"Artificial" Loses Netflix, A24, and Focus: MUBI and Neon Circle Guadagnino's Film

Netflix, Focus Features, A24, and Warner Bros.' Clockwork have all screened and passed on Artificial, Luca Guadagnino's $40 million dramatization of the 2023 OpenAI leadership crisis. MUBI is now the leading potential buyer, with Neon also in the picture.

The film has been in circulation since Amazon MGM dropped the project after its $50 billion OpenAI partnership closed in February 2026. Studio screenings began the day Amazon exited, and the rejections have accumulated steadily since.

Studio After Studio Passes

The rejections now span four major distributors. Netflix and Focus Features were the first to pass, with Focus declining despite Universal's specialty label having a strong track record with prestige international cinema. Warner Bros.' Clockwork, the studio's specialty acquisitions arm, also screened the film without making an offer.

A24 followed. The studio stayed publicly silent on its reasons, but it screened Artificial in the same window as the others and did not move forward. Each rejection came individually, not as a coordinated response. The pattern emerged one decision at a time.

The A24 Question

One thread connects A24's decision to the wider story. Josh Kushner, who has backed A24 as an investor, runs Thrive Capital, the venture firm that holds a board seat at OpenAI. The film reportedly depicts Sam Altman as "a pathological liar", according to people familiar with the script.

A24 declined to comment. Whether Kushner's financial relationship with OpenAI influenced the acquisition decision is not confirmed by anyone on the record. The connection between Thrive Capital and OpenAI's board is documented; the line from that connection to this particular pass is a matter of inference, not stated fact.

MUBI and Neon Circle the Film

MUBI is now the most active buyer. The streaming and theatrical platform released Guadagnino's Queer internationally and has a track record of acquiring films that major studios find commercially complicated. Its rescue of Coralie Fargeat's The Substance, after Universal dropped it, resulted in one of 2024's most talked about releases. MUBI operates across Europe, North America, and key markets in Asia and Latin America, giving it the reach to handle a title of this profile.

Neon is also tracking Artificial. The distributor, whose catalog includes Parasite, Triangle of Sadness, and Titane, has built its library out of films that court controversy and carry serious director credentials. Artificial has both.

The film's commercial case is strong on paper. It arrived from test screenings with positive audience responses. Guadagnino's commercial track record has never been higher: Challengers became his biggest commercial hit to date, and Queer premiered at Venice to strong critical reception before MUBI carried it internationally.

Venice and the Stakes for the Film

A MUBI acquisition would likely point toward a Venice Film Festival premiere. Guadagnino premiered Queer in Venice in 2024 and has a long relationship with the festival going back to I Am Love and A Bigger Splash. Venice's main competition opens in late August. A deal signed in the coming weeks could slot Artificial directly into that program.

The film dramatizes the November 2023 week when OpenAI's board dismissed Sam Altman, an employee revolt followed, and Altman was reinstated five days later. Andrew Garfield plays Altman. Monica Barbaro plays Mira Murati, the former chief technology officer who served as interim CEO during the crisis. Yura Borisov plays Ilya Sutskever. Ike Barinholtz plays Elon Musk.

OpenAI's cultivation of major Hollywood partnerships and Disney's $1 billion investment in OpenAI alongside Sora access show how deep these financial entanglements now run across the industry. Artificial has become the clearest test case yet for how those ties affect which films major distributors will touch. Independent creators generating work through AI FILMS Studio's video workspace operate without those institutional constraints entirely.

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Sources

Variety | The Hollywood Reporter | Deadline | The Wrap | IndieWire