Neon has acquired U.S., U.K. and Australian rights to Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Sheep in the Box,” the company announced on Thursday.
“Sheep in the Box” — which was also written by Kore-eda — stars Haruka Ayase, who previously appeared in Kore-eda’s drama “Our Little Sister,” and Daigo, who is marking his feature debut in the upcoming drama.
Neon will release the film theatrically in the U.S. nationwide.
With filming currently underway, producers include 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.
The official logline is as follows: “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.”
This deal reunites Neon and Kore-eda, one of the most lauded filmmakers in the world, as the company previously distributed “Broker,” which at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and Best Actor for Song Kang-Ho.
Kore-eda’s work also includes the 2018 Palme d’Or winner and Academy Award–nominated film “Shoplifters,” and other acclaimed features which earned awards at Cannes Film Festivals including “Like Father, Like Son,” which was awarded the Jury Prize, “Monster,” which won Best Screenplay and Queer Palm, and “Nobody Knows,” in which Yûya Yagira was awarded Best Actor.
Variety first reported the news.
