Universal Pictures released Ex Machina in the United Kingdom on 21 January 2015,[30] following a screening at the BFI Southbank on 16 December 2014 as part of the BFI's Sci-Fi: Days of Fear and Wonder season.[31]
However, Universal and its speciality label Focus Features, refused to release the film in the United States, so A24 agreed to distribute the United States release.[32] The film screened on 14 March 2015 at the South by Southwest festival prior to a theatrical release in the United States on 10 April 2015 by A24.[33][34] During the festival, a Tinder profile of the character Ava (using the image of Alicia Vikander) was matched with other Tinder users, wherein a text conversation occurred that led users to the Instagram handle promoting the film.[35]
