Neon has released the first trailer for “I Love Boosters,” Boots Riley’s follow-up to “Sorry to Bother You,” positioning the film as a swaggering heist comedy set inside the luxury-fashion economy. The film is scheduled to open the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival on March 12 before a U.S. theatrical release on May 22.
The movie centers on a crew of professional shoplifters who set their sights on a hard-edged fashion mogul played by Demi Moore. Keke Palmer leads the ensemble as Corvette, with Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, LaKeith Stanfield, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, Will Poulter and Don Cheadle also in the cast. The trailer opens on Palmer’s character trying to land a retail job, then pivots into coordinated break-ins and glossy runway imagery, telegraphing a caper that treats designer product as both obsession and target.
Riley has leaned into the film’s stacked lineup as part of the marketing push. He wrote on Instagram this week that the production had tried to keep Cheadle’s involvement quiet, then decided to reveal it and praised his performance. That kind of roll-out fits a campaign aimed at building awareness early, especially with SXSW’s opening-night slot often functioning as a launchpad for buzzy spring releases.
Festival executives have framed the pick as a statement title for the event’s 40th edition. SXSW Film & TV vice president Claudette Godfrey called the movie “deliciously unpredictable” when announcing it as the opener, a description that matches Riley’s track record for mixing big swings in tone with sharp social commentary. Industry watchers will be looking at how the film plays beyond the festival crowd, since Neon is taking it into wide release a little over two months later—an aggressive path that suggests confidence in both Palmer’s star power and Riley’s brand of satire.
