Maude Apatow’s Poetic License, which wowed audiences during its premiere at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), will now receive worldwide distribution from Sony Pictures Classics, after its original distributor, Row K, collapsed. The film is Maude Apatow’s directorial debut and is written by Raffi Donavitch. The film is described as a coming-of-age comedy centered around Liz, a mother and former therapist who begins auditing a college poetry workshop. The film’s plot has Liz unexpectedly become the center of a romantic rivalry between two inseparable college seniors, which, in turn, begins testing their friendship.

The film’s cast consists of Leslie Mann, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Nico Parker, and Clifford “Method Man” Smith. The film’s producers are Judd Apatow (Maude’s father), Maude Apatow, Josh Church, Thalia Daniel, Will Greenfield, Benjamin Hung, and Olivia Rosenbloom.  The film was originally purchased not long after its TIFF premiere in late 2025 by Row K Entertainment in a deal estimated to be around $5.5 to $7 million. After major financial troubles, leadership changes, and the failure of multiple financial obligations, the rights for the film were put back on the market, where Sony Pictures Classics swooped in to purchase the film.

Sony Pictures Classics plans to release Poetic License in theaters in 2027.