Behind the Movies Release Date: Everything We Know So Far

Behind the Movies: Outtakes and Extras from the World of Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter comes out on 5 January 2027 from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, according to Simon & Schuster's US listing. It's the third book in the Better Than the Movies series, but it isn't a new novel. It's a collection of deleted scenes, post-credit scenes and flipped points of view from Liz and Wes's story, with one all-new scene written for this volume.

A book of outtakes is the reading equivalent of staying in your seat until the credits finish, which suits a series named after films. Here's everything that's known so far.

When does the third Better Than the Movies book come out?

The US release date is 5 January 2027. The same listing gives it 288 pages and names Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers as the imprint. Simon & Schuster's author page lists it as on sale that day too, and Amazon's US listing gives the same publication date and describes it as Book 3 of 3 in the series.

That timing means the book comes out just after the holidays, which at least gives the post-Christmas reading slump something to aim at.

Has the release date moved?

No. The date has been consistent on Google Books and Goodreads as well as on the publisher's own pages, and no announcement of a delay or change has turned up.

Is the UK release date different?

It looks like UK readers may get it a few days sooner. Simon & Schuster UK lists a separate paperback from Simon & Schuster Children's UK, with a slightly different subtitle built around Liz and Wes, dated in the last days of 2026. The UK eBook page is a little muddled: it gives the publisher date as the US one, but shows an earlier on-sale date for the UK edition. If you're in the UK, check your local retailer nearer the time rather than assuming the US date applies.

What is the book about?

The publisher's blurb describes a short story collection of deleted scenes, post-credit scenes and flipped points of view drawn from Better Than the Movies and Nothing Like the Movies. In other words, it revisits moments you've already read, often from the other side of the conversation, and then carries on past where the second book stops.

The blurb picks out a few specific things readers can expect:

• Wes's view of Liz getting close to another guy.
• Wes's view of Liz's first kiss.
• A college road trip with a rescue cat, which is surely the most reliable way to make a road trip go off script.
• Stories set after the events of Nothing Like the Movies.

The pitch closes with a line that will please anyone who wasn't ready to say goodbye: "Wes and Liz aren't done yet." That's the publisher's promise rather than a plot detail, so it doesn't tell us how much new ground the post-series stories cover.

Which editions are there?

There are a few versions to know about if you care about how your shelf looks. The first printing of the paperback has sprayed stencilled edges while that special edition supply lasts. Barnes & Noble also lists a B&N Exclusive Edition of the book.

Is any of it new, or have I read it before?

This is the question most fans will want answered, and the honest answer is that much of it may be familiar. Simon & Schuster's note says the collection includes stories first released on the author's website and on SimonTeen.com, plus one all-new scene written specifically for this book.

Early readers have noticed. Advance copies went out through NetGalley, and that NetGalley page is now archived. Several Goodreads reviewers with advance copies say much of the content was already free online.

That seems to be reflected in the early ratings, although they're based on small numbers and will move. One Goodreads page shows a 3.91 average from 65 ratings, while another edition's page shows 3.59 from 24. The Goodreads series page gives 3.89 from 126 ratings across 8 editions.

So who is this book for? If you've already hunted down every bonus scene Lynn Painter has posted, you're mainly buying one new scene and the convenience of having everything in one place. If you've only read the two novels, most of this will be new to you.

Has Lynn Painter said anything about it?

No public statement from Lynn Painter about the collection has turned up, beyond the publisher's own description. The closest thing is one Goodreads reviewer's account. They say they met her in 2025 and asked about a bonus-content book, and that she told them nothing was in the works at the time but the publisher might decide to do one later.

That's secondhand, so it's best read as one reader's memory of a conversation rather than an announcement. If it's accurate, it fits with what we can see: a book that gathers up existing material with one new scene, rather than a project planned from the start as a full third novel.

How anticipated is it?

Of the 130 upcoming books with a confirmed date on our calendar, it's number 95 by reader interest on Hardcover, ahead of only 11% of them. That puts it in the bottom third.

That ranking makes sense for a companion collection whose stories have mostly been free online already, because many of the fans most likely to want it have already read a good chunk of it. Interest in the series itself is still centred on the original: Better Than the Movies is the most-read of the two novels on Hardcover.

Better Than the Movies series recap (spoiler-light)

If it's been a while, here's a quick reminder of where each book starts, based on its premise and nothing more.

Book 1: Better Than the Movies

Better Than the Movies follows Liz, a rom-com devotee whose long-time crush, Michael, has moved back to town. She wants to get on his radar, ideally in time for prom. Her route in is Wes Bennet, the annoyingly attractive boy next door, who has been a pain since they were kids and seems to be getting on well with Michael.

As the blurb puts it, pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Romance readers will recognise that as the kind of rule written to be broken, and the scheme to get Michael's attention doesn't go quite the way Liz planned.

Book 2: Nothing Like the Movies

Nothing Like the Movies switches to Wes's side of things and moves the story to college. It picks up some time after the first book, after something has gone wrong between Liz and Wes, and he's set on winning her back with exactly the sort of big rom-com gestures she's always loved. Liz, according to the blurb, will have none of it.

Book 3: the outtakes collection

Behind the Movies: Outtakes and Extras from the World of Better Than the Movies goes back over both novels with deleted scenes and flipped points of view, then adds stories set after the second book.

Spoiler recap: where book one leaves Liz and Wes

Spoiler warning: this section gives away how the first book ends. Skip to the next heading if you haven't read it.

The second book's own blurb makes it clear that Liz and Wes end up together by the close of Better Than the Movies. Wes had his dream girl "for a few beautiful months", and the pair were about to start at UCLA together when tragedy struck. Wes ended things while dealing with the fallout, which is why Nothing Like the Movies opens with him trying to repair the damage.

That's also why the bonus scenes from Wes's point of view in the first book are interesting: he's narrating moments where, as we now know, his feelings were running well ahead of what Liz could see.

Do I need to read the earlier books first?

Yes. This collection is built entirely on the two novels: the deleted scenes only make sense if you know the scenes they were cut from, and the flipped points of view are retellings of moments you're expected to remember. The stories set after the second book will also give away how it ends.

Start with Better Than the Movies, then Nothing Like the Movies, then this collection. The full Better Than the Movies reading order is on our series page, with every book and its date.

If you've read both novels but it's been a while, a quick skim of the second book's final chapters would help, since the newest material picks up from there.

How to know the moment there is news

The date has held steady so far, but publishing schedules can still shift, and UK readers in particular may want to watch for the earlier edition. Shelving the book on Goodreads or StoryGraph is a good start, but neither will tap you on the shoulder if something changes.

AuthorPing lets you follow Lynn Painter or the Better Than the Movies series, notifies you when a new book is on the way and shows a countdown to every release. It's free on iPhone and Android, and it's a lot less effort than refreshing a retailer page every week until the new year.