Fake romance or not, Sydney Sweeney rom-com Anyone But You immediately a hit on Netflix

Anyone But You became a bit of a surprise hit at the end of 2023. The romantic comedy definitely got a boost from the rumors that its stars, Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, were involved in a real-life romance. However, new reports are coming out that those rumors were not only just that, but Sweeney and Powell played them up to help promote the movie. It worked at the box office and continues to do so now that Anyone But You is on Netflix, as the movie almost instantly shot to the top of the queue for US subscribers.

Premiering on Netflix on April 23, Anyone But You immediately became the most-watched movie of the day in the US on April 24. It jumped ahead of Netflix original movie Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver and other recent popular titles like Anna, What Jennifer Did and Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp.

Here is the official synopsis for Anyone But You: "Bea and Ben look like the perfect couple, but after an amazing first date something happens that turns their fiery hot attraction ice cold  — until they find themselves unexpectedly thrust together at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what mature adults would do — pretend to be a couple."

In addition to Sweeney and Powell as Bea and Ben, respectively, Anyone But You stars Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet, Bryan Brown and Rachel Griffiths. Will Gluck directed and co-wrote the movie with Ilana Wolpert, loosely adapted from William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

While critics didn’t fall in love with the rom-com (it is "Rotten" on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes), audiences did, with the movie earning a global box office of $219 million.

As far as the stars confirming they played up the romance rumors to help promote their movie, Powell spoke to The New York Times about it, explaining that people often want what's on screen to be the case off screen and "sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit."

Powell also credited Sweeney's role in it, as she was an executive producer on Anyone But You. She said she was on all the marketing calls and that she was trying to have an active conversation with the audience as they promoted the movie, admitting that "at the end of the day, they're the ones who created the entire narrative."

You can watch Sweeney and Powell in Anyone But You on Netflix right now (subscription required). If you are not a Netflix subscriber (or are in the UK where the movie is not on Netflix at this time), then it is available to rent via digital on-demand.