Konscious Kurt’s 10 Favorite Movies That Take Place Over One Day

If there’s one thing that makes for a great movie, it’s the ability to tell a compelling story. What makes those stories stand out even more is being able to tell them over the shortest period of time. Sometimes, getting the whole message across can be accomplished over the course of just one day. Whether it’s a drama, comedy, or an action movie, one day can feel like a really long one if the story is told effectively enough. With that being said, here are Konscious Kurt’s Ten Favorite Movies That Take Place Over One Day.

10. House Party (1990)

The first film to ever feature two rappers as the main characters, 1990’s House Party stars Kid N’ Play as fictionalized versions of themselves. With his parents out of town, Play throws a huge house party that he invites the entire school to. Despite being grounded by his dad the same day, Kid finds a way to sneak out of the house so that he doesn’t miss out on all the fun. Having everything from dance battles, rap battles, to the school bullies trying to crash it, the party more than lives up to the hype. As memorable as the party is, the shenanigans that happen before and after end up being every bit as wild and crazy. House Party proved to be a defining movie of the ’90s as it became a huge success at the box office, launched several sequels, and turned Kid N’ Play into household names.

9. Groundhog Day (1993)

Taking place over the course of one day several times, Groundhog Day stars Bill Murray as TV weatherman Phil Connery as he ends up reliving the day February 2 over and over again. Realizing what’s happening, he uses his knowledge of what’s going to happen to his advantage and manipulates circumstances in his favor. While successful at first, his selfish actions eventually backfire and cause him to fall into a depression. Seeing the error of his ways, he starts to use the time loop he’s stuck in to right his wrongs and do good for others. One of the highest grossing movies of 1993, Groundhog Day is arguably considered one of Murray’s best films that’s also heavily credited with popularizing the holiday.

8. The Warriors (1979)

Set during the peak of gang violence in New York, The Warriors centers around a gang named after the movie’s title that are framed for the murder of another powerful gang leader. With a target on their backs, they must make the long journey from the Bronx all the way to their home turf of Coney Island. Along the way, they’re forced to fight off countless gangs throughout the city that think they’re guilty of a crime they didn’t commit. This ordeal will prove to be the longest night of their lives that many of them won’t live to see the end of. While not a critical success when it was first released in 1979, The Warriors has since become a cult classic and one of the films that captures how dangerous the streets of NYC were back then.

7. Fruitvale Station (2013)

Based on real life events, Fruitvale Station tells the tragic story of Oscar Grant III. Starring Michael B. Jordan, the movie dives into the last day of Grant’s Life before he’s killed by a BART officer at Oakland, California’s Fruitvale Station. A young black man who left behind a girlfriend and young daughter, Grant’s murder sparked a lot of outrage centering around police brutality and racial profiling. A grad. student at the time of the murder, it struck a nerve with director Ryan Coogler to the point where he was determined to make a movie about the last day of Grant’s life. Marking the first of many successful collaborations between Jordan & Coogler, the film would prove to be a huge success critically and commercially as it made $17 million on a $900,000 budget when it hit theaters in the Summer of 2013.

6. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Starring Matthew Broderick, 1986’s Ferris Bueller’s Day Off follows the escapades of high school senior Ferris Bueller. Needing a day to himself, Ferris tricks his parents into thinking he’s sick so that he can skip school. In addition to that, he convinces his girlfriend Sloan and best friend Cameron to join in on his adventure. As his principal Ed Rooney doesn’t buy his story about being sick, he goes to extreme lengths to catch Ferris in the act. Directed by the late John Hughes and featuring a cameo from an up-and-coming Charlie Sheen, the setting, comedic scenes, and important life lessons made it one of the defining teen movies of that era.

5. The Breakfast Club (1985)

Released a year earlier and also directed by John Hughes, The Breakfast Club focuses on five high school students from different social circles that are forced to spend a Saturday together in detention. A jock, a princess, a brain, a criminal, and a basket case, the five teenagers couldn’t be any more different from one another. As they’d never interact with each other otherwise, being stuck together in detention forces all of them to face those differences. While they unsurprisingly don’t get along at first, the combination of outsmarting their uptight principal, smoking a joint, and opening up about their daily struggles brings them all closer together. Starring Emilio Estevez, Molly Ringwald, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, and Ally Sheedy, the movie went on to be a cult classic, put all their careers on the map, and in many ways, set the blueprint for other teen movies to follow.

4. Friday (1995)

A departure from the violent hood movies of the early ’90s, Friday takes a more comedic approach to life in the hood. Released in 1995, the movie centers around Craig, his best friend Smokey, and all the off-the-wall situations they get into on a random Friday. From getting high for the first time, dodging a drive by shooting, to fighting the neighborhood bully Deebo, the chaos Craig faces throughout the day is never ending. With an incredible cast led by Ice Cube and Chris Tucker, the movie made nine times its budget at the box office and launched the careers of everyone who was in it. Over 30 years later, it is still considered one of the best comedies of all time.

3. Die Hard (1988)

Arguably the greatest action movie of all time besides Terminator 2, Die Hard is credited for turning Bruce Willis into a leading man. Released in the Summer of 1988, the film focuses on NYPD cop John McClane flying to Los Angeles to meet his estranged wife at her company’s Christmas party. Things soon take a dark turn as the skyscraper where the party takes place is taken over by terrorists and all the guests become their hostages (including Mrs. McClane). Despite it not being his jurisdiction, John is the only one who has a chance at taking down the terrorists and getting everyone out of the building alive. Despite low expectations before it was released, Die Hard made over $150 million at the box office, spawned several successful sequels, as well as redefined what an action hero could be.

2. Falling Down (1993)

Also taking place in Los Angeles, Falling Down tells the story of unemployed defense worker William Foster and his journey throughout the city over the course of one day. It all begins when he just gets out of his car in the middle of rush hour after the car’s AC breaks and then proceeds to walk all the way home to see his wife and daughter (who have a restraining order against him). Throughout his long walk home, he has various violent encounters including pulling out a gun at a fast-food restaurant when they refuse to serve him breakfast and blowing up a construction site with a bazooka. On his last day as a police officer before retiring, officer Martin Prendergast is given the task of investigating Foster’s actions as this all leads to an eventual showdown between the two. Starring Michael Douglas and the late Robert Duvall, Falling Down was a huge hit when it hit theaters in early 1993 and its tragic story is one that’s very relatable to modern times.

1.Training Day (2001)

Starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke, Training Day centers around rookie narcotics officer Jake Hoyt as he has to spend the day following veteran officer Alonzo Harris. Naïve to what the job entails, Jake soon learns from his time with Alonzo that being a narcotics officer is nothing like what he imagined it would be. In addition to that, he sees that Alonzo’s methods for catching the criminals on the streets are no better than the actions of the criminals themselves. As the day progresses, Jake must decide if he wants to go along with Alonzo’s brand of justice or be the one to put an end to it. Released in October 2001, Training Day made over $100 million budget at the box office and most impressively of all, Denzel’s dark portrayal as Alonzo won him the Oscar for Best Actor.

Honorable Mentions:
Phone Booth (2003)
Speed (1994)
Dazed and Confused (1993)
After Hours (1985)
Clerks (1994)