The project was first announced by director Ruben Östlund in June 2017, after his film The Square won the Palme d'Or at the 70th Cannes Film Festival the previous month. He revealed that the film was to be called "Triangle of Sadness" and it would be a "wild" satire set against the world of fashion and the uber-rich. According to the filmmaker, the title makes reference to a "term used by plastic surgeons to fix a wrinkle between the eyes with Botox in 15 minutes".