Serendipity turns 25 this week, and it is still the kind of comfort watch rom-com fans return to for Manhattan, fate and a very close call in a hotel elevator. The plot is built on near misses, but the story behind the film has its own unlikely turns, from a skyline altered after September 11 to a role that could have gone to Jennifer Aniston.
The World Trade Center was edited out of the skyline
Serendipity was shot in New Jersey, New York City, Ontario, and San Francisco in the summer of 2000. Following the September 11 attacks, images of the World Trade Center towers were digitally removed from all skyline shots of New York City.
Jennifer Aniston passed on Sara Thomas
Jennifer Aniston was offered the role of Sara Thomas but turned it down to avoid being typecast in romantic comedies. Carla Gugino and Claire Forlani auditioned for the role.
A five-dollar bill carried his number
In the film, Sara has Jonathan write his number on a five-dollar bill, which she uses to buy breath mints. She also promises to sell her copy of Love in the Time of Cholera, with her name and number inside, to a used bookstore.
The elevator experiment failed by one child
Sara and Jonathan board separate elevators in the Waldorf Astoria and agree that if they arrive on the same floor, they are meant to be together. They each pick the same floor, but Jonathan is delayed when a child on his elevator presses random buttons. Sara believes that the experiment failed.
It opened behind Training Day
Serendipity premiered at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival before its theatrical run. It opened at number two at the US box office, earning $13.3 million on its opening weekend, behind Training Day.
Peter Chelsom finally had a profit
With an estimated budget of $28 million, this was the first of Chelsom’s films to turn a profit. The film grossed $50.3 million at the domestic box office and $27.2 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $77.5 million.
Critics were sweet on it, mostly
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 138 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The critics consensus reads, ‘Light and charming, Serendipity could benefit from less contrivances.’ Metacritic assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100, indicating ‘mixed or average’ reviews.
The 2002 DVD had deleted scenes
Serendipity was released on DVD on April 9, 2002 by Buena Vista Home Entertainment under the Miramax Home Entertainment banner. The special features included a director’s commentary, deleted scenes, an on-set diary, and a storyboard comparison.
Its streaming rights kept changing hands
In 2011, Filmyard Holdings licensed the Miramax library to Netflix, and that deal included Serendipity, running for five years until June 1, 2016. In April 2020, ViacomCBS acquired the library rights; Serendipity was among the 700 titles Paramount acquired and later appeared on Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
Which of these Serendipity facts was new to you? Tell us your favourite, or the one that changes how you watch the glove scene.
Facts from Wikipedia: Serendipity (film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Film images from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
