Olivia Wilde has admitted that she was insistent on getting the theatrical release for The Invite after she witnessed the audience response to the film at Sundance.
During a press conference at the Locarno Film Festival, where the 2026 comedy drama film screens on the Piazza Grande this evening, Wilde reflected on the response the film received at the festival.
She said, “I wanted to investigate this phenomenon that we found at Sundance when we felt the film have that chemical reaction with the audience the first time and it was extraordinary.”
The 42-year-old American actress and filmmaker added, “I thought, well, this was magic. We have to listen to this… we have to fight for it. If you don’t fight for it, listen, you know this… they bribe you to not take theatrical.”
“It’s a bribe. You get paid more. Not me, not the filmmaker. The financiers will get a lot more money to go to streaming, and you can take that bribe and give that up if that’s where your priorities lie,” Wilde explained.
The Tron: Legacy star went on to show her heartfelt gratitude to producer Megan Ellison at Annapurna for helping her get The Invite into cinemas and giving her seal of approval to A24’s theatrical offer.
“But we were really lucky that our financier gave me the opportunity to make this decision, which is something I don’t take lightly. She could have very easily said, no, we’re going to go with the much bigger offer. But I know that she, too, felt this incredible reaction that had happened at Sundance and that it was something worth investing in,” Wilde stated.
It is pertinent to mention that The Invite premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2026, followed by a limited theatrical release in the United States on June 26, 2026, before its wide release on July 10, 2026.
