Buyer Database · Buyer / Distributor · Updated
Neon
Neon is the dominant indie awards distributor of the moment, having acquired "It Was Just an Accident" before it won the Palme d'Or and building a consecutive Palme d'Or streak that now stands at six confirmed winners.
Current mandate
Neon is operating at peak acquisition velocity heading into the second half of 2026. The company closed deals on "It Was Just an Accident" (acquired before it won the Palme d'Or) and "The Secret Agent" (Best Director and Best Actor winner at the same festival) in the same week, extending what reporters describe as a run of six consecutive Palme d'Or winners. The awards slate for the current cycle also includes "Sentimental Value" and "No Other Choice," signaling continued commitment to prestige international drama. A first-look deal with Oz Perkins, whose debut project under the pact is "The Young People," anchors the company's genre ambitions alongside its festival-circuit positioning.
Over the past twelve months, Neon has moved across a notably wide range of formats and territories. Acquisitions include Ryusuke Hamaguchi's "All of a Sudden" (the company's first pickup out of the Berlin European Film Market), the animated feature "Arco" (produced by Natalie Portman, acquired at Cannes 2025), the Korean animated adventure-comedy "Ally" (reported as the most expensive Korean film production, with North American distribution rights acquired for a planned 2027 theatrical release), Na Hong-jin's sci-fi thriller "Hope" ahead of its Cannes premiere, and Nicolas Winding Refn's "Her Private Hell," his first feature since 2016. The pattern is consistent: auteur-driven projects with festival pedigree, spanning animation, genre, and international drama, acquired primarily at or around major market events.
Neon does not operate an open submission pipeline. The company's deal flow is festival- and market-driven, with relationships brokered through agents, sales companies, and established producer networks. Filmmakers seeking distribution should target representation that operates in the Sundance, Cannes, and Berlin markets, where Neon has demonstrated consistent acquisition activity.
Signature peaks
- $10M Longlegs Opening Spend — Marketing budget for Longlegs; campaign generated 1.5M calls in under four days via phone-number billboard
- $6M I, Tonya Acquisition Price — Paid in 2017; film grossed $30M domestic and earned three Oscar nominations and one win
- 4 Oz Perkins Films Boarded — Longlegs, The Monkey, The Keeper, and The Young People acquired across two years; The Young People debuts a first-look deal
Mandate dimensions
- Genre focus
- drama, thriller, horror, documentary
- Territory focus
- domestic
- Budget tier (observed)
- $40M
- Access pattern
- Festival and market acquisitions at Cannes, Sundance, and Berlin; deals brokered through sales agents and producer relationships. No open submission pipeline. Representation by an agent active in major international markets is the practical prerequisite for a distribution conversation.
- Deal structure
- Acquisition of domestic distribution rights; budget range up to $40M. Recent deals include North American distribution rights (Ally, planned 2027 theatrical) and U.S. distribution plus international sales duties (Clarissa). Most acquisition prices are not publicly disclosed. Marketing approach is brand- and social-led with selective out-of-home; the company has described doing "maybe one billboard" as a philosophy, though the Longlegs campaign demonstrated willingness to spend $10M on opening when the project warrants it.
Recent acquisitions
-
Acquired
Acquired 'The Secret Agent' earlier this week; the film won Best Director and Best Actor (Wagner Moura).
-
Acquired It Was Just
Acquired It Was Just an Accident earlier this week before it won the Palme d’Or.
-
All of a Sudden
Neon most recently acquired Ryusuke Hamaguchi's 'All of a Sudden' which marks the company's first acquisition out of this year's European Film Market in Berlin
-
Ally
Neon acquired North American distribution rights to Ally; planned theatrical release 2027
-
Anatomy of a Fall
-
Arco
-
Arco (animated feature)
"In animation, Neon also was active picking up the Natalie Portman-produced Arco"
-
Clarissa
has already been acquired by Neon for U.S. distribution and international sales duties
Market context
"I want to forget everything immediately. I want to be a pure audience member. I want to forget why we're at Sundance, why we're in Cannes, and just jump right into the movie."
Neon stepping in to rescue a high-profile project dropped by a major studio due to Big Tech conflicts of interest — aligns with boutique distributors capitalizing on studio risk-aversion around politically sensitive content.
Common questions about Neon
Does Neon accept unsolicited scripts or cold submissions?
Neon does not operate a public submission pipeline. CEO Tom Quinn has noted the company receives a high volume of incoming interest across the board, but deal flow is driven by festival acquisitions and market relationships rather than open calls. Filmmakers without representation are unlikely to reach decision-makers directly. The practical path is through a sales agent or producer with existing relationships in the Sundance, Cannes, or Berlin ecosystems, where Neon has been consistently active.
What budget range does Neon target for acquisitions?
Neon's stated budget range for acquisitions is up to $40M. In practice, the company has demonstrated willingness to acquire across a wide spectrum: the $6M paid for I, Tonya in 2017 is one of the few publicly confirmed acquisition prices, while the Korean animated feature Ally is reported as the most expensive Korean film production to date. Most recent deals list budgets as not disclosed, so the $40M figure represents the upper threshold rather than a typical deal size.
Does Neon acquire films at festivals, and which ones?
Festival acquisition is Neon's primary deal-making mode. The company has distributed six consecutive Palme d'Or winners and acquired Best Picture winner Anora, with recent deals closing at or around Cannes, Sundance, and the Berlin European Film Market. 'It Was Just an Accident' was acquired before it won the Palme d'Or; 'All of a Sudden' was the company's first pickup out of Berlin's European Film Market this year. Cannes and Sundance remain the highest-priority windows based on recent acquisition history.
How do you get in touch with Neon about a distribution deal?
Neon tracks 168 decision-makers according to recent activity data, with Tom Quinn (CEO), CMO Christian Parkes, and VP Jason Wald among the named executives in recent coverage. The company does not publicize a submissions contact. Industry-standard access is through a sales agent or entertainment attorney with festival-market relationships. Neon's deal activity clusters around Cannes, Sundance, and Berlin, making those markets the most practical points of contact for producers seeking distribution conversations.
What genres and types of films is Neon acquiring right now?
Neon's current acquisition pattern spans prestige international drama (Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, No Other Choice), auteur genre films (Hope, a sci-fi thriller from Na Hong-jin; Her Private Hell, Nicolas Winding Refn's first feature since 2016), animation (Arco, Ally), and director-driven horror-adjacent projects through the Oz Perkins first-look deal. The throughline is auteur pedigree and festival positioning rather than a single genre. Domestic genre with a strong marketing hook, as demonstrated by Longlegs, also fits the mandate.
Is Neon currently active and acquiring new films?
Yes. Neon's latest tracked signal is late June 2026, with two deals closed in the most recent 30-day window and nine in the prior 90 days. The company acquired both 'It Was Just an Accident' and 'The Secret Agent' in the same week at Cannes 2026. Activity metrics show 442 total records over the past twelve months and a 30-day deal velocity of 9, indicating sustained acquisition activity. The company describes itself as financially sustainable nine years in, with no additional outside investment taken beyond initial equity from Dan Friedkin and 30West.
Adjacent buyers in this lane
- Focus Features — Focus Features is doubling down on experiential brand-building and festival acquisitions to court th
- Roadside Attractions — Roadside Attractions is a North American boutique distributor actively acquiring festival-originated
- Fox Entertainment — Fox Entertainment is running a deliberate, low-volume acquisition strategy built around creator-led,
- 20th Television — 20th Television is actively building its overall-deal roster and deepening its animation pipeline, w
Related reading
Match your script to Neon
This is a public snapshot of Neon, kept current from trade-press signals. Inside ScriptMatch, upload your script to see whether Neon fits, why, and exactly how to reach them. Start a free 7-day trial or try the free buyer-match tool.