A24 hopes to hit a sweet spot in an underserved genre as it serves up comedy The Invite directed by and starring Olivia Wilde with Seth Rogen, Ed Norton and Penélope Cruz. Angelina Jolie is back on the big screen, and in Paris, in Couture. Cannes premieres from Romeria to Drunken Noodles to The Wave join witchy CAMP and State of Firsts, a documentary on Sarah McBride’s pioneering campaign to become the first transgender person elected to Congress, on the art house circuit. WWII drama Lucky Strike is the widest new indie in a crowded market with the July 4 holiday approaching.
Neon horror Leviticus continues on 965 screens (from 1,065) and starts week 2 with a $4.4 million cume. Maddie’s Secret from Magnolia Pictures makes a limited jump from one screen to eight.
A24’s The Invite, acquired in a lively bidding war at Sundance, is starting on seven screens in New York and L.A. including premium formats and in 35mm. Theaters include AMC Lincoln Square, Regal Union Square and Alamo Brooklyn in NY and AMC Burbank and AMC Century City in L.A., ahead of a modest expansion next week in a handful of top markets. The goal is to take the Annapurna-produced film nationwide July 10.
A remake of Spanish movie The People Upstairs from Cesc Gay, adapted by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, The Invite follows two couples. Joe and Angela (Wilde and Rogen) are on thin ice as their upstairs neighbors (Norton and Cruz) are about to arrive for dinner. Everything that can go wrong goes worse. Rotten Tomatoes Certified Fresh at 94%. Deadline’s review calls it “whip smart.”
Comedies, if they work, can do nice business in a summer run (think fresh takes like 500 Days of Summer and Napoleon Dynamite). The Invite has the elements of a lot of classic comedies, a genre that’s been in short supply theatrically. The market is crowded but after The Odyssey lands (July 17) the rest of summer is an opportunity.
A24 also has phenomenon Backrooms (week 5) and The Death Of Robin Hood (week 2) in wide release.
Vertical debuts Couture starring Angelina Jolie, by French writer-director Alice Winocour, in moderate release at 235 theaters. Premiered at TIFF, see Deadline’s review. Jolie stars as Maxine, an American filmmaker who arrives in Paris during the frenzy of Fashion Week. Drawn into a love story with a familiar collaborator as her path intersects with women of different ages and cultural backgrounds, all fighting to take control of their own destinies, Maxine finds herself on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to confront the choices shaping her life.
The film’s having quite a tough go with critics, but many praise Jolie’s performance. Deadline’s Pete Hammond called it one of her most personal roles with “a quietly touching performance, one played often without lots of dialogue but told delicately on her face and in her eyes.”
Runs include AMC Lincoln Square, Angelika Film Center, AMC Empire and AMC Kip’s Bay in NYC; AMC Century City, Laemmle Santa Monica, AMC Burbank, AMC Glendale and Regal Sherman Oaks in L.A.; and TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. Jolie last starred in biopic Maria (2024) set mostly in 1970s Paris, on the final days of legendary opera singer Maria Callas.
Roadside Attractions debuts WII action thriller Lucky Strike from Rod Davis Lurie (The Last Castle, The Contender) on 772 screens. Stars Scott Eastwood (The Outpost, Fury), Emmy nominee Colin Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Band of Brothers), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (King Richard, Exhibiting Forgiveness) and with Taylor John Smith (Where the Crawdads Sing, Sharp Objects).
The project re-teams Lurie, Millennium Media’s Jonathan Younger, producer Marc Frydman and Eastwood after their 2019 war movie The Outpost. Based on research by Frydman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Lurie, Lucky Strike follows a soldier (Eastwood) trapped behind enemy lines during the war’s last major German offensive, the Battle of the Bulge.
Romeria from Janus Films, by celebrated Spanish director Carla Simón, opens in New York at Film at Lincoln Center and Film Forum with Simón doing Q&As all weekend. Expands to L.A. July 1, then to DC, Boston and Philadelphia July 3.
The autobiographical tale of family origins stars Llúcia Garcia as 18-year-old Marina, who travels to the glittering seaside town of Vigo on the Galician coast determined to uncover information on her father. After tracking down his siblings, she slowly learns uncomfortable secrets about her parents’ unconventional life and turbulent past. Simón’s last film Alcarras won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in 2022. Romeria premiered in Cannes Competition and screened at TIFF, NYFF, and AFI Fest, earning 6 Goya Award nominations and 13 Gaudi Award nominations. It’s RT Certified Fresh at 90%, see Deadline’s review.
Cannes-premiering Drunken Noodles from Strand Releasing opens an exclusive run at the IFC Center in New York. Q&As with director Lucio Castro tonight and Sat. The latest from the Argentinian-born, New York–based filmmaker stars Laith Khalifeh as a young art student who arrives in NYC to apartment sit for the summer. He begins interning at a gallery where an unconventional older artist he once encountered is being exhibited. As moments from his past and present begin to intertwine, a series of encounters — both artistic and erotic — open cracks in his everyday reality. Joel Isaac, Ezriel Kornel and Matthew Risch co-star.
The story was inspired by artist Sal Salandra, now in his 70s and best known for his homoerotic “thread scenes” embroidery. Drunken Noodles is Castro’s third feature following After This Death, which premiered at the Berlinale, and his debut, End Of The Century in 2019.
Hipster horror CAMP from Dark Sky Films kicks off at the IFC Center in NYC, Vidiots in L.A. and a Fantastic Fest Presents rollout with select Alamo Drafhouse cinemas for about 20 locations in all, including opening weekend Q&As with director Avalon Fast moderated by Caryn Coleman and Katie Rife. The latest from the 26-year-old Canadian filmmaker premiered at Fantastic Fest last year, taking the Next Wave Best Feature Award top prize and going on to play Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography), TIFF Next Wave, the inaugural Beyond Fest Chicago, Seattle International Film Festival, Sitges and SXSW Sydney. It’s at RT 91% off 35 reviews.
Fast’s first feature was 2022 Slamdance selection Honeycomb.
CAMP follows Emily, a young woman who has undergone tragedy early in life and is wracked by guilt. Seeking to heal, she takes a job at a Christian summer camp for troubled youth and finds it a welcoming and peaceful place – until she hears a voice whispering from deep in the woods.
Producers include Taylor Nodrick (Influencers). Executive Paul Cadieux (The Triplets of Belleville), Milan Chakraborty (My Friend Dahmer), Peter Kuplowsky (In a Violent Nature, Psycho Goreman), Michael Peterson (Harpoon) and Sanjay M Sharma (Four Samosas) are executive producers.
Suncatcher Productions’ opens Chase Joynt’s State of Firsts, a documentary on Sarah McBride’s history-making campaign as the first transgender person ever to be elected to Congress during a time of heated political opposition to the trans community. The winner of the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at Sonoma International Film Festival follows McBride’s successful bid to represent Delaware in the U.S. House of Representatives. Starts at the Angelika in NYC, adds the Laemmle Glendale in L.A. July 2 with screenings in select markets through late July.
Another Cannes premiere is drama The Wave by Oscar-winner Sebastian Lelio (Gloria, A Fantastic Woman), opening exclusively at the Nuart in Los Angeles via Wolfe Video. A music student’s testimony ignites a feminist uprising on her campus.
Brainstorm Media opens romcom 40 Dates And 40 Nights for weeklong runs at Laemmle Glendale in L.A. and Santikos Conroe in Houston. Directed by Andy Delaney, written by Sarah “Howie” Howard, starring Bailee Madison, Joel Courtney, Annie Potts and Jai Rodriguez. Burned out on dating and ready to quit, Leah (Madison) accepts her grandma’s (Potts) challenge: 40 dates in 40 nights for a full year of rent.
EVENT: Fathom Entertainment, with global manga and anime producer Viz Media, has packaged the first three episodes of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity for a short big screen run June 25-29 at 942 U.S. theaters prior to broadcast and streaming of the final season of the iconic series. The film includes behind-the scenes-footage and an exclusive interview with creator Tite Kubo. Fathom is offering a production artwork sheet from the series along with a ticket for $29.99.
Destruction looms at the end of the Thousand-Year Blood War between the Soul Reapers and Quincies.