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This piece of the 2026 movie calendar is all about Big Tech. With Aaron Sorkin’s pseudo-sequel “The Social Reckoning” opening this weekend and Luca Guadagnino’s OpenAI satire “Artificial” debuting at the New York Film Festival, movies that have a bone to pick with Silicon Valley have plenty of material to celebrate. And if early reviews of “Artificial” are any indication, Guadagnino’s Sam Altman film promises to be both hilarious and terrifying.
“Artificial” sees Andrew Garfield playing Altman, the founder of OpenAI who was ousted from his company in 2023 due to disagreements with a board that included Elon Musk before regaining control five days later. The film was written by Simon Rich, with David Heyman, Jeffrey Clifford, and Jennifer Fox serving as producers along with Rich and Guadagnino.
“Artificial” was originally greenlit by Amazon MGM, which previously financed Guadagnino’s “Challenges” and “After the Hunt.” But Amazon dropped the finished film earlier this year, shortly after the company struck a $50 billion deal with OpenAI to provide web services through its AWS division. Neon subsequently acquired the rights to the film and is planning a Christmas release and Oscar campaign.
The film premiered on Monday, October 5 at the New York Film Festival. Those who were present have had the original reactions, with many singing the satirical voice of the film. Many critics seem to be as frightened by the film’s depictions of our AI-dominated future as they are entertained by its jokes – but it seems certain that “Artificial” will be one of the most talked about films of the fall season.
Neon will release “Artificial” in theaters on Friday, December 25. Keep reading for a summary of early social media reactions to the film.
