{"id":627686,"date":"2026-08-08T21:41:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/627686\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T21:41:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T21:41:13","slug":"olivia-wilde-talks-fight-for-the-invite-theatrical-release","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/627686\/","title":{"rendered":"Olivia Wilde Talks Fight For ‘The Invite’ Theatrical Release"},"content":{"rendered":"

Olivia Wilde<\/a> has revealed that she was \u201cpassionate\u201d about getting a theatrical release for The Invite<\/a> following the audience response to the comedy at Sundance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d she told a press conference at the Locarno<\/a> Film Festival where the film screens on the Piazza Grande this evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, well, this was magic. We have to listen to this\u2026 we have to fight for it,\u201d she continued. \u201cIf you don\u2019t fight for it, listen, you know this\u2026 \u00a0they bribe you to not take theatrical. It\u2019s 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\u2019s where your priorities lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilde thanked producer Megan Ellison at Annapurna for getting on board with her desire to get the film into cinemas, and agreeing to accept A24<\/a>\u2018s theatrical offer, hinting that the streamers had gone higher. She also credited FilmNation Entertainment<\/a>, which co-handled the domestic sale with UTA, for securing individual theatrical distributors internationally.<\/p>\n

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Olivia Wilde Talks Fight To Get ‘The Invite’ A Theatrical Release Following Positive Sundance Audience Response: “They bribe you to not take theatrical. It’s a bribe. You get paid more\u2026 and you can take that bribe and give that up if that’s where your priorities lie.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/qfVXofMEjg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Deadline (@DEADLINE) August 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBut we were really lucky that our financier gave me the opportunity to make this decision, which is something I don\u2019t take lightly. She could have very easily said, no, we\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond the audience reaction in Sundance, Wilde questioned the fact that comedy as a genre had come disconnected from cinema audiences. <\/p>\n

\u201cI really feel that there\u2019s no genre that benefits from the communal experience more than comedy\u2026 it\u2019s an ancient part of our culture. As humans, we\u2019ve gathered and told stories and laughed together for thousands of years in different forms, in different ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt that comedies had been relegated to kind of second tier that didn\u2019t deserve theaters. And the first place we confronted that was really in production\u2026 When it came to shooting it on film, I was very passionate about shooting it on 35 millimeter. I hadn\u2019t been able to do that yet. And I thought this is the one I\u2019m gonna really fight for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilde was speaking ahead of a sold-out screening of the film on Locarno\u2019s 8,000 capacity Piazza Grande on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s very special for me and all of us because I was hoping we would all be seen a few theaters maybe a couple of hundred people in a theater and tonight we\u2019re going to watch it with 8,000 people. I actually can\u2019t believe it. I am in shock.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since opening on June 26 in the U.S., The Invite has grossed $23.5 million domestically, and added another $18 million globally across some 30 international territories. Ascot Elite will begin the film\u2019s Swiss rollout on August 13.<\/p>\n