ANYONE BUT YOU DIRECTOR WILL GLUCK ON THE SECRETS OF HIS FILM’S SUCCESS

WORDS CHRIS HEWITT

WILL GLUCK’S GLOSSY romcom Anyone But You is the kind of success story that, it seemed, had long gone the way of the dodo. Atrue sleeper hit, it debuted just before Christmas with a dismal opening weekend of just $6 million, but then, despite some less-than-generous reviews, connected with audiences and kept going. And going. And going. At the time of writing, it has grossed just over $212 million worldwide. “Every time I see a movie theatre [it’s playing at], I sneak in at the end to see it,” says Gluck, who must therefore have contributed a few bucks to the fund. “And it’s really a movie that you can’t walk out of without a smile on your face and a skip in your step.” Is that the reason why it’s built up buzz while other films quickly vanish from sight? Empire has a few theories about its success.

1 CAST SYDNEY AND GLEN

A will-they-won’t-they-of-course-they-will is only as good as the people doing the will-theying or won’t-theying. Anyone But You takes two incredibly attractive up-and-coming actors in Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney (who, as producer, brought Gluck on board in the first place) and Top Gun: Maverick breakout Glen Powell, and turns them into movie stars in front of your eyes. “Very early on, I knew they had something together. The chemistry was really amazing,” says Gluck of the pair, who play two hot young things who, after a date’s gone wrong, slowly build a bond while bickering at a wedding. “And I don’t think they were overexposed beforehand. They haven’t been in 38 movies you’ve seen, so this is the perfect opportunity to showcase who they are. But as I was filming, I was like, ‘You can’t keep your eyes off them.’ And they’re not horrible to look at.”