Pedro Pascal’s ‘Materialists’ becomes HBO Max’s new streaming sensation

Pedro Pascal is once again winning hearts, this time in Celine Song’s Materialists, which has become a breakout hit both in theatres and on streaming platforms.

After grossing over $100 million worldwide earlier this year, Materialists has found new life on streaming, debuting at No. 1 on HBO Max and reaffirming itself as one of 2025’s standout romantic comedies.

Starring Pascal alongside Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans, the film reinvents the traditional rom-com with a more thoughtful and self-aware tone.

Song, best known for her acclaimed debut Past Lives uses her sophomore feature to explore how love in the modern age has become both a commodity and a coping mechanism.

As High On Films praised in its five star review, “Song’s sculpture of modern romance is one chipped at all times by the sharpened cynicism of dating in a superficial world yet still tender enough to find beauty in that honesty.”

Johnson stars as Lucy, a New York matchmaker who approaches love with cold calculation until she finds herself torn between two very different men: billionaire Harry (Pascal) and struggling actor John (Evans), her former flame.

The love triangle becomes a sharp reflection of connection and desire in a world driven by algorithms and image.

Though some early viewers found it “slow” or “talky,” Materialists defied expectations, becoming A24’s third-highest-grossing film and now a streaming hit.

Its success feels fittingly ironic, a film critical of modern love has found revival through the very algorithms it questions.

Sitting atop HBO Max’s trending list, it proves audiences still crave romantic stories rooted in honesty and depth over formulaic sentimentality.