The Love Hypothesis

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1:47

The Love Hypothesis

R

2026

1h 50m

Romance

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

73%

Tomatometer

67 Reviews

72%

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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Geordie Gray

The Australian

Oct 6, 2026

2.5/5

This is a naff, cloying and really, really silly movie. It contains some of the clunkiest dialogue ever committed to film

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Linda Holmes

Pop Culture Happy Hour (NPR Podcast)

Sep 29, 2026

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)

Sep 28, 2026

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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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Oct 19, 2026

5/5

The Love Hypothesis did what it needed to do, aided by the amazing chemistry on screen between Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman.

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Andrea Thompson

A Reel of One's Own

Oct 12, 2026

D

For a movie written and directed by women, it seems to miss the unspoken theme of its source material, and what drives many a female fantasy - a person in power who is unequivocally on your side.

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Archi Sengupta

LeisureByte.com

Oct 9, 2026

3/5

The Love Hypothesis is a charming but predictable romantic comedy elevated by Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman’s chemistry, while Olive and Anh’s friendship adds heart.

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Sara F

@sara24 1 hr ago

absolutely perfect adaptation. lili reinhart and tom bateman’s chemistry is to die for and all the changes were necessary to make more sense for a visual medium. i cannot wait for the sequel’s adaptation. adamolive/tomlili come home, the kids miss you (i’m kids).

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Willow Y

@Will0w 1 day ago

I absolutely loved the movie. The main leads had an amazing chemistry. And I'm a sucker for husky voices, I can't lie. And I really wasn't expecting the plot point. Kinda sad that I couldn't see how they kicked his a**, but oh well. The confrontation was amazing tho. Loved the references to the fake dating and only one bed tags. Definitely will watch it again.

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Arta O

@RT29488475 1 day ago

the worst ever

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Johnwil B

@Johnwil123 4 days ago

84% range

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A G

@RT23912309 4 days ago

One of the worst book to film adaptations Ive ever seen. The problem was not the actors- the screenwriting, direction, and production were all abysmal. Not only did they basically re-write the entire storyline, they changed core motivations behind not only the two main characters, but other characters as well. We all know that a book to film adaptation will have to remove or condense certain aspects of the book, but absolutely no critical part of the book was kept for this film adaptation. If i were the author i would not let Amazon near my other books again. The book was such a lovely, cliche at times (in the best way), romantic and exciting story with constant wit and humor. The movie stripped every single character of their personality and the wit and humor so pronounced in the book makes no appearance in the movie. The movie is cringey, ridiculous, and obnoxious, bulldozing all the beauty of the book and eliminating all important character motivations and depth.

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Mark F

@mfeistmd 5 days ago

My wife wanted to watch this. It was actually better than I thought it was going to be. If you like rom coms it is worth a watch.

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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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