Summary

• Nicole Kidman stars in the age-gap romance Babygirl, continuing a trend in her career.
• Babygirl explores power dynamics in a forbidden romance.
• Age-gap romances, like in Babygirl, are a rising trend in Hollywood despite controversies.

Nicole Kidman is starring in another romance movie in 2024, and with it, she’s creating the weirdest trend of her career. Nicole Kidman rose to fame when she starred in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm, after which she became one of the biggest and most beloved actresses of the 1990s. Despite some not-so-memorable projects in the 2000s and 2010s, Kidman is still one of the most popular actresses of her generation, starring in movies of different genres – but lately, she has been creating a very specific trend in her career.

Kidman’s most recent hit is Being the Ricardos, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, followed by the critically acclaimed The Northman. Kidman reprised her role as Queen Atlanna in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and starred in Netflix’s A Family Affair, both critical failures. Kidman still has more projects coming up in 2024, among them Babygirl, an A24 production, but this movie, along with A Family Affair, is creating the weirdest (and trickiest) trend in Kidman’s career so far.

Nicole Kidman's Babygirl Is Another Age Gap Romance After A Family Affair

Nicole Kidman Plays A High-Ranking CEO In Babygirl

Babygirl follows a high-ranking CEO who begins a forbidden romance with an intern, who is many years younger than her.

Babygirl is an erotic thriller written, directed, and co-produced by Halina Reijn, director of 2022’s Bodies Bodies Bodies. Babygirl is scheduled to debut at the 81st Venice International Film Festival and is aiming for a December 2024 theatrical release, so a trailer hasn’t been released yet. However, a first look at Kidman and her co-star Harris Dickinson has been revealed, along with the premise of Babygirl.

Babygirl follows a high-ranking CEO, played by Kidman, who begins a forbidden romance with an intern, played by Dickinson, who is many years younger than her. Through their relationship, Babygirl explores the complexities of power dynamics and sexuality in a professional setting. The first image shows Kidman and Dickinson in corporate attire sharing an intimate moment. Babygirl’s focus will be the age gap romance between these characters, just like in Kidman’s previous movie, A Family Affair.

A Family Affair is a comedy, while Babygirl will go deeper into the consequences of this “forbidden” romance.

Directed by Richard LaGravenese, A Family Affair follows Zara (Joey King), the assistant of self-absorbed Hollywood star Chris Cole (Zac Efron). One day, Zara quits, and Chris goes to her house to ask her to work for him again, and there he meets Zara’s mom, Brooke (Kidman), with whom he starts a relationship despite the age gap. The big difference, of course, is that A Family Affair is a comedy, while Babygirl will go deeper into the consequences of this “forbidden” romance.

The Age Gap Romance Is Becoming An Increasingly Popular Hollywood Trend

Age Gap Romance Is A Tricky Trend

The film industry is defined by trends, and one that has become increasingly popular lately is age-gap romance. Despite the potentially sensitive and controversial topic, age-gap romances have proven quite popular with the audience, though not always with critics. The 2022 sex comedy-drama Good Luck To You, Leo Grande was a critical success though not a box office one, and it explored the unique relationship between a widow and a young sex worker as she looked to experience pleasurable sex for the first time.

The rom-com The Idea Of You took over Prime Video in 2024 and quickly reached the #1 spot, becoming a hit with critics and general audiences. The Idea Of You is the story of a divorced 40-year-old woman named Solène (Anne Hathaway) who starts a relationship with boy-band member Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine). A Family Affair wasn’t as well-received as these movies, but Babygirl can fix that and give Nicole Kidman a better-built and potentially successful age-gap romance movie.