COMMENTARY: How Crazy Rich Asians Changed Hollywood1 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minute
In the months leading up to its release and even in the weeks after, there was plenty of discussion about what a movie like CRA could mean for the Asian-American community and for future Asian-centric movies and TV shows. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, director Jon Chu acknowledged that there was a lot riding on the film — the sense that the prospects of a whole community’s body of work could hinge on how well-received Crazy Rich Asianswas.
According to a 2018 study from University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, out of 1,100 popular films from 2007 to 2017, the year before Crazy Rich Asianscame out, just 4.8% of characters of a discernible ethnicity were Asian. “We can sugarcoat it all we want,” Chu said, “but the moment you bring up an Asian-led movie, there’s one example to point to, and that’ll be us.”
If the movie did well — as no shortage of industry think-piecespointed out — it could open doors for other movies and TV shows starring Asian faces. If it bombed, it could be made into an example for why these kinds of movies can’t be made.
Now that it’s almost a year after Crazy Rich Asians was released, we know it quickly became the most successful studio rom-com in nine years at the U.S. box office, and ended up grossing an estimated $174 million. Suffice to say, it passed the litmus test.
Photo credit: InStyle
