Neon, the award-winning studio behind some of the most daring and celebrated films of the last nine years, announced today it has acquired worldwide rights to Academy Award–winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh’s latest film “The Christophers” following its world premiere at TIFF. Produced and financed by Department M and written by Ed Solomon, the film features an award-winning cast including Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen, Jessica Gunning, and James Corden. Neon will release the film theatrically in the U.S. in 2026 and will represent the international sales rights.

“The Christophers” debuted in Official Selection at the Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim and currently boasts a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film marks the second collaboration between Soderbergh and Neon, following the release of psychological thriller “Presence” earlier this year, and the fourth collaboration between Soderbergh and screenwriter Ed Solomon, following the limited series “Mosaic” and “Full Circle” and the film “No Sudden Move.”

“The Christophers” follows Julian Sklar (Ian McKellen), a onetime star of London’s 1960’s and 70’s pop art explosion, who hasn’t painted in decades and has been broke for years. His two estranged children (James Corden, Jessica Gunning), desperate for an inheritance, hire Lori, an art restorer and former forger (Michaela Coel), to pose as a prospective assistant in order to access eight unfinished canvases Julian has buried deep in storage. Her plan is to complete them, then return them to storage, where they are to be “discovered” upon Julian’s death.

The film is produced and financed by Mike Larocca and Michael Schaefer of Department M and produced by Butler & Sklar Productions with Jim Parks and Iain A. Canning serving as producers and Corey Bayes serving as executive producer. The deal was negotiated by Alison Cohen on behalf of Neon with CAA Media Finance on behalf of the filmmakers.

Also out of TIFF, Neon recently acquired the U.S. rights to Baz Luhrmann’s “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience inviting audiences to hear Elvis sing and tell his story like never before. Heading into awards season, five Neon films have been selected by their home countries as official selections for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards. This includes, Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner, “It Was Just An Accident,” for France, Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice” for South Korea, Joachim Trier’s Grand-Prix winner, “Sentimental Value” for Norway, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Cannes prize winner, “The Secret Agent” for Brazil; and Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât” for Spain.

Neon’s recent releases include Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin’s sophomore feature “Splitsville” starring Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona, Sundance breakout film “Together” starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco, and theatrical feature documentary “Orwell: 2+2=5.” Upcoming releases include “It Was Just an Accident,” “Shelby Oaks,” “Sentimental Value,” “Keeper,” “The Secret Agent,” “Sirât,” “Arco,” “Exit 8,” 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.