The Invite to Stream on HBO Max on 23 October
The Invite will begin streaming exclusively on HBO Max on 23 October. It will then play on the HBO television channel at 8:00 p.m. ET on 24 October. The dates were reported by Deadline. Streaming puts it on demand. Linear puts it on the schedule.
Seth Rogen plays Joe. Olivia Wilde plays Angela, his wife. Edward Norton and Penélope Cruz play the upstairs neighbours. Wilde also directed the film, according to Deadline.
Joe and Angela's marriage is on thin ice. They invite their enigmatic upstairs neighbours for a dinner party. The night spirals into unexpected places. That outline comes from A24, the company behind the film.
The script is by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. David Permut, Ben Browning and Megan Ellison are listed as producers, according to Deadline. The story has travelled across languages. It is an English-language remake of The People Upstairs (Sentimental), the 2020 Spanish film by Cesc Gay, according to Deadline.
The Invite premiered at Sundance. The Utah festival is where many independent films meet the public for the first time. Since then it has earned more than US$55 million in cinemas worldwide. That worldwide total covers domestic, the United States and Canada, plus all other markets. It was reported on 23 September by Deadline. The theatrical window is the period when a film plays only in cinemas. Streaming follows after.
Wilde has spoken about leaving her previous film behind. She told Variety that its 38% score on Rotten Tomatoes liberated her to make The Invite. Rotten Tomatoes is a site that collects critics' reviews into one percentage. She spoke in an interview published on 28 June.
What makes this stand out is the tight focus. Four players. One flat. One invitation. The action stays in the room.
For fans, this means a home viewing weekend in late October. Exclusive streaming means HBO Max is the only subscription outlet showing it from 23 October. No cinema ticket is needed. Viewers who favour scheduled television can catch the linear HBO programme the next evening. Both options require access to HBO.
