Sundance Chooses Boulder, Colorado As Its New Home

The Sundance Film Festival — the world’s preeminent indie film festival — is officially moving from Park City, Utah to Boulder, Colorado in 2027, beating out offers from Salt Lake City, Utah and Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Big Picture: Sundance is looking to grow — more money, more venues, more attendance, more lodging — so a move away from Park City was inevitable. But for a festival so closely tied to the small ski town, it’s a major vibe shift. Considering that Boulder is a booming college town with roughly 100,000 residents, Sundance may get an immediate influx of new cinephiles… and Boulder will be in for a major economic windfall.

Behind the Move: After over 40 years, Sundance is packing its bags.

• Sundance inked a 10-year deal with Boulder that gives it $34 million in tax incentives, access to several venues, and deals on lodgings that will keep prices down for attendees compared to the always-sold-out Park City.
• Boulder also has more flight options than the non-Utah runner-up Cincinnati, which only has one direct flight from LA each day. Boulder, in contrast, has several via close-by Denver.
• The Colorado city also boasts a similarly snowy, mountain-town feeling as Park City… although skiing and snowboarding won’t be quite as accessible as they are in the Utah ski-resort town.

Final Frontier: Even though attendance dropped from 116,800 people in 2020 to 72,840 in 2024, the Sundance Film Festival has outgrown Park City. It had become so impacted that agencies, studios, and streamers had recently started sending fewer staff to the fest, as lodging and transportation costs had soared due to high demand. That hurts the films looking for industry attention and distribution. If prices are significantly lower in Boulder, that could really amp up Hollywood’s presence.

Until then, studios, filmmakers, and longtime attendees can prepare for Sundance’s swan song in Park City next year.