In one of the first major deals out of Sundance 2026, A24 has acquired the US rights to director and star Olivia Wilde’s The Invite, produced and financed by Annapurna, FilmNation Entertainment and Permut Presentations, starring Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, Penélope Cruz and Wilde.
According to the film’s representatives, it was a 72-hour bidding war.
The film, which is based on Cesc Gay’s Sentimental, received an unusual standing ovation after its world premiere at the Eccles on Saturday night, and earned rave reviews from critics.
Hailed as whip smart and laugh-out-loud funny, the film marks Wilde’s third directorial effort and a reunion with Annapurna who backed her directorial debut Booksmart.
The Invite follows Joe (Rogen) and his wife Angela (Wilde), who host their upstairs neighbors Hawk (Norton) and Pina (Cruz) for dinner where everything that could go wrong goes wrong. The film, which was produced by David Permut, Ben Browning, and Megan Ellison, and was written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones.
The deal was negotiated by UTA Independent Film Group and FilmNation Entertainment on behalf of the filmmakers and A24.
Wilde is represented by CAA, Untitled, Narrative, and JSSK. Rogen is represented by UTA, Principal Entertainment and Felker Toczek. Norton is represented by UTA and Sloan Offer Weber & Dern. Cruz is represented by CAA.
Jones is represented by UTA and Schreck Rose Dapello. McCormack is represented by UTA and Paul Hastings.
