Based on the novel of the same name by popular BookTok author Colleen Hoover, Regretting You does not seem to be a triumphant page-to-screen feat. Hoover is arguably best known for It Ends with Us, adapted into the 2024 movie starring Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. However, controversy has surrounded this movie due to how it handled its subject matter and the legal battle between the stars.
Regretting You is Hoover’s typical romance drama as well as a coming-of-age story. It follows Clara (Mckenna Grace), whose family is rocked by a tragedy that reveals a betrayal between her parents and aunt and uncle. Clara is left to navigate her young adulthood as she falls in love with Miller (Mason Thames) and clashes with her mother Morgan (Allison Williams).
Despite what fans of Hoover’s work may have hoped, Regretting You is not getting good reviews. Currently, Regretting You has a shocking 18% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes, from 22 critics’ reviews so far. Despite the controversy associated with It Ends with Us, this is still a massive step down, as the Blake Lively movie maintains a 54% Tomatometer.
ScreenRant‘s Gregory Nussen agrees that Regretting You is a “sorrowful snooze,“ giving it a 2 out of 10. Reviewers say that the movie is simply an overstuffed soap opera, which relies on basic misunderstandings and doesn’t explore its conflict with any sophistication. There still seems to be some goodwill for the cast’s performances, particularly that of future Hunger Games star Mckenna Grace.
This is a bad sign for Regretting You ahead of its theatrical release tomorrow (October 24), as good word-of-mouth is vital to box office success these days, especially for non-franchise movies. It’s also not the comeback those working on adapting Hoover’s works might have hoped for, as a straightforward hit would have strengthened future movies’ standing.
However, despite everything, It Ends with Us was still a huge box office success, grossing more than $350 million on a $25 million budget. Thus, Regretting You might still turn out to be modestly profitable based on Hoover’s massive fanbase. This, in turn, bodes well for the other Colleen Hoover books being adapted into movies next.
For instance, Reminders of Him just debuted its trailer, starring Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers. Hollywood is going all in on Hoover’s literary corpus, given its major box office potential. Regretting You‘s commercial performance will be a major indicator of how this might go for them going forward — was It Ends with Us a one-time hit, and readers have now moved on?
- Release Date
-
October 24, 2025
- Director
-
Josh Boone
- Writers
-
Susan McMartin, Josh Boone, Colleen Hoover
- Producers
-
Brunson Green, Robert Kulzer
-
Allison Williams
Morgan Grant
-
Mckenna Grace
Clara Grant