How to Watch Wishful Thinking Online in 4K

Wishful Thinking is a romantic comedy film with a science fiction premise, written and directed by Graham Parkes in his feature directorial debut (2026). Starring Maya Hawke and Lewis Pullman as a couple whose unstable relationship has literally supernatural effects on the world around them, the film won the Narrative Feature Competition Jury Prize at the 2026 South by Southwest (SXSW) Film & TV Festival on March 12, 2026. It is scheduled for theatrical release in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics on February 12, 2027. InfinityTV's library of 150,000+ Movies & Series will carry it in 4K Ultra HD when it arrives on demand.

This film has a confirmed February 2027 release date and is currently in the post-SXSW distribution phase. InfinityTV will stream it in 4K when the on-demand window opens.

What Is Wishful Thinking?

Wishful Thinking is a 2026 science fiction romantic comedy written and directed by Graham Parkes, produced independently and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. The film premiered at SXSW on March 12, 2026, where it won the Narrative Feature Competition Jury Prize — one of the festival's most significant awards for independent narrative film.

The film is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on February 12, 2027 — Valentine's Day weekend — a release date that reflects both its romantic comedy genre and Sony Pictures Classics' strategy for awards-adjacent prestige releases.

Variety described the film as a "kooky romance" in which Lewis Pullman and Maya Hawke lead "a kooky romance." Rotten Tomatoes lists the film with a score of 6.5, suggesting a warm reception on the festival circuit.

The Cast

• Maya Hawke as Julia, an ambitious game designer
• Lewis Pullman as Charlie, a struggling musician who works in sound design to pay the bills
• Randall Park in a supporting role
• Jake Shane in a supporting role
• Amita Rao in a supporting role
• Kate Berlant in dual roles as the enigmatic twin healers, the Tillies
• Jon Hamm in a supporting comedic role

The Plot

Julia (Maya Hawke), an ambitious game designer, and Charlie (Lewis Pullman), a struggling musician working in sound design, are pushed by Julia's friend into attending a couples-therapy seminar run by twin healers named the Tillies — played by Kate Berlant in a dual role. The Tillies claim to fix relationships through energy work.

After the seminar, Julia and Charlie discover that the emotional ups-and-downs of their relationship have been having literal supernatural effects on the world: earthquakes, stock market crashes, and the destabilisation of entire nations all correlate with their relationship's fluctuations. Faced with the knowledge that the fate of the world depends on their romantic stability — or at least that something much larger than their feelings is at stake — they must decide what their love is actually worth, and whether a passionate relationship can survive the weight of cosmic consequence.

How to Watch Wishful Thinking in 4K

Wishful Thinking is scheduled for theatrical release on February 12, 2027 by Sony Pictures Classics. To stream it in 4K on InfinityTV when it arrives on demand:

1. Subscribe to InfinityTV — all plans include the on-demand library of 150,000+ Movies & Series.
2. Download the InfinityTV app on your Smart TV, Fire Stick, Apple TV, Android TV, iOS device, or Android phone.
3. Search for "Wishful Thinking" in the on-demand section once it is available.
4. Choose the 4K stream — InfinityTV delivers 99.9% uptime, keeping romantic comedies sharp and vivid.
5. Contact 24/7 support for any setup or playback questions.

For more romance and independent films on InfinityTV, see top movies to watch in 2026 or what's new in movies for 2026.

Why Did Wishful Thinking Win at SXSW?

What makes Wishful Thinking stand out at a competitive film festival?

The South by Southwest Film & TV Festival is one of the primary discovery platforms for American independent film. Unlike Sundance, which tends toward dramatic prestige and documentary, SXSW leans toward genre-hybrid work, bold tonal choices, and films that take genuine creative risks while remaining accessible to broad audiences.

Wishful Thinking won the Narrative Feature Competition Jury Prize — the festival's top award for independent narrative film — which indicates that the jury found the film's combination of sci-fi premise and romantic comedy genre to be executed at a high level. Films that win at SXSW often have a specific quality: they are genuinely surprising rather than competent. The premise — a couple whose relationship stability directly determines world events — is the kind of speculative comedy hook that requires precise tonal calibration to work, and the jury evidently found it does.

Graham Parkes: A First-Time Feature Director

Graham Parkes is making his feature directorial debut with Wishful Thinking. His background is in shorter narrative work and is less publicly documented than established directors. A SXSW Jury Prize on a debut feature is significant industry recognition: it typically leads to substantially increased opportunities for the director's next project and establishes a clear creative voice from the outset.

The combination of a sci-fi premise with a warm romantic comedy tone — a difficult balance to maintain across a feature runtime — suggests a filmmaker with strong tonal control and a clear sense of what he wants each scene to be doing.

Maya Hawke: From Stranger Things to SXSW

Maya Hawke is the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke and has built a significant career independent of her family background. She is widely known as Robin Buckley in Stranger Things (Netflix, Season 3, 2019-present) and has released multiple indie rock albums that have received positive critical notices. Her film work before Wishful Thinking includes Ladybug and the Cat Noir (2023) and Do Revenge (2022). She also appears in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping (2026).

Lewis Pullman, son of actor Bill Pullman, appeared in Top Gun: Maverick (2022) as Rooster and has become one of the more in-demand lead actors of the mid-2020s. His chemistry with Hawke — two actors from prominent acting families, each building independent careers — was described by Variety as a central reason the film works.

Kate Berlant as the Tillies: Dual Role Comedic Precision

Kate Berlant is a stand-up comedian and character actor who has built a devoted following through precise, absurdist comedic performance. Playing dual roles as twin therapy facilitators who may or may not be responsible for their clients' world-altering relationship effects is precisely the kind of role that rewards her specific comedic approach: character work so committed it becomes genuinely strange.

Jon Hamm's "recurring comedic bit" in the film — described as such in production materials — suggests a supporting appearance built around his established comedic presence rather than a dramatic character arc.

For other upcoming independent and prestige films to add to your InfinityTV watchlist, see our guide to The Gallerist — another 2026 Sundance premiere. For romantic films already available, browse the top series to stream.

InfinityTV's 22,000+ live TV channels include independent film and entertainment channels covering the SXSW festival circuit and upcoming releases.

More About Wishful Thinking

The film's IMDb page carries the full cast list, production details, and festival history. The Rotten Tomatoes score of 6.5 reflects the warm festival reception — a score that, for a debut feature from an unknown director, represents a strong critical foundation for the theatrical release.

Sony Pictures Classics has built its distribution reputation on exactly this kind of film: a SXSW Jury Prize winner with strong lead performances and a commercially accessible premise (romantic comedy) wrapped around a more ambitious genre experiment (supernatural sci-fi). Their February 2027 release date targets the Valentine's Day weekend theatrical slot that rewards romantic films, giving Wishful Thinking its best chance at mainstream theatrical success before its inevitable streaming life on InfinityTV and Sony's platform partners.

Frequently asked questions

When does Wishful Thinking release? Wishful Thinking premiered at SXSW on March 12, 2026, where it won the Narrative Feature Competition Jury Prize. It is scheduled for theatrical release in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics on February 12, 2027. InfinityTV will carry it in the on-demand library when the streaming window opens.

Who stars in Wishful Thinking and who directed it? The film stars Maya Hawke as Julia, a game designer, and Lewis Pullman as Charlie, a musician. Supporting cast includes Randall Park, Jake Shane, Amita Rao, Kate Berlant (in dual roles as the Tillies), and Jon Hamm. The film was written and directed by Graham Parkes in his feature directorial debut.

What is the plot of Wishful Thinking? Julia and Charlie are pushed into attending a couples-therapy seminar run by mysterious twin healers. After the seminar, they discover their relationship's ups and downs are having literal supernatural effects on the world — causing earthquakes and economic instability. They must confront whether their love can survive the weight of cosmic consequences.

What award did Wishful Thinking win at SXSW? Wishful Thinking won the Narrative Feature Competition Jury Prize at the 2026 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, where it premiered on March 12, 2026. The Narrative Feature Competition Jury Prize is the festival's top honour for independent narrative films.

What internet speed do I need to stream Wishful Thinking in 4K on InfinityTV? InfinityTV recommends at least 25 Mbps for stable 4K streaming. For a romantic comedy with detailed indie production design, 25-50 Mbps is sufficient for maximum quality. InfinityTV's 99.9% uptime infrastructure ensures consistent streaming performance throughout.