It was recently reported that Luca Guadagnino’s newest film was dropped by Amazon for its depiction of the growing AI tech industry. Artificial had screened extensively for distributors over the last month or so, but its contentious subject matter made studios gun-shy to pick it up. According to The Hollywood Reporter, two studios — Netflix and Focus Features — passed on the opportunity to distribute the movie. A24, which is a company that has taken risks with projects, reportedly screened the film, but it was never in serious consideration (especially since they recently signed their own deal with OpenAI). For a while, it looked like it would end up at Mubi, but NEON had ultimately been announced as its new home.
So, what kind of deal did NEON get with the acquisition of Artificial? According to Page Six, their sources have said that NEON only agreed to the deal as it includes a no-money guarantee, which could be a big blow to a star-studded, topical film, whose price is said to be around the $40 million to $50 million range. However, as taboo as the film is being viewed by studios, it didn’t look like it had much to leverage for a sale.
While many wondered where the film would end up, in the end, NEON decided to add it to their jam-packed 2026 awards slate, which contains Cannes hits Fjord and Paper Tiger, as well as the Korean sci-fi action flick, Hope. In their release, they specified that Artificial will compete in the awards season this year, putting rest to claims it would be held for 2027. NEON is a strong home, with their awards pedigree top-shelf, having released the 2025 Best Picture winner, Anora. Artificial is now expected to make its debut at a major fall festival, potentially Venice or TIFF.
Directed by Guadagnino, the film stars Andrew Garfield as OpenAI founder Sam Altman, with the movie reportedly serving as a The Social Network-style drama about the rise of ChatGPT and artificial intelligence. Altman is said to be depicted in a non-sympathetic light.