2009 'Endlessly Rewatchable' Film, Which Was a No. 1 Hit, Is Suddenly Climbing the Charts 17 Years Later
In 2009, Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock gave audiences the priceless gift of a top-tier romantic comedy.
The Proposal, released in theaters on June 19, 2009, became a No. 1 box office hit in its opening weekend, debuting at about $33.6 million.
Praised for the undeniable chemistry between the leads and well-timed comedic bits, along with a wonderful supporting cast that included the late BettyWhite, Malin Akerman, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson and Oscar Nuñez, it went on to become one of the biggest romanticcomedies of 2009, eventually grossing over $300 million worldwide.
Now, nearly 17 years after becoming a box office smash, it still holds up, maintaining a Rotten Tomatoes user score of 65%, and is suddenly climbing the charts on Netflix after being added to the streaming giant's library on May 1.
The film is seeing a resurgence in popularity, simultaneously attracting a fresh generation of viewers and captivating those who seek it out as a nostalgic comfort-watch.
The rom-com is currently the eighth most-watched film on the streaming giant globally, clocking 2.7 million views this week alone in the U.S. It also marks the second week the film has spent in the Top 10, peaking at #3 last weekend.
The Proposal follows Bullock's Margaret Tate, a high-powered, demanding, and steely Canadian editor-in-chief working at a New York publishing house. When she faces imminent deportation, she blackmails her assistant, Andrew Paxton (Reynolds), into a sham engagement. The catch? They despise each other. To make the act believable, Andrew, who is going back home to Sitka, Alaska, for his grandmother's 90th birthday, convinces her to come with him. Amidst quirky family traditions, the weekend spirals into hilarious chaos, slowly but surely melting Margaret's cold exterior, as they discover that there's a very fine line between love and hate-and those fake feelings might actually be real.
While many called the film predictable and formulaic, one review from MoviesAreLife summed it up perfectly, writing, "The Proposal doesn't break the rom-com mold, but it executes those tropes so confidently that it becomes endlessly rewatchable."
As for the other films on Netflix's Top 10 this week, it includes the animated Swapped, Sally Field's Remarkably Bright Creatures and 2009's comedy-horror, Jennifer's Body.
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 6:39 AM.