The momentum of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival continues into Day 4, featuring a lineup that swings from the darkly comedic halls of a middle school to the gritty reality of rural Ohio, concluding with a star-studded chase through the streets of Los Angeles.
Director Giselle Bonilla makes her feature debut with a darkly funny and delightfully twisted ode to the power of spite, The Musical. Supported by Rob Lowe and Gillian Jacobs, this biting satire of public school performance culture, Will Brill stars as Doug Leibowitz, a frustrated playwright and teacher who spirals into a dastardly antihero after learning his ex-girlfriend is dating the school’s principal.
The film follows Doug’s unhinged mission to sabotage the principal’s academic standing, utilizing an eager middle school theater troupe as his pawns.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended the premiere of the documentary they executive-produced. Directed by Alysa Nahmias, follows four Girl Scouts—Ara, Olive, Nikki, and Shannon Elizabeth—as they navigate the $800 million cookie industry. Beyond the Cookie Queen titles, the documentary captured the girls’ sharp business instincts and the significant family sacrifices made to reach their goals.
Shifting to the U.S. Dramatic Competition, director Adam Meeks returns to his Ohio roots with Union County. The film offers a grounded, intimate look at the opioid epidemic through the eyes of Cody Parsons (Will Poulter), who embarks on a tenuous journey toward recovery via a county-mandated drug court program. Meeks cast local non-actors alongside leads Poulter and Noah Centineo
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Rounding out the day later is the comedy from Sundance veteran David Wain. In this fifth festival appearance for the director, Zoey Deutch stars as Gail Daughtry, a Midwestern bride-to-be who decides to cash in on her celebrity hall pass after her fiancé does the same.
What follows is an epic Los Angeles caper as Gail and her best friend Otto search for her celebrity crush, Jon Hamm. The narrative reaches peak absurdity when a pair of hapless mob enforcers mistake them for couriers of secret documents.
Other notable premieres today include Shame and Money; The Musical; Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie; Jaripeo; Once Upon A Time In Harlem; Frank & Louis; Tell Me Everything; BURN; and Rock Springs.
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 22 to February 1, 2026, in person in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah, with the jury and audience awards to be presented on January 30 at The Ray Theatre.
Whether you’re a seasoned film fanatic or curious to discover new talent, check back for daily updates from the festival.
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Union Country” Premiere
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(L-R) Will Poulter, Annette Deao and Adam Meeks attend the “Union Country” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theater on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “The Musical” Premiere
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(L-R) Gillian Jacobs, Alex Heller, Giselle Bonilla, Rob Lowe and Will Brill attend “The Musical” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theater on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “The Musical” Premiere
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(L-R) Gillian Jacobs and Will Brill attend “The Musical” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theater on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “The Musical” Premiere
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(L-R) Will Brill, Gillian Jacobs and Rob Lowe attend “The Musical” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theater on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Jaripeo” Premiere
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(L-R) Noé Margarito Zaragoza, Efraín Mojica, and Rebecca Zweig attend the “Jaripeo” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Yarrow Theatre on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Knife: The Attempted Murder Of Salman Rushdie” Premiere
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(L-R) Richard Perello, Jonas Bender-Nash, Sruthi Pinnamaneni, Erin Edeiken, Alex Gibney, Will Bates, Nancy Hoang, Andy Grieve, Mahak Jiwani and Daniel Bellone attend “Knife: The Attempted Murder Of Salman Rushdie” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “All About The Money” Premiere
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(L-R) Sigrid Dyekjær, Enda O’Dowd, Sinéad O’Shea, Katie Holly and Claire McCabe attend the “All About The Money” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theatre on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Cookie Queens” Premiere
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(L-R) Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Alysa Nahmias and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend the “Cookie Queens” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theater on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Cookie Queens” Premiere
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Andrea van Buren, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Nala, Chanel Pysnik, Nyah, Sheri Sobrato, Jennfier Pelling, Ana Lewnes, Alysa Nahmias, Michael Dweck, Olive, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Gregory Kershaw, Nikki, James Costa and Nathalie Seaver attend the “Cookie Queens” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theater on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Cookie Queens” Premiere
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Michael Dweck, Alysa Nahmias, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Gregory Kershaw pose with the cast and crew at the “Cookie Queens” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theater on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Soul Patrol” Premiere
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Ed Emmanuel, J.M. Harper, and Nas attend the “Soul Patrol” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Shame And Money” Premiere
Astrit Kabashi, Visart Morina, Doruntina Basha, Fabien Altenreid, Flonja Kodheli and Kristof Gerega pose with cast and crew at the “Shame And Money” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theatre on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah
2026 Sundance Film Festival – “Kikuyu Land” Premiere
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Stephanie Owens, Joseph Njenga, N’ganga Mungai, Moses Bwayo, Bea Wangondu, Andrew H. Brown, Mike Morrisroe, Tracy Rector and Nyokabi Kariuki attend the “Kikuyu Land” Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Yarrow Theatre on January 25, 2026 in Park City, Utah