Love, Simon is the first mainstream teen romantic comedy to feature a gay lead character.
It marks something of a groundbreaking move considering the 20th Century Fox release’s status as the first studio film to feature a gay protagonist, something which Berlanti was adamant they did not downplay the orientation of the titular lead character – played by Nick Robinson – instead giving the film the same attention “they would have given any other teen romantic comedy.”
The film focuses on Simon’s coming out in a world so obsessed with social media, sparked by an email exchange with an anonymous student at his school who is also closeted.
The new film from director Greg Berlanti – showrunner of The Flash and Riverdale – has outpaced expectation in the US where Variety reports it’s expected to take approximately $10-12m (£7-8.6m) on its opening weekend alone against a budget of $17m (£12m).