MOVIE NEWS – Can romantic comedies rise from their seemingly comatose state? The creators of One Night Only believe the answer is a firm yes.

The heroes of the new comedy live in an alternative world where single people are allowed to have sex on only one night of the year, so everyone tries to make the most of the rare opportunity. Yet the story’s leads, Allie, played by Monica Barbaro, and Owen, played by Callum Turner, are looking for true love instead of quick physical fulfilment, which leads to unexpected complications. The twists, romance and humour are handled by director Will Gluck, who proved with his previous box-office hit, Anyone But You, that he knows every trick in the genre.

The film’s hesitant heartthrob, Callum Turner, recently married pop star Dua Lipa, and the attention surrounding it does not seem to trouble him at all. The Hollywood Reporter interviewed him before the wedding, and the young actor already explained that he takes the publicity around him lightly and does not worry about the success of his new film either. “I don’t really think about it,” Turner answered when asked about the matter. “Of course, I wholeheartedly hope it will be a big success, but I’m really not stressing about it all day.”

When asked whether it is difficult to shut out such enormous outside pressure, he gave a simple answer: “It’s actually incredibly easy.” Why? Turner deliberately avoids the internet. After the trailer for One Night Only was released, The Guardian described it as: “The Purge, only with sex?” The newspaper was referring to the fact that the central premise of The Purge franchise resembles that of One Night Only: for one day each year, any crime can be committed without punishment. Online comment sections were also flooded with the usual complaints, but none of that reached Turner. “I didn’t see any of them because I don’t go online. Phone addiction is a serious thing, isn’t it?” he remarked. In his view, audiences simply need to let themselves go when buying a ticket for a romantic comedy that leans into fantasy: “If you can surrender to the absurdity of the story, you’ll have a great time. You don’t need to obsessively look for the rules, and if you can’t manage that, then go watch a documentary instead.”

(One Nignt Only – release date: August 13, 2026.)