 million domestically, and another $20 million from overseas territories, for a running worldwide haul of $51 million. By comparison,Good Boysconcluded its run with $83 million in domestic theaters and $111 million worldwide. Both films receivedpositive reviews, but courted controversy. A certain section of the audience wasn’t too keen on watching pre-teens engage in decidedly profane behavior inGood Boys, andNo Hard Feelings— about a millennial woman who agrees to “date” a sheltered teenage boy at his parents’ behest — has been criticized for promoting sexual grooming. Stupnitsky toldThe Hollywood Reporterin response to these criticisms that the filmmakers “took great pains to be careful about the ick factor," and assured audiences that they wouldn’t feel the same way after watching the film.
No Hard Feelingscurrently sits at a “fresh” 69% score on review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes. Collider’sNate Richardpraised Lawrence’s performance in hisreview, and wrote, “Lawrence flexes her comedy muscles in both her dialogue and physical comedy, taking some bold swings with some of the things she does on screen, and it pays off extremely well.”
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The film marks a bit of a departure for the Oscar-winning star, who spent several years working inthe franchise space, but found herself growing disillusioned and taking a two-year sabbatical. She said at the film’s London premiere that the script — written by Stupnitsky andJohn Phillips— was the funniest she’d ever read, and impossible to pass up on. Her co-star, the newcomerAndrew Barth Feldman, put his Harvard studies on hold to participate in the project.
Could This Signal a Comeback for Raunchy Studio Comedies?
Movies likeNo Hard Feelingsaren’t often made for theatrical release these days, with mostR-rated comediesheading straight streaming. The sub-genre arguably experienced its heyday a little more than a decade ago, with everything even remotelyJudd Apatow-adjacentseemingly striking gold at the box office.Some of these moviesmade upwards of $200 million worldwide, and things peaked withSeth MacFarlane’sTed, which grossed more than $500 million worldwide in 2012. The upcoming filmJoy Ridewould hope to capitalize on renewed interest in raunchy comedies for adults, when it debuts in theaters this Friday. You can watch ared band trailerforNo Hard Feelingshere, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
