Sheep in the Box (Japanese: 箱の中の羊) is a 2026 Japanese science fiction drama film written, directed and edited by Hirokazu Koreeda. It stars Haruka Ayase and Daigo Yamamoto as a couple who welcomes a child (simulated age of seven) humanoid robot (Kuwaki Rimu), following the death of their son.
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 16 May, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It received mixed reviews. It was theatrically released in Japan by Toho on 29 May.
Cast
Haruka Ayase as Otone Komoto Daigo Yamamoto as Kensuke Komoto Rimu Kuwaki as Kakeru, a humanoid robot Nana Seino as Alice Kotaki Kanichiro as Gen Hidaka Hinata Hiiragi as Takuto Konno Akihiro Kakuta as Junichi Hano Kayo Noro as Kasumi Hano Mari Hoshino as a mother who accepted a humanoid robot as her son. Ayumu Nakajima as an engineer Kimiko Yo as Nobuyo Nishimura Min Tanaka as Akio Yamagata
Production Japanese cinematographer Ryûto Kondô shot the film on 35mm, marking his third collaboration with Koreeda following Shoplifters (2018) and Monster (2023).
Release The film had its world premiere at the main competition of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on 16 May, where it competed for the Palme d'Or. It was theatrically released in Japan by Toho on 29 May 2026.
It was screened in the Summer Screen Programme section of the 32nd Sarajevo Film Festival in August 2026.
In late 2025, Neon acquired the film's rights for the for U.S., U.K. and Australia. It was theatrically released in the United States on 24 July 2026.
Reception
Box office It grossed $4.5 million at the worldwide box office. Including $3.7 million at the Japanese box office.
Critical response Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 53 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
References
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