Materialists is a project on the 2025 movie schedule that caused quite a stir. While some Materialists’ reviews (like ours) were very positive, others pointed out flaws, and online, there was a debate going on about the film. However, along with the “controversy” surrounding Celine Song’s romance has come a lot of success, and there’s no question that this A24 flick is a hit. The director doesn’t really want viewers to know that, though.
Now, this movie made over $105 million globally at the box office, which is impressive, especially since its estimated budget was $20 million. Plus, according to THR, it’s one of this year’s highest-grossing original films. Now that it’s hit streaming, even more people are watching it, as its No. 1 place on HBO Max proves. However, Celine Song doesn’t really want audiences to be aware of all that buzz, as she told The Hollywood Reporter:
I don’t like it when audience members know how the movie’s doing. The movie wasn’t made so that it can make a certain rich group richer. The movie exists so the movie can be itself.
She explained that she doesn’t want her movie to be commodified. She doesn’t want it to be used for corporate interest, and she simply wants Materialists to exist. Song said:
Every inch of our attention is being eaten up, is completely being colonized by corporate interests — everybody’s just trying to sell you something. So anytime a movie is interested in just being itself, I do think that it can sneak into people’s hearts.
Song’s point here makes sense. I think she’s saying that when a film is used to sell a product, it’s hard to genuinely care for it. However, if a project is simply just art, it’s easier for audiences to deeply care and create a genuine connection with it.
When you think about the message of Materialists, this statement goes right along with it. The movie follows Dakota Johnson’s matchmaker, Lucy, as she tries to work the math of relationships to help her clients. Meanwhile, she’s also grappling with her own love life, as she finds herself having to choose between Pedro Pascal’s rich, steady and charming Harry or her ex, Chris Evans’ struggling actor but deeply caring and kind-hearted John.
The film dives deep into the collision of the math of relationships, the desire for financial stability, and the magic of love. And Materialists’ ending asks audiences to examine how they see love, relationships and the work and acceptance that comes with them. It also slaps audiences in the face with how money plays into all of it. In fact, that point of the movie is what caused the viral “broke man propaganda” debate.
Just like how Materialists ask audiences to examine their relationship with love and the role money plays in how they handle it, Song is hoping that audiences see the movie in a nuanced way, too.
The best way for audiences to do that is to make up their own mind about this film. They shouldn’t let outside buzz or, in Song’s words, “corporate interests” influence their experience if possible (which I think is true for all art); that way, their opinion and reading of the piece can be 100% their own. By doing that, the film can just be itself too.
Now, if you are looking to see Materialists, you can stream it with an HBO Max subscription.