Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
- A Deseret News poll reveals 56% of Utahns are disappointed by Sundance's exit.
- Gov. S;pencer Cox views the festival's departure as an opportunity for a new event.
- Utah leaders, including Park City Mayor Worel, discuss plans for a replacement festival.
SALT LAKE CITY — The majority of Utahns are disappointed Sundance Film Festival will leave Park City in 2027, a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found.
But according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, the festival's departure "has been the best thing that could have happened."
Cox said at his monthly press conference on Thursday that there is significant interest in filling the hole Sundance Film Festival will leave behind.
"The number of people interested in doing something bigger and better than Sundance is off the charts," Cox said. "You'll start to see some of those plans come out over the next month."
The Sundance Institute announced in late March it will relocate the annual film festival to Boulder, Colorado — splitting from its host city of more than 40 years.
"Boulder is an art town, tech town, mountain town and college town. It is a place where the Festival can build and flourish," Amanda Kelso, Sundance Institute CEO, said in statement at the time. "This is the beginning of a bold, new journey"
How Utahns feel about Sundance exit
A recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll conducted by HarrisX revealed that 56% of Utahns are disappointed Sundance Film Festival is relocating.
Around 4 in 10 Utahns (41%) are not disappointed by Sundance Film Festival's upcoming departure, the poll found.
The poll, conducted by HarrisX on April 9-12 of 841 Utah adults, has a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points.
Park City Mayor Nann Worel said she is not surprised by the percentage of Utahns who are disappointed about Sundance's big move.
"Park City is extremely disappointed that they're going to be leaving Park City and the state of Utah in 2027. We have treasured our 40-plus year relationship with Sundance," she told the Deseret News.
Worel continued, "I think that we put together — along with our friends in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County and other stakeholders — we put together a great competitive bid that would take people from Park City's Main Street to Salt Lake's Main Street. And, quite frankly, I don't think there's anything else we could have done."
During the Thursday press conference, Cox said that Sundance leadership told him the decision to leave was "purely a monetary issue."
"They've been struggling for years," he said. "They thought the Colorado offer was more generous."
Research shows the festival's departure could create financial issues for Utah.
According to the 2024 Sundance economic impact report from Y2 Analytics, the festival contributed $132 million in gross domestic product, $69.7 million in wages and $13.8 million in state and local tax revenue. It also created 1,730 jobs for residents.
Worel said that while she cannot forecast how heavy the economic impact of Sundance's 2027 departure will be on Park City, she anticipates the impact on small businesses will be "significant."
Sundance departure leaves space for new festival
Sundance Film Festival's 2027 departure will leave behind an opportunity to kickstart a "bigger" festival, Cox said. The governor did not provide any details about the potential festival, but said he "hopes it will be in place by 2027."
"Lots of people want to do something. Over the next month we will bring those people together to make plans," Cox said.
Worel confirmed that she has been involved in similar conversations.
"I've already received a couple feelers from different organizations very interested in doing something in place at the Sundance Film Festival," Worel said. "We're open to any opportunity, we're going to be vetting them closely."
Minutes after the Sundance Institute announced its decision in March to relocate in Boulder, Cox revealed he had already been involved in conversations with the Utah film community, partners and stakeholders about creating a new festival for Utah, he shared on X.
Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith quickly responded to Cox's social media statement with his own support of the idea, writing, "Building the Next Gen film festival in Utah sounds like a blast," per X.
Utah Film Commission Director Virginia Pearce believes Utah's "thriving ecosystem of talent, infrastructure, and incentives" will "attract filmmakers and productions to our beautiful state" even after the festival leaves.
"Utah's film community and state leaders are coming together to innovate surrounding future opportunities," Pearce said in a statement. "This will take time and thoughtful exploration. We are excited about the opportunity to build on the strength of Utah's film legacy and support our growing industry."
