The Invite

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Olivia Wilde directs. Adam Newport-Berra behind the camera. Devonté Hynes scores. Yorgos Mavropsaridis cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Made its money back 4.6× over at the box office.
• 2Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
• 3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Spanish, French.
• 4200+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
• 5Directed by Olivia Wilde, shot by Adam Newport-Berra. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Devonté Hynes. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Olivia Wilde and Seth Rogen and Penélope Cruz carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "It'll be fun.".
• 10IMDB entry: tt14173636 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 11Classified under 10 themes, including "husband wife relationship", "san francisco, california", "dark comedy", "remake".

The technical file

Cinematography

Adam Newport-Berra

Original score

Devonté Hynes

Editing

Yorgos Mavropsaridis

Production design

Jade Healy

Costume design

Arianne Phillips

Makeup / hair

Christopher Fulton

VFX supervisor

Marek Zelenka

Sound

Ian Tapp

Stunt coordinator

Tracy Keehn-Dashnaw

Runtime

107 min · 1h 47m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$12,000,000

Box office

$55,505,476

Return

463% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

The Invite (2026) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

96% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

82/100

IMDB rating

7.8/10 · 27,141 votes

MPAA

R

Also by

Olivia Wilde

• 
  Booksmart

  2019 · ★ 7.0
• 
  Don't Worry Darling

  2022 · ★ 6.8
• 
  Wake Up

  2020 · ★ 5.9
• 
  Free Hugs

  2011 · ★ 5.2
• 
  Naughty

  2027

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  An Awkward Arrival

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Neighbours Make Shocking offer

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Neighbors Address Noisy Nights

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Hawk and the Rug

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  The Evening Takes a Turn

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  You Didn't Tell Me The Neighbours Were Coming Over

  Clip · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Brent Marchant2026-06-26
  ★ 8/10

  Nineteenth Century Irish novelist, playwright and raconteur Oscar Wilde, widely known for his witticisms and observations about life, is generally credited for the following arguably astute advice: “One should always be in love. That is the reason why one should never marry.” And it’s most fitting that those very words should eloquently serve as a cinematic epigraph at the start of the latest feature from actress-director Olivia Wilde, her best work behind the camera to date. Based on the 2020 Spanish comedy-drama, “Sentimental” (released domestically as “The People Upstairs”), this American remake presents an incisive, sometimes-brutal, often-cynical look at the subject of marriage through the eyes of a long-wedded San Francisco couple, Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Wilde), when they invite their upstairs neighbors, Piña (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton), to their place for dinner. Admittedly, Joe and Angela don’t know their guests well, but they certainly seem to know a lot about them and have developed well-defined opinions about them. The sparks start to fly before Piña and Hawk arrive, however, when it becomes apparent that the hosts are ill-prepared for the festivities, a scenario that reveals much about them and the state of the marriage. And, when the guests arrive, they pick up on the emotional turmoil quickly. Their keen observation skills, in turn, prompt a series of hilarious, intense and tension-filled episodes with Joe and Angela and, by extension, within each partnership. To say more here would reveal too much, but suffice it to say that the evening is filled with unexpected and provocative twists and turns that leave both couples drastically changed by night’s end. Their time together is replete with witty and scathing humor that frequently goes for the jugular, as well as moments of deep drama, heartwarming tenderness and stunning insights about one another. While the film occasionally tries a little too hard to evoke viewer responses (especially at the outset), once the picture finds its groove, it effectively fires on all cylinders, thanks to the outstanding writing and stellar performances of the perfectly cast quartet. “The Invite” feels very much like a Woody Allen movie from the days when he was at the peak of his career but without being a blatant copycat. What’s more, given that the bulk of the film takes place on one set, it comes across like a play but never feels the least bit stagey, maintaining a steady pace and effectively holding audience attention. This release defied any expectations I might have had about it going into the theater, a pleasant surprise in itself, but the fact that it shines on so many fronts makes it all the more worthwhile. The picture is admittedly sometimes a little cringey to watch, but it always rebounds, redeeming itself by making you laugh. And that’s one invitation I’d always be eager to accept.

  Read full review ↓
• CinemaSerf2026-07-11
  ★ 7/10

  You get a sense right from the start that the marriage between "Joe" (Seth Rogan) and "Angela" (Olivia Wilde) is running on the fumes of what it once was - and that it has been for a while. He returns home from his mundane work as a music teacher to find that she has invited their neighbours for a continental supper. He has no recollection of this having been discussed, but his grump soon has to be restrained when "Piña" (Penélope Cruz) and "Hawk" (Edward Norton) arrive. Not unsurprisingly, they quite quickly read the scenario and suggest that this maybe isn't the best time, but "Angela" insists that they stay and enjoy some jambon and red wine - oops, he didn't remember to buy any so they are having to use their secret stash! Rather than settle into a more standard form of polite behaviour with their guests, the couple continue to bicker and snap at each other creating the kind of toxic atmosphere you could cut with a cheese knife. All the while, we are also sensing that their guests have a bit of an ulterior motive too, and that becomes altogether clearer when "Joe" and "Piña" split from the other pair and what now ensues tests the fabric of their marriage(s!) whilst offering us quite an insightful observation of a couple who are cruising along through life because they can't really be bothered doing anything else. Are they still in love, or even in like? Is their relationship beyond repair or does it just need a kick in the ass? Wilde manages to capture the exasperated wife convincingly and Cruz steals this towards the latter part of this nuptial analysis as her role - that of a counsellor - allows her to make some brutally acerbic comments on the state of her host's lives whilst also whipping a few cracks in the direction of her own beau whom Norton plays in an engagingly understated fashion. Never correct a Spaniard's English when she's in full flow!! The four actors are all on solid form both together and in their pairings and the comedy - of which there is plenty - comes mostly from writing that is sophisticatedly poignant throughout. Though essentially a critique on human relationships, this also takes a pop at the ridiculousness of faddishness too and the denouement has something quite "Tales of the Unexpected" to it, too. It does have something of the theatrical to it and I reckon it would work well on stage. As it is here, though, it's comfortably on par with Cesc Gay's original short comedy "Sentimental" (from 2020 and also worth a gander).

  Read full review ↓
• ianrathbone2026-08-04
  ★ 10/10

  A stage play refined / Non-monogamy, no shame / Mature hearts only #filmreviewhaiku #moviereviewhaiku

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Annapurna Pictures

  US

• 

  FilmNation Entertainment

  US

• 

  Permut Presentations

  US

Key crew

• ProducerDavid Permut
• ProducerMegan Ellison
• ProducerBen Browning
• Executive ProducerPatrick Chu
• Original Film WriterCesc Gay
• Production DesignJade Healy
• EditorYorgos Mavropsaridis
• Executive ProducerSaul Germaine
• Executive ProducerShayne Fiske Goldner
• Executive ProducerGlen Basner
• Executive ProducerAlex G. Scott
• Executive ProducerAlex Astrachan
• EditorAnthony Boys
• Hair Department HeadChristopher Fulton
• First Assistant DirectorBrendan Lee
• Makeup Department HeadJorjee Douglass
• Art DirectionSandra Doyle Carmola
• Set DecorationAdam Willis
• Executive ProducerChelsea Barnard
• Costume DesignArianne Phillips
• Opening Title SequenceTeddy Blanks
• Opening Title SequenceTrent Howell
• Visual Effects SupervisorMarek Zelenka
• Music SupervisorGeorge Drakoulias

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• husband wife relationship
• san francisco, california
• dark comedy
• remake
• firefighter
• sexologist
• candid
• anxious
• exuberant
• neighbors

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2026-01-24· Sundance Film Festival
• Premiere2026-04-29· Independent Film Festival Boston
• Premiere2026-04-24· San Francisco International Film Festival
• Premiere2026-05-17· Seattle International Film Festival
• Premiere2026-06-17· Nantucket Film Festival
• Premiere2026-10-27· SCAD Savannah Film Festival
• Theatrical (limited)2026-06-26R· New York City, New York / Los Angeles, California
• Theatrical (limited)2026-07-03R· Limited expansion
• Theatrical2026-07-10R
• Digital2026-08-11R

Also known as

International titles

• The Invite.US
• ЗапрошенняUA
• Ha'HazmanaIL
• 開放性邀請TW
• 誘人飯聚HK
• Pozvání.CZ