The Kissing Booth

Elle Evans is a high school senior who’s content with her close friendship with Lee Flynn, the kid she’s known since childhood. After a spontaneous first kiss with Lee’s older brother Noah, Elle ends up in a secret romance with the school’s most talked-about guy, and that choice starts to strain her bond with Lee and upset family dynamics. The story follows the messy aftermath as Elle juggles high school drama, parental expectations, and the fallout from breaking an informal rule that governed her friendship, all while trying to decide how honest she can be without losing what matters most.

The film was directed by Vince Marcello and adapts Beth Reekles’ novel of the same name, produced for and released by Netflix in May 2018 as a feature-length teen romantic comedy.

Because it premiered on Netflix instead of opening wide in theaters, there aren’t traditional box office figures to cite; the movie’s strong streaming audience helped justify two sequels, released in 2020 and 2021.

On social media the movie quickly became a talking point, especially among teen viewers. It helped launch Jacob Elordi into wider recognition as a romantic lead, generated memes and fan art, and reinforced the streaming teen rom-com as a staple for bingeable summer viewing.

Critics were mixed while audiences were more forgiving, reflected in a vote average of 7.17/10 from 7,381 ratings. The Kissing Booth leans into familiar teen-romance themes: loyalty versus attraction, the complications of secret relationships, and how a single choice can ripple through friendships and families. It’s light on nuance but clear about what it wants to be, and many viewers will watch mainly for the chemistry and the emotional payoffs rather than for originality.