Amazon debuts trailer for rom-com ‘The Big Sick’
Amazon Studios debuted the first trailer for romantic comedy The Big Sick from director Michael Showalter, set for a limited theatrical run that summer. The film drew immediate attention for its blend of sharp humor and real emotional stakes, anchored by a story drawn straight from the writers' own lives.
The Big Sick follows the courtship between Kumail Nanjiani, playing a version of himself, and Emily Gordon, portrayed by Zoe Kazan. Kumail, a Pakistan-born stand-up trying to break through in Chicago, meets Emily at one of his shows. Their early dates are light and flirty until Emily falls into a medically induced coma, leaving Kumail to navigate her parents' grief and his own family's expectations about marriage and culture.
Amazon acquired the project after its Sundance premiere, reportedly paying twelve million dollars for U.S. rights while Lionsgate handled international distribution. The purchase signaled early confidence in a film that mixed stand-up energy with family drama and cross-cultural tension.
Release Information
The Big Sick opened in limited release on June 23, 2017, before expanding nationwide on July 14. The rollout performed strongly for an independent title, and the film later found a permanent home on Prime Video where new viewers continue to discover it.
Cast and Crew
Core cast and producers remain the same. Kumail Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan lead, supported by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano as Emily's parents. Judd Apatow and Barry Mendel produced, while Michael Showalter directed from the screenplay by Nanjiani and Gordon.
Critical Reception and Legacy
Reviewers responded warmly to the balance of comedy and crisis. The film holds a 98 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 303 reviews and an 86 out of 100 on Metacritic, numbers that placed it among the year's most praised releases. It landed on the AFI's Top 10 Films of 2017 list and earned Rotten Tomatoes' ranking as the number one summer movie that year. Audiences appreciated how the story handled illness without turning maudlin and how cultural clashes stayed grounded rather than exaggerated for easy laughs.
Box Office Performance
Made on a modest five-million-dollar budget, The Big Sick ultimately grossed 56.2 million dollars worldwide, with 42.9 million coming from the domestic market. Its per-theater averages during the limited run ranked among the strongest for any specialty title that summer. Trade coverage at the time noted the film's word-of-mouth momentum and the way its personal story translated into broad commercial appeal without relying on franchise familiarity.
Awards and Accolades
The film collected an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, a notable achievement for a debut feature script. It also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay and took the Critics' Choice Award for Best Comedy. In total, The Big Sick earned fifteen major nominations across guilds and critics' groups, recognition that helped cement its status as one of the more respected studio-level romantic comedies of its era.
The Real-Life Couple Today
Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon remain married as of 2026. They have continued working together on television, most visibly on the anthology series Little America, and they have repeatedly confirmed there are no plans for a sequel. Occasional online rumors surface, yet the couple has treated those stories as jokes rather than serious development possibilities.
The Big Sick still stands as a benchmark for how a low-budget romantic comedy can succeed on its own terms. Its blend of stand-up timing, family friction, and medical urgency created a tone that later projects tried to replicate, though few matched the original's lived-in detail. Streaming keeps the story accessible, and the couple's ongoing projects ensure their joint voice remains part of the conversation around smart, character-driven comedy.
