Love Island USA Theatrical Event
Regal UA King of Prussia
300 Goddard Blvd.
King of Prussia/Philadelphia
June 22, 2026
Last week, I got a text. It was from my friend Octavia, who is part of the group I watch Love Island with on a weekly basis. “Did y'all hear that they’re planning to show Casa Amor in THEATERS?????”
I had, in fact, not heard. But a week later, we found ourselves seated at one of two completely sold out screenings of night two of Casa Amor, the part of a season of Love Island when the plot twists and the couples find themselves in one of their greatest challenges: staying loyal vs picking a new bombshell to couple up with. With night one of Casa being an absolute train wreck in which the boys acted like they had no home training, I knew we were in for a bumpy ride.
By 8 P.M., the parking lot of Regal UA in King of Prussia was filling up with viewers ready to see what the girls on Love Island might get into during Casa Amor. The tickets for the viewing were $20 a pop, but it came with a code for $20 worth of concessions. Using girl math, that basically meant it was free. And while I was hoping for some Love Island themed popcorn buckets, the theater instead had a photo op stationed in the corner and projected a massive image of Ariana Madix, the show’s host and reality star in her own right (ever hear of “Scandoval?”), onto the screen.
Some fans of the show even showed up in homemade merch, quickly breaking out their Cricut machines once they were able to snag tickets to the highly anticipated event. Two such audience members — Mila and Pablo — who are both from San Juan, Puerto Rico, but now live in East Falls, proudly wore their memorabilia. In the show’s recognizable pink curly font, Pablo’s hat read “Give me 10,” an iconic line from this season’s Melanie, a North Philly Dominicana and my favorite of the core four competitors (made up of Melanie, Kayda, Aniya, and Trinity). Mila’s shirt said, “A new bombshell has entered the Villa” and their friend, Caroline from South Philly, wore a shirt reading “I got a text!”
“We’re all teachers, so Love Island marks the beginning of summer for us,” Mila told me. The group hoped that each of the Islanders would find new couples to be in, which is a popular stance this year. This season, many of the couples have been a bit too comfortable, which leads to a lack of exploring when a bombshell shows up. Pablo, however, wants Sincere and Melanie to stay together after Casa Amor. When asked why, his response was: “Because go birds!” For those not in the know, Melanie and Sincere are both from the Philadelphia area. Melanie’s dream first date outside of the Villa is to swing on the hammocks at Spruce Street Harbor Park with Sincere (or Insincere, as many of us rightfully call him).
The one sure thing, Mila said, was that Casa was sure to get messy.
The episode started shortly after 9:00 in our theater, and the quality left something to be desired. The sound was poppy, the feed was laggy, and it was simply way too quiet for a sold out theater filled with people screaming and commentating. Regardless of its shortcomings, the audience was still completely engaged.
At Casa Amor, the couples are split up by gender, one group going to Casa and the other staying at the Villa (both of which are located in Fiji, essentially across the street from one another). Typically, the boys meet six new girls, while the girls meet six new guys. And that’s what happened for the boys. But this time, the girls got to meet twelve new guys, doubling their re-coupling chances. After the girls watched how the boys acted the night before on a TV screen wrapped up like some kind of messed up Christmas gift, they were ready to accept that challenge.
Some of the highlights of the episode were:
- Casa girl Alannah saying she has a “type” when telling OG Islander Zach that she once hooked up with his brother Charlie;
- OG Islanders Melanie and Aniya getting together to scream, “I miss my man!” (Cue every single person in the theater groaning);
- The 12 new guys (who came in on a yacht, dancing like they were in Mamma Mia) being cut down to six, as chosen by the girl Islanders;
- OG Islander Aniya making out with Casa boy Carl, because her man was doing the same during his own Casa experience with Tierra;
- OG Islander Melanie finding a connection with Casa boy Ronnie, who looks like Eagle’s QB Jalen Hurts and went to Drexel;
- And OG Islander Bryce crying in his testimonial about missing Trinity, the girl he’s coupled up with.
There was also ample support for Caleb, the one boy who went into Casa single, and ample fighting words for Kenzie, the OG Islander who quite literally cannot stop doing splits at every possible opportunity.
By the end of the screening, there was much popcorn spilled over the antics of the Islanders and new Casa bombshells. Some were thrilled to see Bryce crying in his testimonial, because it’s usually a girl crying in those. Others felt for him, because Bryce is this season’s lovable freak with a foot fetish. Still others were mad about the Casa boys the girls chose, saying they didn’t pick any of the more attractive guys.
My overall take is that just about every one of the Islanders is in danger. Will Aniya re-couple with Carl, or will she stay loyal to KC? Will Sincere show his true colors again, or will he actually find it in himself to keep his word to Melanie? And how many more times this season will Kenzie be allowed to “clam slam” the Villa’s AstroTurf? Only time will tell, but I know I’ll be wishing I was wearing a bathing suit in a theater full of strangers again when I find out.
