Director Will Gluck has revealed that a substantial amount of nudity was removed from his new romantic comedy, One Night Only, due to a perceived shift in audience comfort levels. Gluck cited research indicating that younger generations, specifically Gen Z and Gen Alpha, prefer less explicit content on screen, a factor that influenced the editing process for the film.
Speaking with Variety, Gluck explained that this trend appears to be a broader societal change. He believes that the accessibility of adult content on personal devices has made public, shared viewing experiences less accommodating to nudity and overtly sexual situations. "Whenever people now see nudity or very adult situations in a big theater, they get uncomfortable," Gluck stated.
This realization led to extensive reshoots and edits. Gluck mentioned that "so much nudity" was shot for scenes intended to depict the world realistically within the film's narrative. However, test screenings demonstrated that such content could detract from the viewer's engagement with the characters and plot. "You're engaged in the characters and what's going on, and then you pan over and there's two naked people having sex, and you watch the audience… it’s a physical thing. They turn to who they’re with and … the benefits do not nearly outweigh the negatives of it," he described. The editing continued until a balance was found that alleviated these audience reactions.
One Night Only stars Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner and is set in an alternate New York where premarital sex is forbidden except for a single 12-hour period each year.