Neon releases the first trailer for Luca Guadagnino's Artificial starring Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman. The OpenAI drama hits theaters December 25!
Distributor Neon has officially dropped the debut teaser trailer for Artificial, director Luca Guadagnino's high-stakes biographical drama starring Andrew Garfield as OpenAI founder Sam Altman. Scripted by Saturday Night Live alum Simon Rich, the film focuses on the high-intensity corporate turmoil surrounding Altman's abrupt 2023 firing and five-day reinstatement at OpenAI, framed against the high-stakes global artificial intelligence arms race. Scheduled for its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in October, Artificial will arrive in select theaters on December 25, 2026, before expanding wide in January.
Key Information
- Director: Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Call Me by Your Name)
- Screenwriter: Simon Rich (Saturday Night Live, Miracle Workers)
- Distributor: Neon Official Website
- Lead Actor: Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman
- Genre: Biographical Drama, Tech Thriller
- Theatrical Release Date: December 25, 2026
- Official Social Platforms: Neon Official X Account, Neon Official Instagram
Who Is Starring in the All-Star Ensemble Cast of Artificial?
Guadagnino has assembled a powerhouse Hollywood cast to bring Silicon Valley's major tech figures and AI critics to the screen.
- Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman: The Oscar-nominated actor leads as the controversial tech executive.
- Ike Barinholtz as Elon Musk: Portraying the tech billionaire and early OpenAI co-founder.
- Monica Barbaro as Mira Murati: Playing former OpenAI Chief Technology Officer who briefly served as interim CEO.
- Yura Borisov as Ilya Sutskever: The Anora breakout star acts as OpenAI's former Chief Scientist.
- Mark Rylance as Geoffrey Hinton: The Academy Award winner plays the Nobel Prize-winning "Godfather of AI".
- Supporting Cast: The ensemble features Jason Schwartzman, Zosia Mamet, Cooper Hoffman, Chris O'Dowd, Cooper Koch, and Billie Lourd.
Why Did Amazon Drop the Rights to Artificial Before Neon Picked It Up?
The film made industry headlines earlier in 2026 due to an unprecedented corporate distribution shakeup involving tech behemoth Amazon MGM Studios.
- The $50 Billion Conflict: Amazon MGM originally financed and planned to distribute the project worldwide. However, the studio dropped the completed $40 million film after parent company Amazon finalized a massive multi-billion-dollar cloud partnership and $50 billion investment into OpenAI.
- Studio Hand-Off: Amazon MGM publicly stated the controversial film would "be better served if it were released by a different studio".
- Neon Steps In: After streaming platforms Netflix, A24, and Focus Features passed, independent powerhouse Neon acquired distribution rights in June 2026, positioning the film as a primary contender for awards season.
Moviegoers can track upcoming showtimes and platform streaming announcements directly on Neon's Official Portal.