Sony Pictures Classics has acquired worldwide rights to Poetic License, the directorial debut of Maude Apatow, and will release the film in theatres in 2027, according to Variety (Variety, 4 August 2026).

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September to overwhelmingly positive reviews. It stars Leslie Mann as Liz, a former therapist and soon-to-be empty nester who relocates to a new town for her husband's job. Once there, Liz becomes the point of tension between two inseparable college seniors: Sam, played by Cooper Hoffman, and Ari, played by Andrew Barth Feldman. Apatow directed from a script by Raffi Donatich.

The path to Sony Pictures Classics was not straightforward. Row K Entertainment, the film's original buyer, had acquired Poetic License out of TIFF for $5.5 million to $7 million, as first reported by Deadline (Deadline, 23 March 2026). That payment never materialised, according to the same report.

By March, Variety reported that Row K had become inundated with unpaid bills and a creative exodus after less than a year in business. The company pulled out of CinemaCon in April amid mounting debts and delayed releases of several films, including Poetic License (The Wrap, 2 April 2026).

With Row K unable to deliver, the film's sales representatives at WME Independent took the project back out to market. Sony Pictures Classics stepped in, securing worldwide rights and providing the film a clear path to theatrical release.

The producing team behind Poetic License carries deep industry roots. Producers include Judd Apatow — Maude's father and a veteran writer-director-producer — alongside Josh Church, Benjamin Hung, Thalia Daniel, Maude Apatow herself, Olivia Rosenbloom, and Will Greenfield. Executive producers include Jamal Daniel, Michelle Upton, Renee Witt, Harrison Kreiss, and Jay Cassidy.

Sony Pictures Classics, the specialty label behind Call Me By Your Name, has a track record of platforming directorial debuts from film-makers working in character-driven, festival-circuit territory. A 2027 rollout gives the label room to position the film through its typical awards-season corridor.

For Maude Apatow, best known to audiences for her role in the HBO series Euphoria, the release marks the transition from actor to director on a major theatrical distribution slate. The film also continues a family collaboration: Leslie Mann, who plays Liz, is her mother.