The Proposal has been dominating streaming for more than three months. Directed by Anne Fletcher, with a script written by Peter Chiarelli, the 2009 romantic comedy stars Sandra Bullock as a successful Canadian book editor who, facing deportation from the United States, proposes a fake engagement to her assistant (played by Ryan Reynolds) in order to keep her visa.
In addition to the Oscar-winning Sandra Bullock (The Blindside) and Ryan Reynolds, its supporting cast includes Malin Åkerman, Emmy winner Craig T. Nelson (Coach), Oscar winner Mary Steenburgen (Melvin and Howard), five-time Emmy winner Betty White, The Office‘s Oscar Nunez, three-time Emmy nominee Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story, This Is Us), Michael Nouri, Aasif Mandvi, and Michael Mosley.
Now, over 15 years after its release, The Proposal ranks 14th on Hulu’s Top 15 movies in the United States for today, September 23, where it has been for a whopping 107 days. It currently ranks below Swiped, Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery, Practical Magic, Fear Below, John Wick: Chapter 4, Would You Rather, and The Other Woman.
It also ranks below Night at the Museum, The Devil Wears Prada, World War Z, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, and Bedazzled. It ranks above O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
What The Proposal’s Streaming Success Means For The Movie
The Proposal‘s streaming success is seemingly an extension of its blockbuster box office performance. Released in 2009, the movie grossed over $317 million worldwide against its $40 million budget, making it one of the highest-grossing romantic comedies of the 2000s behind My Big Fat Greek Wedding ($368M), What Women Want ($374M), Hitch ($371M), and several others.
The Proposal, however, was not a hit among critics, as indicated by its 45% Rotten Tomatoes score, with its mixed reviews praising Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock’s strong chemistry, but criticizing the film’s overly formulaic plot. Despite the mixed reviews, Bullock’s performance was so good that she even received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
Our Take On The Proposal’s Streaming Success
The Proposal‘s dominant performance on streaming could also be because audiences are starving for new romantic comedies. Other than Anyone But You, which made $220 million at the box office in 2023, there haven’t been any blockbuster rom-coms in recent years.
Hollywood has largely abandoned the genre that once consistently produced crowd-pleasing blockbusters. In turn, that scarcity has created a vacuum in which classics like The Proposal thrive and remind audiences of what they’ve been missing. Its continued streaming dominance suggests that audiences still crave rom-coms, leaving the door wide open for studios to capitalize on the proven formula.
- Release Date
-
June 19, 2009
- Runtime
-
108 Minutes
- Director
-
Anne Fletcher
