The 2026 Sundance Film Festival kicks off this week in Park City, UT, the final year of the festival before its move to Boulder, Colo. Sundance has always been a valuable market for independent films to screen for the first time and hopefully find a buyer. All eyes are on what could be the next “Whiplash” or “Little Miss Sunshine,” and just last year Neon scooped up the body horror “Together” and released it to nearly $100 million at the worldwide box office.
So which titles are buyers most interested in seeing this year? Here are some of the buzziest films looking for homes at the 2026 festival.
“Buddy”
Synopsis: A brave girl and her friends must escape a kids television show.
Directed by Casper Kelly. Written by Casper Kelly and Jamie King. Starring Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Topher Grace, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Shannon and Patton Oswalt.
Buzz factor: Part of the Midnight lineup, which always has hot genre titles, this film marks the feature directorial debut of the man behind the viral 2014 Adult Swim short “Too Many Cooks.”
Sales are repped by UTA, Range
“Carousel”
Synopsis: A divorced doctor’s carefully constructed life in Cleveland is upended when his daughter’s debate aspirations and the unexpected return of a past love force him to confront his own choices and embrace a second chance.
Written and directed by Rachel Lambert. Starring Chris Pine, Jenny Slate, Abby Ryder Fortson, Sam Waterston and Katey Sagal.
Buzz factor: The film is Lambert’s follow-up to the Daisy Ridley-fronted Sundance film “Sometimes I Think About Dying” from 2023.
Sales are repped by CAA, WME Independent
“Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass”
Synopsis: Midwestern bride-to-be Gail Daughtry (Zoey Deutch) has a “free celebrity pass” agreement with her fiancé — who uses it. With her relationship in crisis, Gail sets out on an epic journey through Hollywood to even the scales.
Directed by David Wain. Written by Ken Marino and David Wain. Also starring Jon Hamm, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley and Ben Wang.
Buzz factor: The film from “Wet Hot American Summer” director Wain features a big celebrity ensemble, with Jon Hamm playing himself.
Sales are repped by WME Independent
“The Gallerist”
Synopsis: A desperate gallerist conspires to sell a dead body at Art Basel Miami.
Directed by Cathy Yan. Written by James Pedersen and Yan. Starring Natalie Portman, Jenna Ortega, Sterling K. Brown, Zach Galifianakis, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Daniel Brühl, Charli XCX, Youssef Kerkour
Buzz factor: Yan’s first film since the female-centric DC movie “Birds of Prey” features a buzzy ensemble cast and a hook-y premise.
Sales are repped by MRC
“The History of Concrete”
Synopsis: After attending a workshop on how to write and sell a Hallmark movie, filmmaker John Wilson tries to use the same formula to sell a documentary about concrete.
Directed by John Wilson.
Buzz factor: The doc is generating attention based on the popularity of Wilson’s singular HBO comedy docuseries “How to With John Wilson,” with the filmmaker putting many of his same approaches to use in this feature-length film.
Sales are repped by UTA
“I Want Your Sex”
Synopsis: When fresh-faced Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) lands a job with artist and provocateur Erika Tracy (Olivia Wilde), his fantasies come true as she taps him to become her sexual muse. But Elliot finds himself out of his depth as Erika takes him on a journey into a world of sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder.
Directed by Gregg Araki. Written by Gregg Araki and Karley Sciortino. Also starring Mason Gooding, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs and Charli XCX.
Buzz factor: This is Araki’s first film in more than a decade, with his last being the 2014 Sundance film “White Bird in a Blizzard.”
Sales are repped by CAA
“The Invite”
Synopsis: Joe and Angela are on thin ice, and tonight might be when it all falls apart. Unfortunately, their upstairs neighbors are about to arrive for dinner, and everything that can go wrong goes worse.
Directed by Olivia Wilde. Written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. Starring Seth Rogen, Olivia Wilde, Penélope Cruz, Edward Norton.
Buzz factor: Wilde’s third film as a director, following “Don’t Worry Darling,” this adaptation of the Spanish comedy “The People Upstairs” comes on the heels of Rogen’s Emmy haul for “The Studio.”
Sales are repped by UTA
“Josephine”
Synopsis: After 8-year-old Josephine accidentally witnesses a crime in Golden Gate Park, she acts out in search of a way to regain control of her safety while adults are helpless to console her.
Written and Directed by Beth de Araújo. Starring Mason Reeves, Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, Philip Ettinger, Eleanore Pienta.
Buzz factor: Tatum in a dramatic role opposite Gemma Chan, this is the sophomore feature from “Soft & Quiet” director de Araújo.
Sales are repped by CAA, WME Independent
“Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie”
Synopsis: Previously unseen footage captured by Salman Rushdie’s wife, Rachel Eliza Griffiths, documents his journey. Following not just his physical rehabilitation, but also the restoration of his spirit and optimism. Inspired by Rushdie’s memoir “Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder.”
Directed by Alex Gibney.
Buzz factor: One of the most anticipated premieres of the fest, acclaimed documentarian Gibney shows the recovery of novelist Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie following an assassination attempt. Politically charged story (Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for his assassination after the publication of “The Satanic Verses,” and the attempt happened decades later in 2022).
Sales are repped by UTA and Anonymous Content
“See You When I See You”
Synopsis: With the help of his family, a comedy writer battles PTSD after the tragic death of his sister.
Directed by Jay Duplass. Written by stand-up comic Adam Cayton-Holland. Starring Cooper Raiff, David Duchovny, Kaitlyn Dever, Hope Davis, Lucy Boynton, Ariela Barer.
Buzz factor: Duplass returns to Sundance with a new movie soon after he released “The Baltimorons,” which premiered at SXSW. In addition to Sundance regular Raiff, the buzzy cast also includes Kumail Nanjiani and Caitlyn Dave.
Sales are repped by CAA
“The Shitheads”
Synopsis: When two unqualified bozos are hired to transfer a rich teen to rehab, their straightforward gig quickly spirals into dangerous mayhem.
Written and directed by Macon Blair. Starring Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Mason Thames, Kiernan Shipka, Nicholas Braun and Peter Dinklage.
Buzz factor: Blair is fresh off his “Toxic Avenger” remake, doing a “Midnight Run” riff starring Franco and Jackson Jr, with Thames co-starring after his massive 2025.
Sales are repped by WME Independent, CAA
“The Weight”
Synopsis: In Oregon in 1933, Samuel Murphy is torn from his daughter and sent to a brutal work camp. Warden Clancy tempts him with early release if he smuggles gold through deadly wilderness, but betrayal festers within the crew, and Murphy questions how far he’ll go to see his child again.
Directed by Padraic McKinley. The film is written by Matthew Booi, Matthew Chapman and Shelby Gaines. Starring Ethan Hawke, Russell Crowe, Julia Jones, Austin Amelio, Avi Nash and Sam Hazeldine.
Buzz Factor: Hawke stars in a new drama while he’s still on the awards circuit for last year’s “Blue Moon.” It’s also the feature directorial debut of longtime editor Padraic McKinley.
Sales are repped by WME Independent
“Wicker”
Synopsis: A fisherwoman asks a basketmaker to weave her a husband.
Written and directed by Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer. Starring Olivia Colman, Alexander Skarsgård, Peter Dinklage, Elizabeth Debicki and Marli Siu, Nabhaan Rizwan.
Buzz Factor: Colman and Skarsgard adapt Ursula Wills-Jones’ “The Wicker Husband.” It’s a strange fantasy/comedy from the directors of “Save Yourselves!” which had a 2020 Sundance debut.
Sales are repped by CAA, UTA
“zi”
Synopsis: In Hong Kong, a young woman haunted by visions of her future self meets a stranger who changes the course of her night — and possibly her life.
Written and directed by Kogonada. Starring Michelle Mao, Haley Lu Richardson and Jin Ha.
Buzz Factor: A surprise new film from Kogonada in the wake of last year’s “Big Bold Beautiful Journey.” It seems like he’s scaling back to a smaller film like “Columbus” and “After Yang.” Unlike “Big Bold Beautiful Journey,” he wrote “zi.”
Sales are repped by WME Independent
