Neon has acquired North American rights to Japanese thriller “Exit 8,” which world premiered to strong reviews and an 8-minute standing ovation at this year’s Cannes Film Festival as part of the midnight section. Based on the hit video game, the film will make its North American debut next month at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Centerpiece section. Neon plans a theatrical release in early 2026.
“Exit 8” is directed and written by Genki Kawamura, who has produced numerous films and won the Best Director Award for his debut feature “A Hundred Flowers” (2022) at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival. “Exit 8” has already secured screenings in over 100 countries and regions across Asia, Europe, and beyond.
Kawamura wrote the film with Kentaro Hirase, adapted from the game by Kotake Create. “Exit 8” stars Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, and Nana Komatsu.
The story follows a man trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway, who sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?
Sarah Colvin, Vice President of Acquisitions at Neon, negotiated the deal with CAA Media Finance, Goodfellas, TOHO and Story, who represented the filmmakers.
In Cannes this year, Neon earned its sixth consecutive Palme d’Or win with Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident” and also acquired North American rights to Jury Prize winner Sirât from Oliver Laxe; “The Secret Agent” from Best Director winner Kleber Mendonça Filho and starring Best Actor winner Wagner Moura; and Ugo Bienvenu’s animated adventure “Arco” produced by Natalie Portman and winner of the Cristal Award at Annecy. Heading into Venice, Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice,” which Neon boarded earlier this year, will make its world premiere in Venice. In TIFF, Neon is presenting five films in Official Selection including “The Secret Agent,” “It Was Just An Accident,” “Sirât,” “Sentimental Value” and “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.”
About Neon
In only eight years, Neon has garnered 39 Academy Award nominations (7 this year), 11 total wins (5 this year), including two Best Picture wins, and has grossed over $400M at the box office. The company continues to push boundaries and take creative risks on bold cinema such as Sean Baker’s “Anora,” which recently took home five Academy Awards including Best Picture, and was released in theaters to the highest per-screen average of 2024; as well as Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” which made history winning four Academy Awards, becoming the first non-English-language film to claim Best Picture, and grossed over $54M at the domestic box office.
Neon has built an impressive streak winning the coveted Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, with six consecutive wins, including this most recent year’s winner “It Was Just an Accident” from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, as well as “Anora,” “Parasite,” “Anatomy of a Fall,” “Titane,” and “Triangle of Sadness.” In 2024, Neon was named The Hollywood Reporter’s Independent Studio of the Year and received the Clio Award for Studio of the Year.
Recent Neon releases include Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck” and Osgood Perkins’ horror film “The Monkey,” both of which are based on the short stories by Stephen King. “The Monkey” marked Neon’s second biggest opening weekend at the box office following Perkins’ “Longlegs,” which is the highest grossing independent film of the year at $75 million domestically.
As a burgeoning leader in the production space, Neon’s recent and upcoming in-house productions include: David Robert Mitchell’s “They Follow” starring Maika Monroe; Michael Covino’s “Splitsville” starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona; the highly anticipated Boots Riley feature “I Love Boosters” starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, LaKeith Stanfield, Demi Moore, and Eiza González; “The Wrong Girls” starring Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat; Tilman Singer’s “Cuckoo” starring Hunter Schafer; and Brandon Cronenberg’s “Infinity Pool.” Neon’s international sales outfit handles the company’s in-house titles as well as third party projects.
Neon has amassed a library of over 120 films, with a noteworthy selection of Academy Award nominated films including: Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig;” Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days”; “Robot Dreams” from Pablo Berger; documentaries “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” “Fire of Love,” “Moonage Daydream,” and “Flee,” which made history becoming the first film to score an impressive trifecta of Oscar nominations; Joachim Trier’s “The Worst Person in The World;” and “Craig Gillespie’s I,” “Tonya.”