Sundance 2027

Sundance Boulder 2027 runs in person January 21–31, 2027, and online January 28–31.

The dates that actually matter if you're going

• Oct 13Membership presale opens (Sundance members only)
• Oct 15Passes and ticket packages go on sale to everyone
• Dec 8Free registration opens for Ignite, the 18–25 and student program — 10 a.m. MT
• Jan 8Single film tickets go on sale — 10 a.m. MT
• Jan 21Festival opens in Boulder

Sundance sets all of these, not us. We list them here because they're easy to miss, and we link straight to the source.

Sundance hasn't published the lineup or the screening schedule yet. That's the one piece of this festival nobody outside the Institute has, and it typically lands in early December.

What we've already built against it: every venue links to Google Maps, and we've measured the real walking time between all of them. When the schedule drops, that's what turns it into an itinerary — knowing that the Dairy is 23 minutes from the Boulder Theater is what tells you whether a 4pm and a 6pm in different venues is actually possible.

Single film tickets go on sale January 8, 2027, after the schedule is out. Packages go on sale October 15 and let you pick screenings before the public single-ticket sale.

Passes and ticket packages go on sale to the public on October 15, 2026. Single film tickets don't go on sale until January 8, 2027 — so if you want to lock anything in before the lineup is announced, a package is the only way.

What's on sale October 15, and what it costs

• $4,500Second Half Express Pass — unlimited in-person screenings and Offscreen programs, Jan 27–31
• $925Full Festival Ticket Package — 10 tickets, valid any day of the festival
• $675Encore Ticket Package — new this year — 10 tickets to repeat screenings, Jan 22–31
• $450Second Half Ticket Package — 10 tickets across the final five days
• $350Matinee Ticket Package — new this year — 10 tickets to screenings starting before 5 p.m., Jan 25–29
• $275Ignite Package, presented by Adobe — ages 18–25 and students of any age — 10 in-person and 5 online tickets

Prices are Sundance's all-in prices, fees included. Two higher passes (Full Festival Express, $7,500; First Half Express, $6,100) are donor-only and aren't part of the public sale.

Sundance sells all of this directly. We don't resell tickets, we're not an official partner, and nobody should ever buy a Sundance pass from us.

Sundance has confirmed the venues for Boulder 2027 — a mix of CU Boulder halls, downtown theaters, and Boulder's schools and community spaces.

Screenings

• Boedecker Theater — Dairy Arts Center
• Boulder High School Auditorium
• Boulder Theater
• Casey Middle School Auditorium
• Chautauqua Auditorium
• Cinemark Century Boulder
• eTown Hall
• Gordon Gamm Theater — Dairy Arts Center
• Macky Auditorium Concert Hall — CU Boulder
• Muenzinger Auditorium — CU Boulder
• Roe Green Theatre — CU Boulder

Talks & festival programming

• Canyon Theater — Boulder Public Library District
• Dairy Arts Center
• eTown Hall
• Old Main — CU Boulder

Every venue name opens in Google Maps. Walking times between them are on Getting Around.

Sundance publishes the official festival maps, and they're the ones to trust once the schedule is out:

In the meantime: every venue above links to Google Maps, and we've measured the real walking times between all of them — which matters more than a map does when you're deciding whether two screenings in a row is realistic.

Sundance screens most films more than once. The premiere is a film's first public screening — that's the one with the filmmakers and cast in the room, the Q&A afterwards, and the competition for seats. Encore screenings are the later showings of the same film, same movie, minus the room full of industry.

You can see the distinction in how Sundance prices it. The Encore Ticket Package is $675 against $925 for the full package, and its terms say plainly that Encore tickets are not valid for the first public screening of a film. If you care about being in the room for a premiere, the cheaper package specifically won't get you there.

The practical read: premieres skew to the first half of the festival, which is also why Sundance splits its passes into first-half and second-half. If a specific film is the reason you're coming, plan for the opening days. If you just want to see good films without the scramble, the back half is cheaper and calmer.

Which films screen when is set by the schedule, which Sundance hasn't published yet.

Sundance runs industry panels and public talks — its Offscreen programming — alongside the screenings. In Boulder these are slated for eTown Hall, the Dairy Arts Center, Old Main at CU, and the library's Canyon Theater.

The Express Passes include Offscreen programs; the ticket packages are for film screenings. Which specific talks happen when comes out with the rest of the schedule.

A lot of the Sundance experience happens outside the theater: the Pearl Street energy, pop-up events, gallery walks, and industry people filling every coffee shop and restaurant in town. You don't need a pass to be part of that. Our Explore and Eat + Drink guides are built for exactly this.