Olivia Wilde’s New Erotic Thriller Arrives With A Starry Cast And A Firm Release Date
Olivia Wilde is stepping back into provocative territory with ‘I Want Your Sex,’ a film that has generated conversation since its festival debut earlier this year. The project pairs Wilde with acclaimed indie director Gregg Araki for a story built around desire, power and generational friction.
With a confirmed release date, a wide-ranging cast and early reviews already circulating, there is now enough concrete information to map out exactly what audiences can expect when the film reaches theaters.
The Release Date for ‘I Want Your Sex’
‘I Want Your Sex’ is scheduled to open in United States theaters on July 31, 2026. Multiple outlets confirm the film stars Olivia Wilde, Cooper Hoffman and Mason Gooding, with Gregg Araki directing.
The film’s official release history includes a Sundance Film Festival premiere on January 23, 2026, ahead of its wider theatrical debut through Magnolia Pictures. That gap between festival premiere and general release gave the film several months to build word of mouth heading into the summer.
Distribution notes also indicate the movie is being positioned as a limited release, arriving alongside several other titles on the same July weekend. That kind of scheduling typically signals a platform rollout rather than a wide simultaneous opening, which fits the film’s smaller, festival driven origins.
The film runs 90 minutes and was produced under Black Bear Pictures before Magnolia Pictures picked it up for U.S. distribution. Magnolia has a history of handling boundary pushing independent films, making it a natural fit for this particular project.
Meet The Cast Of ‘I Want Your Sex’
The film was written by Karley Sciortino alongside director Gregg Araki, with production credits going to Seth Caplan, Sciortino, Araki, Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler. Sciortino’s background as a sex columnist informs much of the film’s frank tone.
Beyond Wilde and Hoffman, the cast includes Johnny Knoxville, Charli XCX, Roxane Mesquida, Mason Gooding, Daveed Diggs, Margaret Cho and Chase Sui Wonders. That lineup blends comedic performers with dramatic actors, reflecting the film’s mix of humor and heavier subject matter.
Wilde plays Erika Tracy, while Hoffman plays a character named Elliot, described as landing a job as her sexual muse. The pairing puts Wilde’s established screen presence opposite Hoffman, who built his reputation through his breakout role in ‘Licorice Pizza.’
Casting news around the project moved quickly once Wilde was attached, with reports detailing how the ensemble came together over several months. Cooper Hoffman joined the cast as Elliot in August, with Charli XCX signing on shortly after in an undisclosed role, according to Variety, which first reported the casting.
What The Plot Of ‘I Want Your Sex’ Actually Follows
The story follows Elliot, a fresh faced young man who lands a job working for renowned artist Erika Tracy, only to find himself taken on a journey into sex, obsession, power, betrayal and murder. Erika taps Elliot to become her sexual muse, setting the central relationship in motion.
Elliot is also dating a character named Minerva, played by Charli XCX, who is largely disinterested in sex, which opens the door for Erika to draw him into a very different world. Their conversations touch on generational discomfort around sex, giving the film a point of view beyond its explicit surface.
Director Gregg Araki incorporates animation and superimposed imagery throughout to visualize Elliot’s fantasies and emotional shifts. The film also leans into dominant and submissive dynamics between the two leads, building toward a threesome sequence that goes notably wrong.
At its core, critics have framed the story as a familiar one, an older woman reshaping a younger man’s life, though the execution here is described as awkward, bumbling and explicit in equal measure. That tension between familiar structure and unconventional execution has become a recurring talking point in early coverage.
Why The Age Rating On ‘I Want Your Sex’ Matters
The MPA has rated the film R, citing strong sexual content, graphic nudity and pervasive language. Its official runtime is listed at one hour and thirty minutes.
Early reviews out of Sundance described the film bluntly as a wild, explicit comedy, noting its willingness to dig into specific sexual practices while still finding humor in relatable social dynamics. That combination of explicit content and comedic framing is central to how the film has been marketed since its festival run.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds an 89 percent approval rating based on 37 critic reviews. Variety’s review from the festival called it an unconventional rom-com that extends Araki’s long standing sex-positive sensibility into new territory, while also noting its screwball comedy leanings.
Other reviews have been more mixed, with some noting that the film gets caught up in commentary about younger generations’ hesitance around sex, while others have praised its humor and emotional nuance across generational lines. That split reaction has kept the film in ongoing conversation well ahead of its wide release.
Given the explicit marketing, the starry ensemble and the generational themes running through Elliot and Erika’s relationship, it will be worth watching how audiences react once ‘I Want Your Sex’ actually opens in theaters, and whether Araki’s boundary pushing approach lands the way it did with critics at Sundance.
