Matthew McConaughey revealed that his 2003 hit, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, is the “gift that keeps on giving.”
The Oscar-winning actor revealed that the film continues to make him the most in residuals over 20 years–and several blockbusters–later.
“I think it’s probably my favorite rom-com I’ve done, and a lot of people love that rom-com,” McConaughey told host Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast on Thursday. “And it still pays the best mailbox money of any film I’ve ever done. By far. By lengths.”
The A-list actor has also starred in a slew of romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner, Failure to Launch, and Ghosts of Girlfriend’s Past. He also has a string of successes under his belt like Dallas Buyers Club, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, Magic Mike, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Wolf of Wall Street, and Interstellar.
The latter, Christopher Nolan’s dystopian space epic, grossed over $774 million at the box office. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days reportedly made $177.5 million.
But the Donald Petrie-directed rom-com still brings McConaughey his biggest residuals. The actor even named which month paid him the most.
“When it used to be just DVDs or cable, every March I’d get a big check because—Valentine’s Day,” quipped the 56-year-old actor.
The romantic comedy starring McConaughey and Kate Hudson became an instant hit and remains a genre staple. McConaughey’s character, Ben Barry, continues to be seen as a rom-com heartthrob, while Hudson’s Andie Anderson–a magazine journalist in the 2000s–is still iconic for everything from her career to her wardrobe.
The two actors reprised their onscreen romance in 2008’s Fools Gold.
McConaughey opened up about the chemistry between him and Hudson, 47, in How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days, saying it was an immediate connection.
“Immediately, we were comfortable with each other, and we jacked with each other, and we busted each other’s chops, and we laughed a lot, he said. “There was a bit of rock and roll exchange, like, ‘Oh, this could be some heavyweight fun.’”
“And I think that’s why I was cast, and that’s why, for whatever extent, it worked,” McConaughey added.
