Kate Beckinsale appearance of 2001 was in the romantic comedy "Serendipity" as the love interest of John Cusack. It was filmed directly after "Pearl Harbor" and Beckinsale found it "a real relief to return to something slightly more familiar." Turan praised the "appealing and believable" leads, adding that Beckinsale "reinforces the strong impression she made in "Cold Comfort Farm", "The Golden Bowl", and "The Last Days of Disco"" after "recovering nicely" from her appearance in the much-maligned "Pearl Harbor". Claudia Puig of "USA Today" felt that "Beckinsale's talents haven't been mined as effectively in any other film since "Cold Comfort Farm"." McCarthy
Kate Beckinsale giving off a whiff of exploitation" while "Variety" found the repeated violence towards Beckinsale's character disturbing. The film had a production budget of $25 million and has grossed over $96 million worldwide. Beckinsale next reprised her role as Selene in the fourth instalment of the vampire franchise "". The franchise was initially conceived of as a trilogy and Beckinsale was not "intending to do another one" but was convinced by the quality of the script. "The Hollywood Reporter" noted that "when she's not actually fighting, her performance consists of little more than striding purposefully toward or away from the camera."