Neon Acquires Hirokazu Kore-eda’s ‘Sheep in the Box’ for U.S., U.K. and Australia (EXCLUSIVE)

Neon is reuniting with lauded Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda for “Sheep in the Box.” The indie label snapped up U.S., U.K. and Australian rights to the anticipated film out of the American Film Market.

Currently filming, “Sheep in the Box” stars Haruka Ayase, who previously appeared in Kore-eda’s drama “Our Little Sister,” and Daigo, who is marking his feature debut. Neon is planning a nationwide U.S. release.

The film is produced by Fuji Television Network, Gaga Corporation, Toho and AOI Pro. Gaga represents international sales together with Goodfellas and negotiated the deal with Neon’s Sarah Colvin.

“Sheep in the Box” is set in the near future, where a couple takes in a state-of-the-art humanoid into their home as their son. The title of the film was inspired by the French children’s novel “The Little Prince”.

Neon previously worked with Kore-eda on “Broker,” which world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and won the Ecumenical Jury Award and best actor for Song Kang-ho.

Kore-eda’s work also includes the 2018 Palme d’Or winner and Oscar–nominated film “Shoplifters,” and other Cannes prizewinning films such as “Like Father, Like Son” which was awarded the Jury Prize; “Monster,” which won best screenplay and the Queer Palm; and “Nobody Knows,” for which Yûya Yagira was awarded best actor.

Neon has recently been on a roll of high-profile acquisitions, including Baz Luhrmann’s “Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert” and Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers,” both of which will be released in 2026. Other upcoming releases also include Ugo Bienvenu’s award-winning “Arco” with Natalie Portman.

The company is also behind five official submissions for this year’s Oscars international feature race, including Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” for Norway; Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner, “It Was Just an Accident,” which was released Oct. 15 and represents France; Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Cannes prize winner “The Secret Agent” from Brazil, releasing Nov. 26; Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” releasing Dec. 25 and repping South Korea; and Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât” for Spain.