ONE NIGHT ONLY (2026): A Clever Plot Doesn’t Help New Rom-Com Out at the Box-Office…Yet

One Night Only Underachieves at the Box Office…Can It Be Saved?

One Night Only, a clever new rom-com, has opened with just $5.7 million at the domestic box-office in its opening weekend, but it is not the end of all hope for this film’s financial prospects.

Director Will Gluck knows soft opening weekends, but he also knows how to rebound from them. Case in point: He directed Anyone but You which opened to $6 million, but went on to earn $88 million domestically with a “B+” CinemaScore grade. Gluck’s new film is winning raves from viewers who love the rom-com genre, and word of mouth could save One Night Only from being a total disappointment at the box-office although an $88 million gross seems to be off the table at this point despite it receiving the same “B+” that Anyone but You earned.

What went wrong? Too many people are going to see The Odyssey and the newest Spider-Man movie to notice this sweet rom-com is even in existence. That’s a shame because counter-programming used to work big time. Now, there’s so many theaters with extra screens showing movies like The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day that audiences won’t get sold out and have to see another movie as a back-up plan. However, buzzing crowds coming out of One Night Only might be overheard from the blockbuster movie viewers leaving The Odyssey and Spider-Man and could result in audiences turning up next weekend to see One Night Only.

Most box-office performances are front-loaded but not Gluck’s films. They have the type of story-driven plots with memorable characters that need word of mouth more than big advertising campaigns. One Night Only had a huge marketing campaign in New York City and, hopefully, those ads will catch on by next weekend. By catching on, that means the film will have to do at least the same business next weekend that it did this past weekend, if not more.

Repeat viewings from fans could also help One Night Only save face at the box-office. $50 million could be on the table for it if word of mouth does hit hard, as it should. A slew of new films opening next weekend won’t help Gluck’s film’s cause, but those movies all seem likely to perform only moderately well. The End of Oak Street, a new dinosaur movie with Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor, could bomb and help One Night Only grow its audience significantly.

Meanwhile, One Night Only boasts a great soundtrack with memorable tunes and a fine cast, including leads, Callum Turner and Monica Barbaro. While its clever plot about a New York City where premarital sex is only legal one night a year has caused controversy, it doesn’t stop the movie from becoming the crowd-pleaser it needs to be to win over the audiences it should. Go see it while you still can and decide for yourself if this is the rom-com movie you’ve been waiting for

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