Olivia Wilde’s San Francisco-based 'The Invite' sells big at Sundance

Director and actress Olivia Wilde’s newest film, “The Invite,” turned heads and sparked studio bidding wars at the Sundance Film Festival this week, and its plot might feel especially fun for Californians — it’s set in San Francisco.  

Deadline reported on Jan. 27 that after “a 72-hour marathon bidding battle” and a bid of more than $10 million, A24 won the title. Here’s what we know about Wilde’s California-set film.

What’s ‘The Invite’ about?

According to Sundance, “The Invite” is a 107-minute dramedy about a couple living in a San Francisco apartment — Joe and Angela, played by Seth Rogen and Wilde — unraveling under marital strife.

They invite their upstairs neighbors over for dinner — Pina and Hawk, played by Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton — and “everything that can go wrong, goes worse.”

Cue awkward small talk that turns into a full airing of grievances about domestic life, and, as Collider puts it, “moments of surprising emotional heft.”

The film is based on a screenplay by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones and marks Wilde’s third feature as a director.

The San Francisco connections in ‘The Invite’

The main characters in the film live in a San Francisco apartment, where the titular dinner party takes place.

According to SFGate, audiences will spot several San Francisco spots in the movie, including Molinari Delicatessen, A.P. Giannini Middle School in the Outer Sunset, steep streets, cable car tracks, and BART.

SFGate reported that at one point in the film, Pina and Hawk present Joe and Angela “with a very San Francisco-style proposition that shouldn’t be spoiled here.”

Sundance screenings of ‘The Invite’

Screenings of “The Invite” took place at the Sundance Film Festival 2026 in Utah on Jan. 25 and Jan. 27. The film will screen three more times at the festival on Jan. 28, Jan. 30, and Feb. 1, and all of those are sold out.

What movies has Olivia Wilde directed?

Wilde made her feature directorial debut with the coming-of-age comedy film “Booksmart” in 2019. It’s about two high-achieving, rule-following high school best friends who try to cram as much partying into one night on the eve of their graduation.

Wilde’s second directorial project was “Don’t Worry Darling,” the 2022 psychological thriller starring Harry Styles and Florence Pugh.

Her third directorial film is “The Invite.”

Wilde and Rogen also worked together on ‘The Studio’

For fans of the 2025 Emmy Award-winning Apple TV series “The Studio,” the pairing of Wilde and Rogen looks familiar.

Wilde played herself in “The Missing Reel,” the first season’s fourth episode. In the storyline, Wilde is directing a Zac Efron-led film noir inspired by “Chinatown” when a reel of film featuring a pivotal scene goes missing.

Rogen plays the frazzled head of Continental Studios, the studio behind the film, and he takes it upon himself to investigate the missing reel.

Monica Garske is the California Newsletter Editor for the USA TODAY network. Subscribe to the TODAY Californian newsletter to see what her team is working on daily.