After A 72-Hour Bidding War, Netflix Missed Out On An Easy Win

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Published Jan 28, 2026, 12:30 PM EST

Alex is the Senior Movies Editor, managing the New Movies team, as well as one of ScreenRant's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critics. After graduating from Brown University with a B.A. in English, he spent a locked-down year in Scotland completing a Master's in Film Studies from the University of Edinburgh, which he hears is a nice, lively city. He now lives in and works from Milan, Italy, conveniently a short train ride from the Venice Film Festival, which he first covered for SR in 2024.

This year's Sundance Film Festival, the last to be held in its longtime home of Park City, Utah before a planned move to Boulder, Colorado, had some throwback excitement. Though it's become far less common than it used to be, Olivia Wilde's The Invite sparked a heated, multi-party bidding war for the distribution rights that began after its premiere on Saturday, January 24 and continued overnight. Bids reportedly came in from all corners of Hollywood, from indie distributors A24 and Neon, specialty divisions such as Universal's Focus Features and Disney's Searchlight, and streamers Apple and Netflix.

In the end, the whole affair lasted 72 hours, and A24 ultimately secured the film for an unspecified amount above $10 million (via Deadline). Before then, though, Variety reported that the field had narrowed after the bidding crossed a certain threshold and "it became clear that Wilde wanted a traditional theatrical release," leaving only A24 and Focus in contention. The implication there, of course, is that streamers like Netflix, which has a history of swooping in and outspending the competition to secure buzzy Sundance titles, were ruled out on the grounds of their approach to theatrical.

If true, that's a real missed opportunity for Netflix to change one of the major narratives they're trying to overturn as they purchase Warner Bros.

Netflix Releasing The Invite In Theaters Would've Been A Valuable Gesture To Hollywood

This isn't the first time Netflix's resistance to wide theatrical releases has entered into a bidding process. Notably, in 2024, the streamer lost Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights to Warner Bros., despite the latter studio reportedly offering just half of the $150 million Netflix put up. Both Fennell and producer-star Margot Robbie pushed for a traditional release and held out for a suitable competitor. Even when they win it risks becoming the story, as was the case with Richard Linklater's Hit Man, the sale of which to Netflix spawned multiple thinkpieces lamenting that the crowdpleasing film was destined for a streamer.

But the company is now making a concerted effort to change that narrative, one they really need to be effective. Netflix's deal to buy WB has generated a lot of anxiety in Hollywood, with much of it on the film side centered around a streaming service famously hostile to theatrical swallowing one of the premier theatrical distributors. But in their official documents and, via co-CEO Ted Sarandos, in the press, they have insisted they are buying a traditional studio to get into theatrical distribution.

After years of being the signature disruptor of traditional exhibition, however, that message is hard to believe. And Paramount, the rival bidder that refuses to accept defeat and has been lobbying hard to get WB's board to change their minds, has been using this against them. Netflix recently addressed one major concern by restructuring their offer to be all-cash, but convincing the industry that they will work with theaters instead of against them requires more than just talk.

I've already argued that Netflix should put a movie into theaters wide this year, with Greta Gerwig's Narnia and David Fincher's The Adventures of Cliff Booth being the best candidates for it of their existing slate. But The Invite bidding war was a golden opportunity. Win Wilde's movie by promising theatrical distribution, and they could've shown the rest of Hollywood they were serious without disrupting any of their existing plans. It also would've had the added bonus of overturning the Wuthering Heights narrative that has managed to stick around since that high-profile rejection.

Alas, A24 won the day, and Netflix once again comes away looking like theaters was a deal-breaker for them. And Ted Sarandos wonders why the town won't take his word on his company's intentions for WB movies.