Netflix, A24 and Warner Bros pass on Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial

Amazon MGM Studios has dropped Luca Guadagnino’s Artificial just as Netflix, A24, Focus Features and Warner Bros.’ Clockwork have all passed on distribution, leaving the nearly finished Sam Altman drama in search of a new home. The film, which has already undergone test screenings, had been scheduled by Amazon for an early 2027 release before the studio walked away and said it believed the project would be “better served” elsewhere.

The retreat around Artificial has turned the project into more than a prestige-film shuffle. Guadagnino’s film, written by Simon Rich, centers on the chaotic week in November 2023 when OpenAI fired Altman on November 17 and then reinstated him days later after employee revolt, investor pressure and Microsoft involvement. Andrew Garfield plays Altman, Monica Barbaro plays former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati, Yura Borisov plays cofounder Ilya Sutskever and Ike Barinholtz plays Elon Musk, with Cooper Hoffman, Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Koch, Billie Lourd, Zosia Mamet, Angus Imrie, Chris O’Dowd and Mark Rylance also in the ensemble.

The timing has sharpened the perception problem. Amazon announced a $50 billion strategic partnership and investment in OpenAI in February 2026, starting with $15 billion and another $35 billion to follow under certain conditions, making its exit from a movie about the company’s founder look commercially cautious at best. Amazon denied that the subject matter drove the decision, but the move leaves Hollywood executives weighing whether a high-profile film about OpenAI can be safely handled at a moment when major tech money and entertainment distribution are increasingly intertwined.

Mubi and Neon are still viewed as possible landing spots, and CAA Media Finance, which represents Guadagnino, has been running screenings to place the film with a new distributor. Mubi has an established relationship with Guadagnino and previously rescued Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance after Universal dropped it; that film later grossed $77.3 million worldwide, earned five Oscar nominations and won Best Screenplay at Cannes. The comparison only underscores why Artificial matters beyond one project: distributors are not just judging a movie, but measuring how close they want to stand to the most powerful company in artificial intelligence.

A24’s hesitation carries its own weight because the company is backed by Thrive Capital, one of OpenAI’s largest and most visible investors, with a board seat. With multiple studios stepping aside and Amazon already out, Artificial has become a test of how much of Hollywood’s AI storytelling will be shaped by business exposure, reputational caution and the growing pull of the companies being portrayed.