Black Bear Takes Global Rights to Laika's Live-Action Atmosphere
Black Bear has acquired global rights to Atmosphere, Laika's live-action adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid's bestselling novel, after a competitive bidding situation, Deadline reported.
The film comes from filmmakers Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who adapted the book and will write and direct, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is a romance between Joan and Vanessa, two pioneering female astronauts who join NASA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The story plays out against the Space Shuttle programme of the 1980s.
Boden and Fleck are best known to general audiences for two very different credits, the indie drama Half Nelson and Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel. Here they move into literary adaptation and period drama. No cast has been announced.
The deal puts Black Bear in several seats at once. The company is co-financing the film with Laika, will act as international sales agent, meaning it sells distribution rights territory by territory, and will release the picture theatrically in the United States and in its own territories, Deadline reported. Domestic, the industry term for the United States and Canada, remains central to Black Bear's plan, which curates up to 12 releases a year.
Atmosphere is a Laika production in association with Circle M+P. Producers are Laika's Travis Knight, Matt Levin and Jeremy Kipp Walker, Boden and Fleck, Reid herself, and Brad Mendelsohn of Circle M+P, with Laika's Maryse Knight and Zac Locke as executive producers.
What makes this stand out is the company behind it. Laika built its name on stop-motion animation, including Coraline, and is developing Atmosphere through its live-action division. Its next animated feature, Wildwood, is due for release on 23 October 2026. Its live-action slate also includes Audition from Lulu Wang, starring Lucy Liu and Charles Melton.
Reid's books have sold more than 24 million copies worldwide. Plans for the Boden and Fleck adaptation first emerged in May 2025, when Atmosphere was still an upcoming, unreleased novel.
Black Bear has been building its releasing slate. It recently released The Rivals of Amziah King, starring Matthew McConaughey, and will release Wicker, starring Olivia Colman, on 23 October.
