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

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This year’s Sundance Film Festival, the last one held in Park City, Utah before moving to Boulder, Colorado, felt like a return to older days of excitement. Olivia Wilde’s film, The Invite, generated a competitive bidding war for distribution rights after its premiere on January 24th. Several companies reportedly made offers, including independent distributors like A24 and Neon, specialty divisions of major studios such as Focus Features and Searchlight, and streaming services Apple and Netflix.

The deal wrapped up after 72 hours, with A24 winning the film for over $10 million, according to Deadline. Earlier, Variety reported that only A24 and Focus Features remained as potential buyers once the bidding reached a certain point, as director Olivia Wilde preferred a standard cinema release. This suggests that streaming services like Netflix, known for aggressively bidding on popular Sundance films, were passed over because they don’t typically prioritize theatrical releases.

If that’s the case, it’s a significant missed chance for Netflix. They’re trying to shift how people view their content as they acquire Warner Bros., and this would have helped.

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

Netflix’s reluctance to release films widely in theaters has come up during negotiations before. For example, in 2024, Warner Bros. outbid Netflix for Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights, even though their offer was reportedly only half of the $150 million Netflix offered. Both Fennell and Margot Robbie, who was set to star and produce, wanted a traditional theatrical release and waited for another studio to make a competitive offer. Even when Netflix does win these bidding wars, it can draw negative attention, like with Richard Linklater’s Hit Man. Many articles were written about how this popular film was ultimately headed straight to streaming instead of getting a proper cinema run.

However, the company is actively trying to shift this perception, and it’s crucial they succeed. Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has caused concern in Hollywood, particularly among filmmakers who worry a streaming service historically opposed to movie theaters is now absorbing a major film distributor. But in official statements and through co-CEO Ted Sarandos, Netflix maintains they are purchasing a traditional studio to expand into releasing films in theaters.

For years, the company was known for shaking up the entertainment industry, but recently, that claim feels less convincing. Paramount, still determined to acquire the company, has been pointing this out to Warner Bros.’s board members, urging them to reconsider. While Netflix recently addressed a key issue by offering a fully cash deal, they need to do more than just promise to cooperate with movie theaters if they want to win over the industry.

I previously suggested Netflix release a film in theaters this year, and I believe Greta Gerwig’s Narnia and David Fincher’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth would be the best choices from their current lineup. However, the bidding war for The Invite presented a perfect chance for Netflix to prove they’re committed to theatrical releases without changing their existing strategy. Successfully bidding on Win Wilde’s movie by promising a theatrical run would also have countered the negative perception created when they passed on Wuthering Heights.

Ultimately, A24 secured the win, while Netflix appears to have lost out, seemingly unwilling to compromise on theatrical releases. This might explain why Ted Sarandos struggles to convince the industry of his company’s plans regarding Warner Bros. films.

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2026-01-28 20:29