Sundance 2020: 10 Films Everyone Is Buzzing About

2. Palm Springs

Palm Springs Andy Samberg
Neon/Hulu

As of the conclusion of the 2020 festival, Palm Springs is the record-holder of the most expensive deal in Sundance history, with the Andy Samberg-led comedy being snapped up by Hulu and Neon for around $22 million.

For such a high figure there just has to be something special here, but the key to Palm Springs' early success might actually be that it's a lot more "mainstream-friendly" than your average Sundance entry, and thus, was worth paying more money for.

Based on the whole package, it's easy to see why it was one of the hottest properties at the festival. A rom-com with a Groundhog Day influence, the movie stars Samberg and Cristin Milioti as a pair of thirty-somethings who meet at a Palm Springs wedding, only to wake up and discover that they are reliving the same 24 hours once again.

While it's true that we've seen roughly one million Groundhog Day clones over the last few decades, Palm Springs is reportedly one of the more refreshing entries in that category, packing plenty of surprising turns into its slight 90-minute runtime. It's been described as "smart" and "insane", a witty and bonkers ride that demands you go in to watch it knowing absolutely nothing.

So, keep an eye out for a release date, stay away from the trailers, and go in blind: the movie should be out later in the year.

Contributor
Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!