Kore-eda Debuts 'Sheep in the Box' Trailer at Cannes
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- "Sheep in the Box" premiered as Kore-eda's 2026 Cannes entry, with its trailer depicting a grieving couple who adopt a humanoid child that looks and sounds like their son after a tragic accident.
- Kore-eda told IndieWire at Cannes that audiences expecting an AI-dystopia ending are 'surprised that it doesn't end that way, for better or worse.'
- Kore-eda said the title references Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's 'The Little Prince' and that he was inspired to write the film after reading about a Chinese company attempting to use generative AI to resurrect the dead.
- The cast includes Daigo, Kuwaki Rimu, and Haruka Ayase; Kore-eda said he directed the adults to feel unsettled around the humanoid child rather than coaching Rimu 'to act like a robot.'
- Neon opens the film in New York City and Los Angeles on Friday, July 24, with additional dates to follow.
- Japan is more likely to submit Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Cannes double Best Actress winner 'All of a Sudden' for the Best International Feature Oscar rather than Kore-eda's film.
Why it matters: Neon opens Kore-eda's Cannes 2026 entry in NYC and LA on July 24, positioning a counter-dystopian AI-grief drama for an awards season the article frames as AI-anxious. Kore-eda's stated refusal to deliver a robot-dystopia ending gives the film a contrarian hook, though Japan is likelier to submit Hamaguchi's 'All of a Sudden' for the Oscar, capping its awards ceiling.
