UPDATE: A24 has emerged victorious in what was a heated, multi-studio bidding showdown for “The Invite,” the much-talked-about Sundance title from Olivia Wilde and Annapurna. After an intense three-day round of negotiations, the company secured the film with a deal in the eight-figure range, with offers reportedly going as high as $12M and steadily rising. Wilde was pushing for a full theatrical rollout, which instantly got Netflix out of the race.
UPDATE: Word has it that the sale of “The Invite” is dragging out longer than expected, largely because Warner Bros.’ newly launched modern film label—led by ex-NEON marketing head Christian Parkes—jumped in with a late-stage offer to challenge A24 and Focus Features. What started as a two-studio chase has now turned into a three-way bidding war (via Deadline).
EARLIER: So, what’s the play here? Sure, Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite,” a dark comedy tackling the date-night genre, was met with positive reviews at Sundance, but not all-out glowing ones either — yet because this year’s fest seems to have produced few breakouts, studios are now all in on “The Invite.”
Matt Belloni is reporting that an all-night bidding war is currently underway for Wilde’s film, and that it’s “far from over” — more execs want in. Odds are this one will sell for a lot, probably in the eight-figure range. But is it worth that much?
UPDATE: Seems like the main bidders are A24, Netflix, Searchlight, Focus Features, Black Bear and NEON.
It’s possible some studios see this film as an awards play — it certainly doesn’t strike me as some type of commercial behemoth. Yet what are the odds this one ends up being an awards player? The current reviews have come in from IndieWire (B+), The Wrap (positive), The Guardian (4/5),The Playlist (C), RogerEbert (mixed), Vulture (mixed), Variety (positive), Screen (mixed), and THR (mostly positive).
The cast Wilde has assembled is impressive, with Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton, and Wilde herself taking on key roles. Inspired by the Spanish film “Sentimental,” originally directed by Cesc Gay, “The Invite” was adapted by actress Rashida Jones and Will McCormack.
The film has a married couple — played by the oddly matched Rogen and Wilde — inviting their neighbors over, igniting an evening full of unexpected twists and turns that reveal deeply repressed emotions and unexplored sexuality.
More importantly, the film’s Sundance reception is great news for Wilde, whose last directorial effort, “Don’t Worry Darling,” had the kind of behind-the-scenes drama that, if it hasn’t already, will soon become the stuff of Hollywood legend. It had been rumored that Wilde was not the sole director on that film — here’s looking at you, Florence Pugh and Matthew Libatique.
Wilde’s on-set presence on that film was, shall we say, sporadic, with Pugh reportedly stepping in to direct scenes when Wilde and Harry Styles were, let’s just say, MIA. Pugh’s subsequent silence and refusal to promote the film only fueled speculation about the behind-the-scenes turmoil.
Wilde’s directorial career kicked off with the critical success of “Booksmart” in 2019. Sadly, three years later, “Don’t Worry Darling” got panned (38% on Rotten Tomatoes). Critics hated it. It was not as bad a movie as they claimed it to be, nor was it as good as it should have been. Of course, no surprise, The New Yorker’s contrarian critic Richard Brody was a big fan.
Regardless, Wilde seems to have managed the “Don’t Worry Darling” fallout fairly well, as her latest is now in the middle of a heated bidding war. Stay tuned.
The NYT went so far as to suggest in its obituary headline that the “Coens may be lost without him,” and Ethan's own words back that up: if you love their movies, he said, "a lot of it is him — more than people know."