An opening bid of $10 million is enough to focus even the most distracted room, and Olivia Wilde’s The Invite did precisely that at the Sundance Film Festival. What followed was one of the festival’s most spirited bidding wars, with Netflix, Neon, Searchlight, and Sony circling the couple dramedy like determined suitors. That explains the hype for the English language remake of the Spanish film The People Upstairs, starring Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penélope Cruz.  

After a heated three-way bidding war, the film was officially acquired by a New York–based entertainment company for a price impressive enough to silence the competition and confirm its status as one of the festival’s most talked-about deals.

The Invite starring Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Edward Norton, and Penélope Cruz saw a bidding war that went on for 72 hours with A24, Focus Features, and a new Warner Bros. film division competing to win it. Ultimately, A24 won the war for a massive 8-figure deal for Wilde’s directorial feature, The Invite.

The story of The Invite follows a married couple, Joe and Angela, played by Rogen and Wilde, whose already fragile relationship begins to break down during a dinner with their upstairs neighbors couple played by Norton and Cruz. The seemingly normal evening quickly turns tense as insecurities, long-buried emotions, finally surface. 

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Beyond the price tag and the prolonged bidding theatrics, The Invite also marks a meaningful homecoming for Wilde as she reunited with Megan Ellison and Annapurna Pictures, the production team behind her 2019 directorial debut Booksmart. That full-circle moment was underscored at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where the film’s reception proved emotional enough to move Wilde to tears.

Olivia Wilde’s directorial feature premiered to a standing ovation at Sundance. As the applause continued, the actress, visibly emotional, was seen wiping away tears onstage. She was also joined for the big night by cast members Seth Rogen and Edward Norton, who stood beside her.

“This was the dream, to premiere right here for you guys,” she said during the post-screening Q&A with the audience as reported by People.

From a fierce bidding war to an emotional Sundance premiere, the excitement around The Invite is undeniable. The film has already had its big moment on the festival stage. Now, all eyes will be on whether it can bring that same magic and pull in theaters.

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