The movie I’m watching most closely this holiday season isn’t a superhero film. It’s Artificial, Luca Guadagnino’s drama about OpenAI, with Andrew Garfield as Sam Altman, opening in select U.S. theaters on Christmas Day through Neon before expanding in January. It’s worth noting for two reasons: early reviews say Garfield is extraordinary, and the movie almost didn’t come out at all because Amazon, whose studio made it, walked away from it just months after investing billions in the company the film is about.
What the Sam Altman movie is about
Artificial centers on the five days in November 2023 when OpenAI’s board fired Altman and then brought him back. Simon Rich wrote the screenplay. Reviews describe it as spanning roughly two decades, starting with Ilya Sutskever (Yura Borisov, from Anora) working under AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton (Mark Rylance) before his path crosses with Altman’s. Monica Barbaro plays former OpenAI chief technology officer Mira Murati.
The rest of the ensemble is stacked: Jason Schwartzman, Cooper Hoffman, Ike Barinholtz, Billie Lourd, Zosia Mamet, Chris O’Dowd and Cooper Koch.
The studio that walked away
This is the backstory that makes Artificial a business story as much as a movie story. Amazon MGM Studios developed the film and had planned an early 2027 release. Then, on June 19, it dropped the nearly finished picture. Variety noted that the move came after Amazon struck a major partnership with OpenAI earlier in the year that included a $50 billion investment.
Amazon has denied that the subject matter drove the decision. In a statement to Deadline, the studio said it believed the film would be better served by a different studio and that it was working with the filmmakers to find it a new home. Other reports pointed to a darker final cut than the version originally pitched.
Several other buyers screened it and passed, according to Variety, including Netflix, A24 and Focus Features. Then Neon, the company behind Anora, stepped in, acquired worldwide rights and announced the film would compete in this year’s Oscar race. Screen Daily reported the December 25 U.S. date.
I don’t know why Amazon really let it go, and neither does anyone outside the room. But when a movie that’s critical of a tech company gets dropped by a studio whose parent just invested billions in that company, people are going to ask questions. That’s a lesson in itself about who owns the platforms that tell our stories.
What the critics are saying
The film had its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in October and screened at the BFI London Film Festival days later. The early reaction has been strong on performances and more divided on the film as a whole.
- Screen Rant called Garfield’s performance genuinely transformative, saying he captures Altman’s mannerisms, stride and expressions.
- IONCINEMA gave it three and a half stars, calling it riotous if overdone, and noted that the film paints Altman in an unflattering light.
- Nerdspin called it stylish and timely but uneven, and suggested Borisov’s Sutskever may be the real standout.
- Vague Visages said its main weakness is the unavoidable comparison to The Social Network.
That comparison is going to follow this film everywhere, and it’s fair. The Social Network set the template for the founder-as-antihero movie. The question is whether Artificial can do for AI what that film did for social media, which is shape how a whole generation thinks about the people behind the product.
Why it’s worth your time
I’ll be honest: biopics about people who are still alive and still running the company make me a little nervous. They’re dramatizations, the subjects didn’t write them, and the line between reporting and storytelling gets blurry fast. It’s worth remembering that what’s on screen is Simon Rich’s and Guadagnino’s version of events, not a documentary.
But that’s also what makes it interesting. AI went from a research topic to something most of us use every day in about three years. A film that tries to show the people and the boardroom fights behind that shift, made by a director who has never been subtle about power and desire (Challengers, Call Me by Your Name), is going to start conversations. Whether you think the portrayal is fair or a hit job, you’ll want to have seen it.
And if you’re in the mood for an adaptation that finally got its source right, I recently reviewed His Dark Materials, a very different story that worked the second time around.
When and where to watch
Neon is opening Artificial in select U.S. theaters on December 25, an awards-qualifying run, with a wider theatrical expansion planned for January. No streaming date has been announced, and international dates are still being set. If you’re not near a big-city art house, you may have to wait a few weeks, but given how much of the conversation about AI is happening right now, I’d rather see it early than catch up on the takes afterward.
The verdict
Artificial is the rare awards-season movie that’s also a business headline. Early word says Andrew Garfield gives one of his best performances, the film itself divides people, and the story of how it reached theaters may be as revealing as the story on screen. It opens in select theaters December 25, with a wider release in January. Put it on your list.
