StaffThe New York premiere of “Meet Cute In Manhattan” brought a wave of romance and indie charm to downtown as the cast, crew, and a sea of fashion-forward attendees gathered at The Angelika Film Center on Wednesday night. The screening marked the official debut of one of 2025’s most anticipated romantic comedies, drawing a crowd of industry tastemakers, media, and fans eager to catch a first glimpse of the buzzy title that has already sparked chatter since its Sundance premiere.
Directed by Olivia Bennett, the film stars Zoey Deutch and Justice Smith as strangers who cross paths in a serendipitous bookstore encounter that spirals into a whirlwind evening across Manhattan’s eclectic neighborhoods. Deutch plays Ruby, a sharp-witted children’s book editor with commitment issues, while Smith embodies Eli, a recently heartbroken architectural photographer clinging to his ideals of love. Their chemistry anchors the film, which draws stylistic inspiration from Before Sunrise and 500 Days of Summer, with an added New York edge and an emotionally resonant third act twist that redefines the genre’s formula.
The event brought a cascade of celebrity arrivals. Zoey Deutch turned heads in a custom Marc Jacobs floor-length column dress in metallic champagne, paired with vintage Tiffany earrings and her signature tousled bob. Justice Smith opted for a relaxed but polished Thom Browne charcoal suit with subtle pinstripe detailing and a silver brooch tribute to the film’s central motif—a tiny, origami-style paper heart.
Filmmaker Olivia Bennett, in a minimalist The Row ensemble, was joined by the film’s producers, including Jordan Horowitz and Jessica Elbaum, both of whom addressed the audience before the screening to thank the New York independent film community for their support during the movie’s production. Horowitz notably described the shoot as “a love letter to the late nights and long walks of lower Manhattan.”
Spotted in the audience were actors Natasha Lyonne, Ben Platt, and Rachel Brosnahan, as well as directors Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach, who arrived together and stopped to chat briefly with Bennett on the carpet. Also in attendance was fashion editor Elaine Welteroth, who praised the film’s “visually poetic” costume design by Alexandra Byrne, known for blending era-defying wardrobe with hyperlocal street fashion—a key visual strategy that grounds the film in both modernity and nostalgia.
Other notable guests included Resa Mishina, Kelsey Pressnall, Martin K. Lewis, Dahlia Bernstein, Olivia Ronald, Terence Chen, Connie Fitzgerald, Carolyn Kang, Amanda Shi, Kacey Montana, Kendall Leary, Karen Morey, Morgan Simonson, Rishi Rajagopalan, Jake Keefe, Dan Jessup, Carter Rappold, Mia Rose Kavensky, Sanad Khalaileh, Zach Cargie, Joel Osborn, Thomas Paden, Linda Diaz, Sydney Greenfield, Dillion John Collins, Bradley Lewis, Karen Weber, Justin Weber, Sean Garcia, Meg Gray, Daryl Morey, Susan Shen, Irsa Chen, Sonca Nguyen
Post-screening reactions echoed loudly across the lobby and onto social media. Critics and early viewers praised the film’s “bittersweet realism” and its refusal to conform to neatly-packaged romantic conclusions. A particularly emotional moment in the film—Ruby’s confessional monologue about her fear of becoming invisible in a city that never stops moving—reportedly drew audible sniffles from the crowd. One fan outside the venue, holding a “Team Eli” sign, called it “the La La Land ending millennials deserve.”
Adding a unique touch to the evening, Angelika Theatre staff handed out miniature zines modeled after the illustrated journal Eli creates for Ruby in the film, a detail that plays a significant narrative role. The art, sketched by real-life Brooklyn illustrator Karla Henley, has already sparked viral interest on TikTok, with users requesting limited-edition merch tied to the story’s more sentimental visuals.
Despite its indie roots, “Meet Cute In Manhattan” is already gaining traction for a broader rollout. The film, distributed by A24, is set for nationwide release on April 4, and early box office tracking suggests it could outperform initial projections, particularly among Gen Z and young millennial audiences seeking character-driven love stories with emotional depth.
As the evening wound down, guests moved to the afterparty held at The Bowery Hotel, where DJ Mia Moretti spun an eclectic playlist mixing Robyn, Fleetwood Mac, and selections from the film’s original score by composer Emile Mosseri. Deutch and Smith were seen mingling with guests and posing for Polaroids with handwritten captions—a nod to the film’s analog love-letter aesthetic.
“Meet Cute In Manhattan” may be rooted in the hyper-specific intimacy of a single night between two strangers, but its premiere proved to be a grand celebration of storytelling, style, and cinematic sentimentality that resonated far beyond the screen.
