Pure romance movies seldom get wide releases in movie theaters anymore. But after Paramount hit pay dirt adapting Colleen Hoover’s novel “It Ends With Us” last year, the studio quickly turned around her book “Regretting You.”
The movie, set fictionally in a small town in North Carolina but shot in metro Atlanta this past spring, focuses on Morgan Grant (Allison Williams) and her teen daughter, Clara (McKenna Grace), who experience a major tragedy. They handle their grief differently and commensurate tensions ensue.
Clara falls for sensitive high school hottie Miller (Mason Thames), while Morgan watches an excessive amount of “Real Housewives”-style TV shows.
“There was a lot about Morgan that frustrated me,” said Williams in a Zoom interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to promote the video-on-demand release of the movie. “But that’s the case with most of the characters I play. I try to leave my judgment behind and jump headfirst. I was totally sympathetic to her desire to control her daughter. I’m just learning to be a parent myself. I have a 4-year-old. I was grateful for her to help teach me those lessons.”
Debuting in theaters in late October, “Regretting You,” didn’t quite reach the massive grosses of last year’s Blake Lively vehicle but was still profitable for Paramount. Budgeted at $30 million, it generated $90 million in box office revenue and is now available for $14.99 rental via video on demand. (It will be on Paramount+ soon.)
“I heard from so many people why they went to see the movie,” Williams said. “A lot of parents went with their children. A lot of people are big Colleen fans. McKenna and Mason have huge fan bases. I’m just grateful people went, honestly.”
The 37-year-old Connecticut native broke out in 2012 with her hilariously neurotic, self-centered millennial character Marnie on HBO’s “Girls.” She then found a home in thriller/horror roles like the 2017 classic “Get Out” and the two hit “M3GAN’ movies.
“Regretting You” provides a genre switch to something a little gentler and kinder, though Morgan’s “death stare” at her daughter is searingly comical.
Credit: Jessica Miglio / PARAMOUNT PICTU
Credit: Jessica Miglio / PARAMOUNT PICTU
Because the film was shot during peak allergy season in Atlanta, Williams struggled mightily, she said.
Fortunately, the first scene was a funeral service at Sardis United Methodist Church in Buckhead.
“I was all sniffly and holding back a cough,” Williams said. “My eyes were filling with tears. My voice was a little hoarse. Honestly, I think it worked!”
Hoover adaptations so far are not exactly critics’ darlings, with “Regretting You” hitting a rather low 27% on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to 56% for “It Ends With Us.” On the bright side, viewers on the site liked “Regretting You” (85%) about the same as “It Ends With Us” (87%).
Two other films based on adaptations of Hoover’s books are set to be released in 2026. “Reminders of Him,” starring Bradley Whitford and Lauren Graham, will debut in March, while “Verity,” starring Anne Hathaway and directed by Michael Showalter, will be released in October.
Hathaway and Showalter also teamed up for the 2024 Atlanta-shot film “The Idea of You.” (Showalter also directed the newly released “Oh. What. Fun.,” which filmed in Atlanta).
Williams said she’d be on board for a “Regretting You” sequel, if Hoover decided to write one.
“I’d show up in a heartbeat,” she said. “As long as there’s a story and there’s a film crew, I’m down.”
Credit: Jessica Miglio / PARAMOUNT PICTU
Credit: Jessica Miglio / PARAMOUNT PICTU
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