The Love Hypothesis

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1:47

The Love Hypothesis

R

2026

1h 50m

Romance

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis follows Olive (Lili Reinhart), a brilliant Ph.D. candidate focused on her future in academia. But when she realizes her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) has fallen for her crush Jeremy (Nicholas Duvernay), Olive impulsively kisses intimidating professor Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman) to prove she’s moved on. What begins as a desperate act of friendship spirals into a fake relationship with rules, boundaries, and a mutually beneficial agreement. When their arrangement begins to blur the lines between performance and reality, Olive is forced to test her most daunting hypothesis yet: that love might actually be worth the risk.

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Critics Consensus

The Love Hypothesis follows a familiar rom-com formula, but its healthy dose of humor and palpable chemistry between Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman make it a satisfying comfort watch.

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Linda Holmes

Pop Culture Happy Hour (NPR Podcast)

2 days ago

There is so much here that I wanted to be able to enjoy. I think Lili Reinhart has something, but I think there's not enough kind of oomph in this character maybe.

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Jared Richards

The Age (Australia)

2 days ago

3/5

It’s as fun, fluffy and forgettable as a straight-to-DVD 2000s romcom, which is meant as a compliment!

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Caroline Siede

Girl Culture (Substack)

Sep 23, 2026

B-

To break this down scientifically, there are three types of successful rom-coms: Genuinely Good, Enjoyably Cheesy, and So-Bad-It’s-Good. [The Love Hypothesis] winds up settling comfortably into that middle space.

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Maddy Casale

Decider

22 hrs ago

The Love Hypothesis might not be a romance for the ages, but it is a charmingly cheesy tale complete with classic tropes like found family and fake dating, resulting in a decently entertaining and pleasant final product.

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Puja Talwar

The Federal

1 day ago

The Love Hypothesis delivers what you want from a feel-good rom-com, even where it stumbles -- and its strengths carry it through the rough patches. Chemistry, after all, is about combustion, and Olive and Adam generate plenty of it.

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Shawn Peer

That Shelf

1 day ago

The Love Hypothesis does exactly what you think it would: pairing two attractive actors in a movie where they seem like complete opposites.

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David K

@CherishedCritic 6 hrs ago

Not a bad little Romantic Comedy, but a very typical predictable script.

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Chrisa F

@ChrisaFo 23 hrs ago

Added to my feel good romcom list ❤️❤️❤️

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Louis C

@Jarimba 1 day ago

Really nothing original here, sadly about the worst an american romcom can be.

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Molly H

@MollyMoorie 2 days ago

Overall I enjoyed it, but there were a few plot holes that bothered me. For instance, a brilliant PhD candidate is going to attend a national conference, but she has no idea who the keynote speaker is?? Hmmm .... Still, I will be looking for more roles played by Lili Reinhart. I think she has "it".

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timmy W

@timmytea 2 days ago

I feel like this is the first good romantic comedy that has been made in a long while. It made me swoon, it made me laugh, and it made it to my "Movies to rewatch when I miss fun" list immediately. And although the book fans might argue that the adaptation is not perfect, it is a great feel-good movie. That's really all I ask from a romcom. The main characters were the perfect amount of witty and awkward, and I think the actors who played the roles did a great job nailing those quirks.

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Rachel R

@RT27481001 2 days ago

Everything you could want in a RomCom! I squealed and giggled a ridiculous amount of time.

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Claire Scanlon

Director

Lili Reinhart

Olive Smith

Tom Bateman

Adam Carlsen

Rachel Marsh

Ahn

Nicholas Duvernay

Jeremy

Jaboukie Young-White

Malcolm

The Love Hypothesis: Trailer 1

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The Love Hypothesis: Teaser Trailer

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Synopsis

Based on the New York Times best-selling novel by Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis follows Olive (Lili Reinhart), a brilliant Ph.D. candidate focused on her future in academia. But when she realizes her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) has fallen for her crush Jeremy (Nicholas Duvernay), Olive impulsively kisses intimidating professor Adam Carlsen (Tom Bateman) to prove she’s moved on. What begins as a desperate act of friendship spirals into a fake relationship with rules, boundaries, and a mutually beneficial agreement. When their arrangement begins to blur the lines between performance and reality, Olive is forced to test her most daunting hypothesis yet: that love might actually be worth the risk.

Director: Claire Scanlon
Producer: Elizabeth Cantillon, Jonathan Golfman
Screenwriter: Sarah Rothschild
Distributor: Prime Video
Production Co: Amazon MGM Studios
Rating: R
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 23, 2026
Runtime: 1h 50m

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