Why The 'You, Me, and Tuscany' Theatrical Release Matters

You, Me, and Tuscany, released earlier this month by Universal Pictures starring Halle Bailey and Rege-Jean Page, is a romantic-comedy that follows a young woman who poses as a stranger’s fiancée after she’s caught squatting in his villa in Tuscany. The film might sound like your standard rom-com, but it’s been garnering a lot of buzz recently – primarily due to it’s theatrical release. 

Today, theatrical distribution only serves a small number of mega-franchises. Mid-budget films, dramas, and original IPs tend to struggle at the box office and rarely justify the cost of a wide theatrical release. Comedies, including romantic-comedies, are almost exclusively released online. But producer Will Packer was adamant about the demand for joyful stories: "I thought there’d be an opportunity because now, more than ever, people need an escape. The world is crazy enough. And the thing I love about romantic comedies is that they encourage you to fall in love with the idea of love."

Also the producer behind Girls Trip and Think Like a Man, Packer has grossed over $1 billion at the box office and produced 10 movies that debuted at number one over the past 3 decades, so he certainly knows what he’s doing. "People have to understand that Hollywood is a reactive industry," he said, "and there is an opportunity to say that this type of film — with these types of leads, with the audience that enjoys these types of films — are profitable and worth making, and Hollywood will make more of them."

But there’s a lot more riding on the success of You, Me, and Tuscany besides the potential for more feel-good movies. The film is the first Black-led rom-com to be distributed theatrically since Think Like a Man in 2012 – almost 15 years ago. With this in mind, Packer’s statement carries even more weight. Not only is there an entire genre riding on the success of this film, but a whole population of people looking to see themselves represented on screen. 

Hollywood is certainly paying attention. Filmmaker Nina Lee posted last month that industry executives were waiting to see how You, Me, and Tuscany does before making a decision on her Black-led rom-com. And the situation isn’t exactly hopeless. It seems that Hollywood is beginning to understand the buying power of underrepresented groups, especially after the theatrical success of Sinners. 

Ultimately, the movie ended up making $8 million in its first weekend at the box office in North America, coming in at #4 just below A24's The Drama and is currently sitting at $14.5 million as of this writing. Will this change the types of movies we see in theaters going forward? Rege-Jean Page certainly hopes so. "Love definitely isn’t dead," he said. "Love will save us. And I think that I’m happy to wave that flag tonight." 

You, Me, & Tuscany is in theatres now!