Olivia Wilde Talks Fight For ‘The Invite’ Theatrical Release

Olivia Wilde has revealed that she was “passionate” about getting a theatrical release for The Invite following the audience response to the comedy at Sundance.

“I 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,” she told a press conference at the Locarno Film Festival where the film screens on the Piazza Grande this evening.

“I thought, well, this was magic. We have to listen to this… we have to fight for it,” she continued. “If you don’t fight for it, listen, you know this…  they bribe you to not take theatrical. It’s 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’s where your priorities lie.”

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‘s theatrical offer, hinting that the streamers had gone higher. She also credited FilmNation Entertainment, which co-handled the domestic sale with UTA, for securing individual theatrical distributors internationally.

“But we were really lucky that our financier gave me the opportunity to make this decision, which is something I don’t take lightly. She could have very easily said, no, we’re 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.”

Beyond the audience reaction in Sundance, Wilde questioned the fact that comedy as a genre had come disconnected from cinema audiences.

“I really feel that there’s no genre that benefits from the communal experience more than comedy… it’s an ancient part of our culture. As humans, we’ve gathered and told stories and laughed together for thousands of years in different forms, in different ways.

“I felt that comedies had been relegated to kind of second tier that didn’t deserve theaters. And the first place we confronted that was really in production… When it came to shooting it on film, I was very passionate about shooting it on 35 millimeter. I hadn’t been able to do that yet. And I thought this is the one I’m gonna really fight for.”

Wilde was speaking ahead of a sold-out screening of the film on Locarno’s 8,000 capacity Piazza Grande on Saturday evening.

“Today’s 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’re going to watch it with 8,000 people. I actually can’t believe it. I am in shock.”

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’s Swiss rollout on August 13.