Will Packer responds to viral debate over ‘You, Me & Tuscany’ box office power

Will Packer responds to viral debate over 'You, Me & Tuscany' box office and Black-led rom-com futures

Producer Will Packer has responded to a viral X conversation about what ‘You, Me & Tuscany’ means for Black-led rom-coms.

Filmmaker Nina Lee sparked the debate after revealing that studios refused to buy her completed rom-com until they see how Packer's film performs at the box office.

1. Met with a studio about my already shot romcom and they won’t buy it until
They see how You, Me & Tuscany does

2. Met with an exec about a romance script I have, they won’t buy it until
They see how You, Me & Tuscany does

3. Go see this film!

— nina lee (@NinaSerafina) March 25, 2026

PLEASE GO SEE THIS FILM https://t.co/n7sKI7WAP9

— nina lee (@NinaSerafina) March 25, 2026

‘It matters for the Nina Lees of the world and for audiences that want to see films like this get made,’ Packer tells Variety. ‘Hollywood watches and then they react. Hollywood will react to the audiences more so than audiences realise; they have the power to dictate what is made in Hollywood. You vote with your dollars.’

Universal’s ‘You, Me & Tuscany’ – starring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page – is one of the few Black-led rom-coms from a major studio to hit theatres in recent years. It follows a young cook who squats in an empty Tuscan villa and falls in love with a homeowner's cousin.

The film opens this weekend. Packer, whose credits include ‘Girls Trip’ and the ‘Think Like a Man’ franchise, knows the stakes are high.

‘If the dollars make sense, then you will see more of it and Hollywood will change and adjust,’ he explains. ‘So, I am trying to do my part to be successful in a language that Hollywood understands – which is not really the language of social justice, it is really the language of economics.’

Lee’s completed film ‘That’s Her’ will premiere next month at the American Black Film Festival.