In the entertainment industry, it’s difficult to make everyone happy. Just ask Sydney Sweeney. She knows that her film with Glenn Powell, Anyone But You, received negative reviews. However, that didn’t stop the R-rated romantic comedy from connecting with fans and having an impressive box office run. Now, Sweeney is reflecting on the tepid responses from critics, and I honestly admire her take on the poor response the flick drew in that regard.
As the Euphoria veteran remains busy amid the 2025 movie release schedule, she took some time to chat with Empire. During the interview, the breakout star didn't shy away from the criticism Anyone But You received. She embraced it, sharing:
There are movies you do for the critics and there are movies that you do for an audience. Take Reality. Reality is for the critics, and Anyone But You is for an audience.
Anyone But You indeed found its audience. The flick may not have been a critical darling, but it earned over $200 million globally against a reported production budget of $25 million. Not only that, but it seemed to ignite serious rom-com nostalgia among audiences. For the 27-year-old A-lister, that’s exactly the point. She continued:
Critics all have their own opinions, and you can’t just try and make critics happy, because you’re not thinking about everybody else. It’s a different process and a different experience.
She’s not wrong, as there have been cases in which different kinds of films appeal more to critics than fans and vice versa. Reality, a low-budget but super intense thriller based on whistleblower Reality Winner, has Sweeney giving a raw, no-makeup performance, which praised for its emotional depth. You can stream it with a Max subscription, and it's definitely worth checking out. But, if that film was a tough performance to prepare for, Anyone But You was just a blast.
Sweeney doesn’t seem to see project choices as an either/or. She sees her filmography as a balanced career strategy rooted in contrast. She added:
I love the stuff that’s so extremely far from who I am. If you look at it like that, there are two very extreme versions of the characters I play. Like, the glossy or the crazy.
That duality is no accident. In the past several years, she’s played a Manson girl in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a paranoid whistleblower in Reality, and a nun pregnant with the Antichrist in one of the best horror movies of recent memory, Immaculate. She’s also played a young Spider-Woman in Madame Web, another project that didn’t land with critics but was a milestone for the actress.
Considering the success of Anyone but You, there's been speculation regarding whether a sequel may be on the horizon. During her interview with Empire, Sydney Sweeney was asked about a follow-up, but could neither confirm nor deny one would happen. The audience response and the box office receipts, however, have me thinking that a sequel could happen. In any case, though, you can stream the 2023 rom-com now using a Netflix subscription.
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