NEON has locked in an April 10, 2026, theatrical release for Exit 8, the Japanese thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Genki Kawamura. Adapted from the hit video game by Kotake Create, the film made its world premiere in Cannes’ midnight section in 2025, earning an eight-minute standing ovation. Festival buzz has only grown, with stops at Toronto, Sitges, Busan, and now the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Audiences and critics alike have responded with enthusiasm with the film currently holding a 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and it was a major hit in Japan, pulling in approximately $27 million USD in its opening run.
Kawamura, who previously produced landmark anime features including Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name and Mirai, Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle, and Hirokazu Kore-Eda’s Monster, steps into the director’s chair for the second time. His debut, A Hundred Flowers (2022), earned him the Best Director Award at the 70th San Sebastián International Film Festival, establishing him as a filmmaker capable of blending narrative precision with striking visual storytelling. Beyond cinema, Kawamura is the author of the international bestseller If Cats Disappeared From The World, a 2012 title that sold over two million copies across 32 countries.
Exit 8 follows Kazunari Ninomiya as a man trapped in an endless subway corridor, forced to navigate a high-stakes maze where a single misstep sends him back to the start. The sterile, labyrinthine passageways—with blood seemingly seeping from the station itself—evoke strong The Shining vibes.
The ensemble cast also includes Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, and Nana Komatsu, with a screenplay co-written by Kawamura and Kentaro Hirase. Producers on the project are Yuto Sakata, Kenji Yamada, Akita Yamamoto, and Taichi Ito.
The release builds on NEON’s strong momentum after the studio received 18 Oscar nominations – the second most of any motion picture company at the 98th Academy Awards. Its 2026 slate includes Ugo Bienvenu’s Arco, Oliver Laxe’s Sirat (Feb. 6), Matt Johnson’s Nirvanna the Band the Show: The Movie (Feb. 13), Baz Luhrmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Feb. 20), Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers, Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters at SXSW, and Damian McCarthy’s Hokum, starring Adam Scott.
