Olivia Wilde Returns With The Invite After Don’t Worry Darling Scandal
How Pamela Anderson Helped Olivia Wilde Amid Don’t Worry Darling Drama
Don’t be fooled by the film’s title—the Don’t Worry Darling press tour had plenty of cause for concern.
As Olivia Wilde’s third directorial project The Invite—which stars Wilde as well as Seth Rogen and Penélope Cruz—is set to premiere in select theaters June 26 before expanding to the rest of the country July 10, The O.C. alum has not avoided reflecting on the chaotic press tour and scandals that ailed her sophomore film.
“It was so strange,” Wilde admitted during a June 17 appearance on Call Her Daddy. “The world was also in such a weird place because it was COVID so everything was so topsy-turvy weird.”
The full, widescreen picture starts far before DWD hit theaters in September 2022. In 2020, Wilde announced she had cast the film—her follow up to her acclaimed 2019 directorial debut Booksmart—with leads Florence Pugh, Chris Pine and Shia LaBeouf.
At the time, Pugh expressed excitement for working with Wilde, as well as LaBeouf and Pine.
“@oliviawilde is my idol,” Pugh wrote in an April 2020 Instagram post, “and allowed me to be a part of this fecking incredible cast. Shia?!? Chris?!? *gasp no.3*.”
By August, though, LaBeouf had been replaced with Harry Styles, due to what was initially cited as scheduling conflicts. Months after they shot in the fall of 2020, Wilde confirmed a romance with Styles the following January.
This was about the time Wilde realized not all was right in Victory.
“People were f---ing pissed,” Wilde recalled of the duo’s romance during her Call Her Daddy appearance. “It’s almost like the happiness made them mad. I would go to shows and dance, and people were like, ‘Oh, b---h. You slut.' Oh, man. I don't know. It really did upset people, though.”
And while Wilde said she and Styles “existed in a little bubble” of joy amid the backlash, she hit a personal snag in April 2022. During a presentation for DWD at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Wilde was served custody papers by ex Jason Sudeikis—dad to her son Otis, 12, and daughter Daisy, 9.
“It was incredibly traumatizing,” Wilde said. “It was like, I cannot f--king believe this is happening to me here.”
Indeed, even Tom Cruise found the situation unfair, with Wilde admitting he brought it up when she met him a few months later.
“He was like, ‘Hi, I'm Tom. F--kled up what happened to you in Vegas,’” Wilde recalled. “And I was like, ‘No!’”
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Wilde later shared Sudeikis did not intend for her to be served so publicly, and the pair now peacefully co-parent. However, the debacle only added to the tension that continued to grow around DWD. In August 2022, as press for the film ramped up, Wilde insinuated she had fired LaBeouf, citing his “combative energy” in an interview with Variety.
Following the interview, LeBeouf refuted her claims, telling the outlet he instead “quit the film due to lack of rehearsal time,” and pointed to a video message Wilde had sent him that later leaked to the public in which she details a rift between LeBeouf and Pugh.
“You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo,” Wilde said in the video. “If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace—and I respect your point of view, I respect hers—but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?”
Wilde has continued to maintain there was no tension between her and Pugh, telling Vanity Fair she “didn’t feel the need to contribute” a response to the noise the video created. Meanwhile, the Little Women actress has never commented on the film’s scandals.
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Less than a month after the video’s leak, Pugh raised eyebrows by skipping press engagements for the movie at Venice Film Festival, opting to only walk the red carpet, citing her busy schedule. During the same event, Pugh’s stylist Rebecca Corbin-Murray appeared to subtly address Wilde’s leaked video, captioning an Instagram post of her client’s look, “Miss Flo.”
And at the screening of the film itself, Styles and Pine were at the center of their own mini-drama—when eagle-eyed fans swore they saw the “Watermelon Sugar” singer spit on the Princess Diaries alum while taking his seat. Reps for both Styles and Pine shut down the speculation at the time, though Wilde admitted during her recent Call Her Daddy interview the cast found the entire ordeal truly bizarre.
As she admitted of so-called Spitgate, “It really looked like it.”
While Wilde considered the entire press tour for DWD a “pummeling” for her, she has a more lighthearted outlook on it four years later.
“It must have been that America was trying to avoid its own pain,” the House alum posited, acknowledging the entirety of the scandals took place amid the COVID pandemic. “Because that must have been an escape.”
Wilde’s clean slate—The Invite—is in select theaters now, but it's not the only film to add to your calendar. Keep reading for more upcoming 2026 releases…
Lucasfilm Ltd
The Mandalorian and Grogu - May 22, 2026
Bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu take their galactic adventures to the big screen. Also starring Sigourney Weaver.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Amazon MGM Studios
Masters of the Universe - June 5, 2026
The legendary '80s franchise returns to the big screen in this epic live-action adventure which finds Prince Adam/He-Man and his allies once again battling the fiendish Skeletor. Starring Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Alison Brie, Kristen Wiig, Jared Leto and Idris Elba.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Niko Tavernise/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment
Disclosure Day - June 12, 2026
Legendary director Steven Spielberg is back with this sci-fi thriller starring Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Colin Firth and Colman Domingo.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Disney/Pixar
Toy Story 5 - June 19, 2026
Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang return as the toys take on tech in the form of a frog-shaped smart tablet voiced by Greta Lee.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Supergirl - June 26, 2026
When a ruthless adversary strikes too close to home, Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl (Milly Alcock), reluctantly joins forces with an unlikely companion on an interstellar journey of vengeance and justice.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Universal Studios
Minions & Monsters - July 1, 2026
The little yellow guys return for a new animated adventure set in 1920s Hollywood. Featuring the voices of Allison Janney, Christoph Waltz, Zoey Deutch, and Jesse Eisenberg.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Disney
Moana - July 10, 2026
Disney adds to their live-action remake roster with this reimagining of the 2016 animated hit. Dwayne Johnson reprises his role as demigod Maui and Catherine Laga'aia stars as Moana.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Universal Studios
The Odyssey - July 17, 2026
A seriously all-star cast assembles for director Christopher Nolan's epic take on the ancient Greek poem. Starring Matt Damon, Zendaya, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Anne Hathaway and many more.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Courtesy of Sony Pictures
Spider-Man: Brand New Day - July 31, 2026
This new chapter of the superhero franchise finds Peter Parker (Tom Holland) living and crime-fighting alone in New York, having erased himself from the lives and memories of those he loves. Zendaya returns as MJ and Sadie Sink joins the cast.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Warner Bros. Pictures
The Cat in the Hat - November 6, 2026
Based on the beloved Dr. Seuss book, this animated adaptation will feature the voices of Bill Hader, Quinta Brunson, Bowen Yang, and America Ferrera.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Murray Close/Lionsgate
The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping - November 20, 2026
This highly anticipated prequel revisits the world of Panem and follows young Haymitch Abernathy (Joseph Zada) twenty-four years before the events of The Hunger Games. Also starring Glenn Close, Whitney Peak, Elle Fanning, Ralph Fiennes, Mckenna Grace and Maya Hawke.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Marvel Studios
Avengers: Doomsday - December 18, 2026
An insanely star-studded cast of MCU fan-favorites return to our screens in this fifth installment of the Avengers film series.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Buy a ticket HERE.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Dune: Part Three - December 18, 2026
Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet return to deliver the epic conclusion to director Denis Villeneuve’s trilogy. Also starring Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Rebecca Ferguson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson, and Javier Bardem.
Where to Watch: In theaters and IMAX
Buy a ticket HERE.
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