The Invite

The Invite is a razor-sharp comedy of manners that traps four people in a Brooklyn apartment and watches them tear each other apart over a single evening. Olivia Wilde directs a script she co-wrote with Will McCormack and Rashida Jones, adapting the Spanish film The People Upstairs. The story follows Becky (Wilde) and Tom (Seth Rogen), a tired young couple trying to make a good impression on their new upstairs neighbors, Alejandro (Edward Norton) and Lorena (Penélope Cruz). What starts as a polite dinner party quickly curdles into a night of brutal honesty, passive-aggressive jabs, and emotional demolition.

Premiering at Sundance in January 2026, the film earned strong notices for its tight script and the chemistry of its four leads. A24 gave it a limited theatrical release on June 26, 2026, and it later hit streaming on Max in the US and Netflix in the UK. The movie runs in real time, 107 minutes of escalating tension with no cuts away from the apartment. Michael Giacchino's score, a dissonant waltz that shifts from playful to menacing, underlines the claustrophobia. Shot on a soundstage in Long Island City with exterior scenes in Fort Greene and Dumbo, the film cost an estimated $20 million and grossed $45.2 million worldwide.[edit]

Becky and Tom live in a stylish but cramped Brooklyn apartment with a leaky faucet and a colicky baby. She works as a freelance graphic designer; he teaches history at a local high school. They are sleep-deprived, financially stretched, and still figuring out how to be married. When the apartment above them finally gets new tenants, the sophisticated, intimidating Alejandro and Lorena, Becky jumps at the chance to be friendly. She convinces Tom to host a casual dinner party, hoping for wine, good conversation, and maybe some parenting tips.

The doorbell rings at 7:00 PM. Alejandro arrives first, a tall Spanish architect with a dry wit and a habit of finishing other people's sentences. Lorena follows, an art curator whose smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. Tom's opening joke about the elevator being broken is met with a flat stare. Becky's paella, which she spent hours on, is pronounced "a little salty" by Lorena. Within minutes, the polite small talk gives way to something more uncomfortable. Alejandro talks about the failures of modern education, directly aimed at Tom. Lorena describes her marriage as "a series of negotiations."

Tom tries to lighten the mood with a story about his students, but Alejandro cuts him off with a pointed question about why he never pursued a PhD. Becky, normally the peacemaker, finds herself defending Tom but also secretly agreeing with some of the criticism. A bottle of expensive wine gets knocked over, staining the rug. Then a vase, a wedding gift from Tom's mother, is broken. The conversation turns to parenting: Lorena reveals she doesn't want children, while Becky admits she sometimes resents her own baby. Tom, uncomfortable, changes the subject to travel, which only leads to Alejandro describing a villa in Mallorca that makes Becky and Tom's one-week honeymoon in a Catskills cabin feel pathetic.

The tension peaks when a phone is left on the table. A text message pops up: "Still on for Thursday?" It belongs to Alejandro. Lorena reads it aloud, her voice flat. Tom, trying to be helpful, says maybe it's a work thing. Alejandro says nothing. Becky realizes the message is from a woman she saw Alejandro with at a coffee shop last week. The room goes quiet. Tom, desperate to break the silence, asks Alejandro directly if he's having an affair. Alejandro smiles and says, "Why do you need to know?" The question hangs in the air, forcing Tom to confront his own motives. The night is far from over.[edit]