Cartuna and Irony Point have teamed up to acquire the North American distribution rights to Julian Glander’s feature debut, Boys Go to Jupiter, following its year-long festival run after premiering at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival. The companies plan to release the film theatrically this August, beginning with a launch at the IFC Center in New York on August 8 and followed by the Laemmle Glendale in Los Angeles on August 15 and rollout nationally.
Glander is best known for his cult video game ART SQOOL and animation work with Adult Swim, Disney, HBO Max and Cartoon Network. Billed as a surreal coming-of-age story set in suburban Florida, the Boys Go to Jupiter follows Billy 5000, a teenage delivery driver who stumbles into a cosmic mystery after a routine gig leaves him caretaker of a mysterious alien egg.
“People in ’the industry’ keep telling me we’ve got a box office bonanza on our hands,” said Glander. “That Boys Go to Jupiter is a blockbuster goldmine with huge four-quadrant potential. Again, these are their words, not mine. I don’t really keep up with that stuff, but I’m very excited to be working with Cartuna and Irony Point.”
The ensemble voice cast led by Janeane Garofalo (Reality Bites), Julio Torres (Fantasmas), Sarah Sherman (SNL), Cole Escola (Oh, Mary!), Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Tavi Gevinson (Gossip Girl), Grace Kuhlenschmidt (The Daily Show), Jack Corbett (NPR’s Planet Money) and Joe Pera (Joe Pera Talks with You). Rounding out the cast are Miya Folick, Chris Fleming, River L. Ramirez, Max Wittert and Demi Adejuyigbe.
The stylized 3D CG film was produced by Glander under his Pittsburgh-based studio, Glanderco, with Peisin Yang Lazo serving as executive producer.
“We can’t think of a more perfect fit for Irony Point’s first foray into distribution than Julian Glander’s wonderful film, whose voice cast is filled with some of our favorite collaborators. The world needs to see this beautiful little masterpiece as soon as possible, so that we can start plotting out the next 15 installments of the expanded ‘Glanderverse’.”
Irony Point, based in N.Y. and L.A., is run by Daniel Powell and Alex Bach. The company’s TV and streaming credits include the Emmy-winning I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (Netflix), Fantasmas (HBO), the Emmy and Peabody-winning Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central), the Tony-nominated, record-breaking Broadway comedy Oh, Mary! and the animated cult favorite Ugly Americans (Comedy Central). Select feature credits include the Sundance Selections Scare Me and Clara’s Ghost.
“Julian is operating on another frequency,” said James Belfer, Founder and CEO of Cartuna. “Boys Go to Jupiter explodes with color, heart and musical absurdity. It’s like if a Saturday morning cartoon was beamed in from the future. We’re beyond thrilled to help bring it to the world.”
Boys Go to Jupiter marks Cartuna’s second acquisition this year, following their earlier pickup of the Sundance midnight oddity Dead Lover under the Cartuna x Dweck banner. Cartuna has quietly been assembling a slate of films for distribution with forthcoming titles to be announced later this year.
Founded by James Belfer and Adam Belfer, Cartuna is a Brooklyn-based distribution and production company focused on animation, DIY and cult films. Cartuna will theatrically release Dead Lover and produced the Blu-ray releases of Hundreds of Beavers, Adam Green’s Aladdin, Nova Seed and Sundance Special Jury Prize winner Nuts!. Upcoming projects by Cartuna and the Belfers include recent Sundance premieres Obex and By Design, AJ Goes o the Dog Park, The Johnny Ryan Movie and Silence Sometimes. Past producing credits include Strawberry Mansion, Sylvio, Berlinale Silver Bear winner Prince Avalanche, Compliance and Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Like Crazy. They also made their Broadway debut investing in the Tony-nominated, record-breaking Broadway comedy Oh, Mary!.
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