Seth Rogen Gets Good News About His Next Film, a Potential Oscar Contender
Indie distributor A24 has snatched up the rights to a 2027 Oscar contender, paying millions to beat out more recognized studios.
A24 Pays $12 Million for The Invite
The Invite, directed by and starring Olivia Wilde, was purchased by A24 for a staggering $12 million, beating out equally bullish offers from fellow indie powerhouse Focus Features. Wilde’s film earned raves after its premiere last week at the Sundance Film Festival, with critics comparing it to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf combined with vintage Woody Allen. The Invite stars Wilde and Seth Rogen as a set-in-their-ways married couple who invite their new neighbors, a hip and sexually experimental couple played by Edward Norton and Penelope Cruz, over for a night of drinks which quickly spirals out of control. The screenplay was written by Parks and Rec alum Rashida Jones and Will McCormack, a remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs.
Wilde’s film has been one of the buzziest titles at this year’s Sundance, which is the last installment of the venerable festival to be held in Park City. The Invite represents a significant success for Wilde behind the camera. The actor-turned-filmmaker made her debut with 2019’s Booksmart, which despite positive reviews was a major disappointment at the box office. Wilde followed that up with Don’t Worry Darling (2022), which earned dreadful reviews and became more notable for Wilde’s on-set romance with Harry Styles than anything in the film. The events surrounding Don’t Worry Darling led to a period of tremendous bad press for Wilde, as it coincided with her split from longtime partner Jason Sudeikis.
Courtesy of Sundance
It's an About-Face for Wilde's Directing Career
The Invite is certainly Wilde’s most emphatically received film as director, with early buzz and reviews positioning it as a front-runner for the 2027 Academy Awards. A24, which has a knack for marketing tricky material to mainstream audiences, has a similar pic slated for release later this year in The Drama, starring Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as a newly-engaged couple navigating the waters of a choppy relationship. A24 secured distribution rights for the film after a tense bidding war against Focus. There was reportedly interest from Netflix and Apple, but the filmmakers were always eyeing a wide theatrical release. A24 also beat out theatrical exhibitors Neon, Searchlight, and Black Bear for the rights.
In a review for Variety, Owen Gleiberman called The Invite a “bravura dinner-party dramedy” that “keeps you laughing and never stops surprising.” While admitting that the film “lives up to every one of [the] expectations” of its age-old premise, “it does so in a way that’s so original, so brimming with surprise, so fresh and up-to-the-minute in its perceptions of how relationships work (or don’t), that you watch it in a state of rapt immersion and delight.”