Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” has become one of today’s rare indie comedies to connect at the summer box office.
Sandwiched between big-budget blockbusters like “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” A24‘s “The Invite” has climbed to $20 million in North America and $15.7 million internationally from 36 markets after three weekends in wide release. Thanks to stellar reviews and even better word-of-mouth, ticket sales are about to surpass $40 million worldwide — and that’s before the movie has opened in all overseas territories. It has yet to debut in key countries like Italy, France and Spain.
“It’s holding up nicely in the U.S. and it still has a lot of key dates in Europe ahead,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “I would not be surprised if it finished with over $60 million worldwide — that’s excellent.”
Of course, this summer’s “Obsession” ($262 million domestically, $459 million globally) and “Backrooms” ($196 million domestically, $389 million globally) were massive, paradigm-shifting successes in the art house space. But outside of horror, few independent releases have managed to surpass the $20 million mark at the domestic box office since COVID upended the movie theater industry. Others this year include A24’s dramedy “The Drama” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson ($48 million domestically, $132 million globally), YouTuber Mark Fischbach’s self-distributed “Iron Lung” ($40 million domestically, $50 million globally) and two Angel Studios offerings, the romantic comedy “Solo Mio” with Kevin James ($25 million domestically) and historical drama “Young Washington” ($45 million).
“The Invite,” starring Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, was one of the biggest sales out of Sundance, with A24 nabbing domestic rights for $12 million. As the movie was sparking a bidding war, Wilde pushed for a traditional theatrical release. Her instinct was spot on, because 90% of opening weekend audiences recommended seeing “The Invite” on the big screen rather than at home, according to PostTrak exit polls. Written by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack and adapted from the Spanish film “The People Upstairs,” the ensemble comedy plays out during a dinner party with a couple who is going through a rough patch and their free-spirited neighbors.
For a crowd-pleaser like “The Invite,” A24 opted for a platform release, a method of distribution that indie studios have mostly abandoned since the pandemic got older audiences out of the moviegoing habit. A platform release involves opening a movie in select theaters, usually in New York City and Los Angeles, and slowly expanding to more cities before launching nationwide. It’s a way to build awareness and generate buzz for something that’s not yet familiar to the masses. Although “The Invite” skews younger than the traditional art house release, with a quarter of the audience below the age of 25 and the majority around 35 years old, Gross believes the platform strategy “makes sense for this film.”
“Reviews and word-of-mouth are outstanding, but they need time to circulate,” Gross says. “That’s what’s driving business now going into the fourth weekend of wide release.”
Since indies like “The Drama,” “Backrooms” and “Obsession” opened nationwide from the start, “The Invite” stands as the best platform release of the year. Others to attempt the limited-release strategy include Black Bear’s crime thriller “Tuner” ($4.5 million domestically), A24’s BDSM drama “Pillion” ($3 million domestically), Lionsgate’s musical comedy “Power Ballad” ($2.6 million domestically) and Magnolia’s satire “Maddie’s Secret” ($1.1 million).
“The Invite” is also the second-highest grossing summer platform release since COVID, trailing only Wes Anderson’s sci-fi dramedy “Asteroid City,” which earned $28.1 million domestically and $53 million worldwide. Art house movies weren’t always a rarity during popcorn season; beloved hits like “Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Big Sick,” “Blue Jasmine,” “Boyhood,” “500 Days of Summer” and “The Kids Are All Right” all released as counterprogramming before the dog days of summer. Nowadays, studios prefer to save their awards fare for fall and winter so they’re fresh in the minds of voters. But recent Oscar winners like Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” the Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” premiered on the big screen months removed from traditional awards season launching pads, giving A24 confidence that quality movies can succeed at any time of year.
“’The Invite’ found an audience and demonstrated decent staying power,” says analyst Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations. “Indie films don’t have to conquer the summer. Sometimes success means finding the audience the blockbusters weren’t serving.”
“The Invite” is Wilde’s third directorial effort following 2019’s well-reviewed comedy “Booksmart,” which generated $25 million globally against a $6 million budget, and 2023’s provocative drama “Don’t Worry Darling,” which grossed $87 million against a $35 million budget. She’s starring in another summer indie, Magnolia’s erotic thriller “I Want Your Sex,” which opens over the weekend. If Tom Holland and Zendaya, who star in “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” are the king and queen of the summer blockbuster, Wilde might just be the titan of the indies.