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.
Contents
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
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 87 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "A rare disappointment from director Hirokazu Koreeda, Sheep in the Box is a muted domestic drama whose rumination on artificial intelligence could have used more of the filmmaker's characteristic humanity." 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.
