Charlie Sextro, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Business Development at Utopia Distribution, has said the company is overhauling how it releases films in the US, moving towards fewer but more heavily curated, event-driven releases designed to tap into growing "fandom" among young cinephiles. Speaking at the Costa Rica Media Market, Sextro described current US film distribution as gruelling but said a post-pandemic shift is under way, with young audiences discovering arthouse and independent cinema through platforms such as Letterboxd and social media, reversing the industry's traditional reliance on older filmgoers.

Sextro, who spent 13 years as a senior programmer and curator at the Sundance Film Festival before joining Utopia in March 2025, said the arthouse and independent sector had been devastated by the pandemic but is now being "destroyed to be rebuilt" around a new generation of engaged young fans. He pointed to the success of films such as Curry Barker's "Obsession" and Kane Parsons' "Backrooms" as evidence that fandom can drive box office excitement, and said this insight has prompted Utopia to cut its number of annual releases in favour of dedicating greater time and resources to each title through curated, event-style campaigns.