EXCLUSIVE: Utopia has acquired North American rights to Mermaid, a comedic thriller starring actor and comedian Johnny Pemberton (of Fallout fame), which premiered to critical acclaim at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Pic is slated for release in theaters in early 2026.
Currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is written and directed by Tyler Cornack (Butt Boy), and follows a percocet-addicted Florida man named Doug (Pemberton) who discovers a wounded mermaid on the day he’s set to end his own life. As he nurses the mysterious creature back to health in his rundown home, Doug finds a new purpose — but as rumors of his secret begin to swirl, he’ll go to deranged and desperate lengths to keep her safe.
The cast also includes Robert Patrick (Reacher), Kevin Dunn (Veep), Kevin Nealon (SNL), Kirk Fox (Jury Duty), Tom Arnold (True Romance), and newcomer Avery Potemri. Daniel Brandt, Dane Eckerle and Cole Eckerle produced under their production banner, Bad Grey, with Bill Morean exec producing alongside Sara McFarlane, Jason Korsrad, and Pemberton.
Brandt and Eckerle are no stranger to SXSW, where their first feature collaboration, James Morosini’s cringe catfishing comedy I Love My Dad, swept the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award before selling to Magnolia.
Said Brandt, “As producers, we always feel privileged to work with filmmakers like Tyler Cornack who have such distinctive voices. We can confidently say that there are no movies out there like ‘MERMAID,’ and given Utopia’s support of such incredible original independent films over the years that cut through the noise, we’re excited to make a splash.”
Pip Ngo of XYZ Films brokered the deal with Utopia on behalf of the filmmakers. This marks the first acquisition for former Sundance programmer Charlie Sextro, who negotiated the deal for Utopia alongside Candace Tan. WTFilms is handling foreign sales, which were recently launched at Cannes.
“At Utopia, we love a wild movie, especially one that is funny as hell, so we jumped at the opportunity to release Mermaid,” said Sextro. “Tyler Cornack’s new twisted fantasy will provide audiences with one hell of a night out at the movies.”
