{"id":554791,"date":"2026-01-30T21:39:38","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/554791\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T21:39:38","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T21:39:38","slug":"sundance-2026-the-breakout-films-and-biggest-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/554791\/","title":{"rendered":"Sundance 2026: The breakout films and biggest deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) \u2014 The last Sundance Film Festival<\/a> in Utah is drawing to a close this weekend.<\/p>\n

The Park City gathering was a wistful farewell to the place Robert Redford\u2019s brainchild<\/a> has called home for over 40 years and launched so many careers. Although the festival isn\u2019t ending \u2014 it will start anew in Boulder, Colorado, in 2027<\/a> \u2014 it did have many, from filmmakers to volunteers, feeling nostalgic about the change whether their Sundance story began in 2022 or 1992.<\/p>\n

A Wednesday night anniversary screening of \u201cLittle Miss Sunshine,\u201d still one of the festival\u2019s biggest hits, was an especially emotional affair as filmmakers Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and actors Toni Collette, Greg Kinnear, Paul Dano and Abigail Breslin, gathered once more, 20 years later, at the festival\u2019s most famous and largest location, the Eccles Theater. Many in the audience had seen the movie and some had even been at the 2006 premiere. But a fair number were experiencing it for the first time and the response was rapturous. <\/p>\n

\u201cWho would have imagined that a singe film could deliver two electric nights at a Sundance Film Festival?\u201d said festival director Eugene Hernandez.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all looking back, however. The festival\u2019s program is first and foremost about discovery. First time feature filmmakers comprised about 40% of the slate. The programmers also wanted to do right by Park City.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we achieved that based on what we\u2019ve seen this week,\u201d said Sundance programming director Kim Yutani. \u201cThe enthusiasm for the artists that we have now shared with the world is significant. It\u2019s profound.\u201d<\/p>\n

ICE and politics seep in<\/p>\n

The festival wasn\u2019t a bubble to world events either. On the second night, a Florida Congressman was assaulted at a party<\/a> by a man who told him he was going to get deported. ICE OUT pins were not an uncommon sight on major stars, like Natalie Portman, on the red carpet. And films like Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell\u2019s \u201cThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist\u201d (in theaters March 27) sparked conversations about the end of the world. <\/p>\n

Memorable moments thanks to Charli xcx, Harry, Meghan and Billie Jean King<\/p>\n

It also didn\u2019t stop people from having a good time. There was an all-night DJ\u2019d party for the Charli xcx movie \u201cThe Moment\u201d (in theaters this weekend) which had some out dancing until well after 3 a.m. The Billie Jean King documentary \u201cGive Me the Ball!\u201d had the audience erupting into spontaneous applause. (Afterward, King hit tennis balls into the balcony). Rufus Wainwright and Norah Jones sang Marianne Faithfull<\/a> songs after a screening of \u201cBroken English.\u201d And the documentary \u201cCookie Queens,\u201d about Girl Scout Cookie season, was an audience favorite that also brought a surprise appearance by Prince Harry<\/a> and Meghan<\/a>, who executive produced. <\/p>\n

Olivia Wilde\u2019s big comeback<\/p>\n

Charli xcx<\/a> might have had Wilde beat in numbers with three films at the festival, but Wilde took the spotlight for sheer impact. She confidently carried Gregg Araki\u2019s comedic, and erotic, thriller \u201cI Want Your Sex,\u201d as the provocative artist Erika Tracy, who initiates an affair with one of her interns (Cooper Hoffman), changing his life and views about sex in the process. But her bigger moment was \u201cThe Invite,\u201d<\/a> a sharp chamber dramedy about an unhappy and sexless San Francisco couple (Wilde and Seth Rogen) who invite their upstairs neighbors (Pen\u00e9lope Cruz and Edward Norton) over for dinner. Wilde directed the film, which quickly became a festival favorite, sparking a competitive, 72-hour bidding war. A24 emerged as the winner (reportedly in the range of $12 million) in the biggest acquisition of the festival so far. <\/p>\n

A release date for \u201cThe Invite\u201d has not yet been announced. \u201cI Want Your Sex\u201d has not yet been acquired for distribution.<\/p>\n

The Channing Tatum drama everyone is talking about<\/p>\n

One of the biggest hits was also one of the most challenging: \u201cJosephine,\u201d<\/a> writer-director Beth De Ara\u00fajo\u2019s raw drama about an 8-year-old girl (Mason Reeves) whose life and sense of safety is upended after she witnesses a sexual assault in San Francisco\u2019s Golden Gate Park. Tatum and Gemma Chan play the parents who are unsure how to help her navigate these new emotions and fears. It has not yet been acquired for distribution.<\/p>\n

The queer horror breakout<\/p>\n

Writer-director Adrian Chiarella\u2019s midnight movie \u201cLeviticus\u201d was scooped up quickly by the indie label Neon (of \u201cParasite\u201d and \u201cAnora\u201d fame) in a reported seven-figure deal. The Australian coming-of-age thriller is about two teenage boys (Joe Bird and Stacy Clausen) trapped in conversion therapy horror. A critic for IndieWire wrote that it played like an episode of \u201cHeated Rivalry\u201d crossed with the psychological horror \u201cIt Follows.\u201d A release date has not yet been announced.<\/p>\n

A documentary more than 50 years in the making<\/p>\n

The footage that makes up the new documentary \u201cOnce Upon a Time in Harlem\u201d was shot in 1972, when groundbreaking filmmaker William Greaves ( who died in 2014<\/a> ) brought together the living luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance, poets, authors, librarians, photographers, critics and actors, to reflect on what it all meant, at a party at Duke Ellington\u2019s home. His son David Greaves did camera work at the party and co-directed and finished the film, a striking and essential historical artifact (and a good, intellectually stimulating hang). It has not yet been acquired for distribution.<\/p>\n

Other buzzy titles<\/p>\n

John Turturro got an enthusiastic standing ovation for his performance in \u201cThe Only Living Pickpocket in New York,\u201d a nostalgic crime thriller about a veteran pickpocket who steals from the wrong man, written and directed by Noah Segan.<\/p>\n

There was lots of chatter about \u201cWicker,\u201d a quirky fantasy about a sardonic fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who commissions a basket weaver to weave her a husband (Alexander Skarsg\u00e5rd), from filmmakers Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson.<\/p>\n

David Wain\u2019s earnestly horny (and surprisingly gory) riff on \u201cThe Wizard of Oz,\u201d \u201cGail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass\u201d was a starry, easy crowd pleaser, with Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm and John Slattery. And Rinko Kikuchi got raves for her turn as a woman competing in the Tokyo ballroom scene in \u201cHa-chan, Shake Your Booty,\u201d which was acquired for release by Sony Pictures Classics. <\/p>\n

Most films are still seeking distribution, but the end of the festival does not mean the end of those talks. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many more deals happening,\u201d Yutani said. \u201cThe fact that these films are going to have these robust lives after their Sundance premieres is exactly what we want for these films. For them to reach wider audiences is definitely the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

For more coverage of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, visit: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/sundance-film-festival<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PARK CITY, Utah (AP) \u2014 The last Sundance Film Festival in Utah is drawing to a close this…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":554792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[161967,242972,242979,58476,238070,4437,242982,13672,4439,114861,105675,242975,239550,84682,157036,242976,171,242984,242977,22016,242980,194921,57,24204,242981,242974,240877,160786,75176,242986,242985,198256,53,153760,241009,175177,100121,202775,124888,105934,242973,124878,81151,235115,1746,242983,124933,214936,61,67,132,68,436,424,242987,242978,92922],"class_list":{"0":"post-554791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-abigail-breslin","9":"tag-adrian-chiarella","10":"tag-alex-huston-fischer","11":"tag-alexander-skarsgard","12":"tag-beth-de-arajo","13":"tag-boulder","14":"tag-charlie-tyrell","15":"tag-co-state-wire","16":"tag-colorado","17":"tag-cooper-hoffman","18":"tag-daniel-roher","19":"tag-david-greaves","20":"tag-david-wain","21":"tag-duke-ellington","22":"tag-edward-norton","23":"tag-eleanor-wilson","24":"tag-entertainment","25":"tag-erika-tracy","26":"tag-eugene-hernandez","27":"tag-fairs-and-festivals","28":"tag-gail-daughtry","29":"tag-gemma-chan","30":"tag-general-news","31":"tag-greg-kinnear","32":"tag-jean-king","33":"tag-joe-bird","34":"tag-john-slattery","35":"tag-john-turturro","36":"tag-jon-hamm","37":"tag-jonathan-dayton","38":"tag-kim-yutani","39":"tag-marianne-faithfull","40":"tag-movies","41":"tag-natalie-portman","42":"tag-noah-segan","43":"tag-norah-jones","44":"tag-olivia-colman","45":"tag-olivia-wilde","46":"tag-park-city","47":"tag-paul-dano","48":"tag-rinko-kikuchi","49":"tag-robert-redford","50":"tag-rufus-wainwright","51":"tag-send-to-apple-news","52":"tag-seth-rogen","53":"tag-stacy-clausen","54":"tag-sundance-film-festival","55":"tag-toni-collette","56":"tag-u-s-news","57":"tag-united-states","58":"tag-unitedstates","59":"tag-us","60":"tag-ut-state-wire","61":"tag-utah","62":"tag-valerie-faris","63":"tag-william-greaves","64":"tag-zoey-deutch"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}