Kiernan Shipka’s Thanksgiving-Themed Romantic Comedy Is A Streaming Hit On Max

Holiday movies have been with us for some time, but we now live in an era of the holiday streaming movie. This year, Hulu managed to get Ben Stiller for their Christmas effort “Nutcrackers,” while Max recruited Kiernan Shipka, who played Sabrina Spellman in two seasons of Netflix’s “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina,” for the Thanksgiving-themed rom com “Sweethearts.”

Since “Sabrina” was canceled due to the global pandemic, Shipka has appeared in “Back to the Future”-like slasher comedy “Totally Killer,” and Roku’s TV remake of “Swimming with Sharks.” In 2024, she had small parts in the box office record-breaking “Twisters,” and Oz Perkins’ hit horror effort “Longlegs.” But alongside Nico Hiraga, she’s the star of “Sweethearts,” which comes from co-writer and first time director Jordan Weiss.

The film sees Shipka play Jamie, a college freshman who has been friends with Hiraga’s Ben since the eighth grade. The two friends are both still in relationships with their high school sweethearts, but make a pact to break up with their partners over the Thanksgiving break. Of course, this wouldn’t be a rom com without some sort of unresolved sexual tension between the two leads, of which there’s plenty in this latest holiday streaming offering. All of which, it seems, is a recipe for success, as “Sweethearts” is currently dominating the Max most-watched charts.

“Sweethearts” hit Max on November 28, 2024, and according to FlixPatrol, a site that tracks viewing data across streaming platforms, made quite an impression on audiences. While it is yet to hit number one in the United States, it did immediately debut at number three, where, at the time of writing, it has stayed ever since.

Interestingly enough, the only country in which “Sweethearts” has stayed at number one since it debuted is Portugal, which sent the film to number one as soon as it hit the platform, and kept it there ever since. The movie also debuted at number one in the Netherlands, but slipped to number two on November 30, where it remains at the time of writing. In fact, “Sweethearts” also managed to debut at number one in Denmark, France, Hungary, Norway, Poland, and Sweden, before losing the top spot in the following days. Still, it remains on the charts in all those countries and more, ranking in 38 countries as of December 3, 2024.

That kind of global attention has meant that, on the worldwide charts, “Sweethearts” managed to hit the number five spot overall, as per the global FlixPatrol Top 10. Which, while it also isn’t a number one position, is pretty impressive given this is the chart for all countries.

Whether “Sweethearts” can take the top spot in the U.S. remains to be seen, but it’s currently facing some mighty competition in the form of beloved holiday outing “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” at number two and the box office hit and modern holiday classic “Elf” at number one. With all due respect to “Sweethearts,” those are some heavy holiday hitters, so if the film does manage to steal number one it will be nothing short of a Christmas coup.

Alas, that 53% Rotten Tomatoes score doesn’t bode too well for “Sweethearts” moving forward, although festive rom com “The Holiday” remains one of the most rewatchable Christmas movies and that, too, has a low-50s critic score on RT. While “Sweethearts” doesn’t yet have an audience score, the film’s streaming success suggests viewers are likely to be more taken with the rom com than critics. What’s more, of the four top critics on RT who did review the film, three liked it, with the Chicago Sun Times’ Richard Roeper praising Kiernan Shipka and Nico Hiraga for “delivering winning performances,” in a “‘raunch-com’ with true heart.”

Whether “Sweethearts” does hit the top spot on Max or not, it is nice to Shipka, who has previously suggested the door is open for her to play Sabrina again, back in a leading role.