Jon M. Chu’s acclaimed movie — based on Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel — is clearly long overdue, but it couldn’t have arrived at a better time.

“Crazy Rich Asians” generated $35 million in its first five days, including a three-day total of $26 million. , as reported by Rebecca Rubin from Variety. 

It seems the public was thirsty for romantic comedies to come back to big screen. 

The team behind “Crazy Rich Asians” reportedly turned down a lucrative payday from Netflix for a chance to bring the movie to multiplexes. They wanted this film to be seen on the big screen where it could produce a sense of communal excitement. It was a barrier-breaking moment demanded to be shared, not just streamed. Twitter helped drive that message home, as users took to the social media platform to wrangle support and share just how powerful it was to see people who looked like them on the silver screen. Some saw the movie more than once in an effort to “do their part” for box office numbers.

“There’s nothing like experiencing a movie on the big screen with a shared audience,” Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ head of domestic distribution, said. “You get lost in it. It’s not the same when it’s at home.”

Despite missing out on “Crazy Rich Asians,” it is Netflix that has helped revive a dormant genre. While romantic comedies have faltered at the box office in recent years, the company has become a haven for “meet cute” fables. Recent titles including “Set It Up” and “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” which also features an Asian lead, have both sparked optimism about a return to form for rom-coms.   (Read more here from the Variety article.) 

And we couldn't be happier!  We all secretly love romantic comedies, and most of us not even so secretly! Visit any bookstagrammer account and you'll see at least one romantic comedy book being featured, and the Crazy Rich Asians novel has been read or is in most bookstagrammer's TBR.

Even though the story focuses on an already established couple, Crazy Rich Asians is a romantic comedy at heart. Elle describes the book as “The Princess Diaries meets The Great Gatsby” and adds, “In classic rom-com fashion, expect a parade of zany characters, outrageous party scenes, zingy dialogue, a makeover montage (but with a twist, this time), and plenty of wide-eyed bewilderment…”

If you've only have watched the movie, you're missing out! The movie stays true to the rom-com genre and ties up the story with a patented happy ending. But the book, as neatly explained by Jenny G. Zhang, concludes with more loose ends than it does neat bows. Will Rachel take back up her quest to see her father? Will Nick propose to Rachel? (And if so, will she say yes?) Will the Youngs ever come around, or is Nick henceforth exiled from Tyersall Park? These are the unanswered questions that hang over the denouement, setting up the plot for the next book in Kwan’s trilogy.

Haven't read Crazy Rich Asians yet? What are you waiting for? There are more books to keep reading about these crazy Asians antics. 

BRING THEM HOME

 Bring some happiness to your life with this romantic comedy book series paired with some lovely accessories from our Little Romance Collection. 

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