Colleen Hoover Continues 3-Movie Winning Streak Despite Scathing Reviews

It's like we've been transported back to the Nicholas Sparks era this weekend, as author Colleen Hoover gears up to deliver her third hit film adaptation in three successive years. The hot streak began in 2024 with the controversial romance-drama It Ends with Us, based on her most popular book. The movie grossed approximately $350 million worldwide, thanks in no small part to the behind-the-scenes drama that dominated every conversation about it. The film's stars, Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, had a falling out during production, which became obvious during the promotional rounds. Some months later, Lively sued Baldoni for harassment; he counter-sued, and the two are locked in a highly publicized legal battle. Hoover's second adaptation, Regretting You, starring Dave Franco and Allison Williams, grossed over $90 million at the worldwide box office last year, despite having no controversy to fall back on. Her third film is already exceeding expectations.

Like It Ends with Us and Regretting You, the new movie hasn't exactly received positive reviews. The Times critic Kevin Maher, for instance, described it as "idiotic." However, its 57% Rotten Tomatoes critics' score is the best of the bunch; It Ends with Us seems to have settled at a 55% critics' score, while Regretting You is languishing at a 29% critics' score. However, each of the three movies has struck a chord with its target audience: readers of Hoover's potboilers. While It Ends with Us has an 87% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, Regretting You is sitting at a marginally lower 84%. The new movie currently holds an 89% audience score on the aggregator, and has received a B grade on CinemaScore from opening day audiences.


Here's How Much Colleen Hoover's New Film Adaptation Is Expected to Gross this Weekend

Hoover's third adaptation is titled Reminders of Him, starring Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers, and directed by Vanessa Caswill. It grossed $8 million on opening day, and is eying around $20 million for the weekend. This isn't as high as the $50 million that It Ends with Us opened with, but it's higher than the $13 million that Regretting You made in its first weekend. All three movies cost between $25 million and $30 million to produce. Reminders of Him is expected to capitalize on a relatively clear week, and will then provide much-needed counter-programming when Project Hail Mary opens theatrically in a few days' time. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.