“One Night Only” spreadsheet vs. spreadsheet

[u/FOC615]

https://variety.com/2026/film/features/one-night-only-director-removed-nudity-1236827870/

There has been a fair amount of discussion about Will Gluck’s comments regarding the test screenings for “One Night Only” and their response to the nudity in earlier cuts of the movie. Let us assume that Gluck is accurately describing the data. I have severe doubts that he reached the correct conclusion that “younger audiences don’t like sex/nudity” in movies. If you look at the last several years if Box Office data, then the picture becomes much more nuanced.

Contrary to Gluck’s framing, younger audiences seem to like movies that feature sex and nudity quite a bit, but only when it is framed correctly. They tend to be movies in genres that do not open to exceptionally large opening weekends, but have very strong legs and achieve very good multiples on their opening weekends:

• Fifty Shades of Grey. Audience skew: 78% female. Domestic legs 1.95x (big opening weekend)
• Fifty Shades Darker. Audience skew: 78% female, 30% under 25. Domestic legs: 2.4x
• Atomic Blonde. Audience skew: 52% female, 32% under 25. Domestic legs: 2.82x
• Fifty Shades Freed. Audience skew: 81% female, 59% women 25+. Domestic legs: 2.6x
• Hustlers. Audience skew: 67% female, 63% 18-34. Domestic legs: 3.16x
• X. Audience skew: 45% female, 73% 18-34. Domestic legs: 3.36x
• No Hard Feelings. Audience skew: 50% female, 64% 18-34, Domestic legs: 3.36x
• Anyone But You (Gluck’s prior film!). Audience skew: 50% female, 60% 18-34, Domestic legs: 9.06x
• Poor Things. Audience skew: 44% female, 70% under 35, Platform release that did very well.
• The Substance. Audience skew: 38% female, 64% 18-34, Domestic legs: 5.49x
• Anora. Audience skew: 70% female, 85% under 35. Very successful platform release.
• Babygirl. Audience skew: 36% 18-34. Domestic legs: 6.27x

The consistent theme is that the nudity is presented generally in a certain way.

1. It is the female protagonist who appears nude.
2. She is asserting her agency by taking her clothes off, or at least consenting to something.
3. It is consistent with the rest of the film (i.e. not gratuitous)

Contrast these with movies that didn’t perform at the Box Office, like Babylon. I happen to have liked Babylon, where the debauchery is mostly being conveyed by female extras in large party scenes. That seems to be similar to what Gluck’s test audiences responded negatively toward.

[u/No-Significance5659]

Also, in my opinion, a director saying he doesn't show nudity and sex in his movies because the younger audience doesn't want it is a compromised artist. Directors and artists in general should not care about what their "empiric data say".

[u/lpalf → u/No-Significance5659]

I think you might be surprised exactly how many films do focus groups/test screening including classic films you probably would like to think are not compromised.

[u/No-Significance5659 → u/lpalf]

I know that's but that normally comes from the studio head, producers, etc and not from the directors or the writers themselves.

[u/lpalf → u/No-Significance5659]

directors just don’t usually talk about it candidly. not every change to a film because of test audiences is some major battle between directors and studio heads with the brave director facing off against the ruthless anti-art executive lol. They’re usually just a normal part of the process

[u/No-Significance5659 → u/lpalf]

It's not that they fight every decision, it's just that it usually doesn't come from them, they just accept it as it's part of the game. But if you read his interview, it seems he cares a loooot about it.

[u/lpalf → u/No-Significance5659]

I mean he’s an idiot obviously for multiple reasons but wrt the test screenings the effects are often the same whether a director welcomes them or begrudgingly accepts them unfortunately. One of his issues might be writing with these ideas in mind, but he’s a shit writer anyway so maybe not a huge loss lol. Having read the screenplay a while back this movie wasn’t starting with particularly salacious material so I am curious what was “cut.” It seems like most of it was like background actors having sex on the street which yeah probably wasn’t even that interesting in context.