After (2019 film)

After is a 2019 American romantic drama film directed by Jenny Gage, based on the 2014 new adult fiction novel of the same name by Anna Todd, originally released as a fanfiction on Wattpad. The screenplay is written by Susan McMartin, Tamara Chestna, and Jenny Gage. The film stars Josephine Langford and Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and follows an inexperienced teenage girl who begins to romance a mysterious student during her first months of college. The cast includes Selma Blair, Inanna Sarkis, Shane Paul McGhie, Pia Mia, Khadijha Red Thunder, Dylan Arnold, Samuel Larsen, Jennifer Beals, and Peter Gallagher in supporting roles.

Development of a film adaptation based on Todd’s novel began in 2014, when Paramount Pictures acquired the rights to the film adaptation and hired Susan McMartin as screenwriter. In 2017, CalMaple Media and Offspring Entertainment bought the rights, with writer Tamara Chestna hired to rework McMartin’s script, and director Jenny Gage overseeing the script’s final revisions. The film was also produced by Voltage Pictures, Diamond Film Productions, and Frayed Pages Entertainment. In May 2018, Fiennes Tiffin was cast in the lead role alongside Julia Goldani Telles; in July of the same year, however, Goldani Telles dropped out due to scheduling conflicts, and was replaced by Langford. Principal photography began on July 16, 2018, and concluded on August 24 that same year, with filming taking place in Atlanta, Georgia.

After premiered at The Grove in Los Angeles on April 8, 2019, before it was released in Latin America on April 10, 2019, by Diamond Films, and in the United States on April 12, 2019, by Aviron Pictures. The film received largely negative reviews from critics, who felt its screenplay and narrative glamourized abusive relationships. The film was a commercial success, grossing $69.7 million worldwide against its $14 million budget.

The film is followed by two sequels with a third in post-production and a fourth and a prequel in development.