I Love Boosters

"Booster: Somebody who steals clothes from a store and sells them at a discount price, aka community service."

2026 1h 53m EN

😐

6.2

MID

★6.2TMDB · 117

ComedyScience FictionCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A group of shoplifters take aim at a cutthroat fashion maven by stealing from her stores and reselling them at a lower price — what they call 'fashion-forward philanthropy'.

“Booster: Somebody who steals clothes from a store and sells them at a discount price, aka community service.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Keke Palmer
Corvette
Naomi Ackie
Sade
Taylour Paige
Mariah
Poppy Liu
Jianhu
Eiza González
Violeta
LaKeith Stanfield
Pinky Ring Guy
Will Poulter
Grayson
Don Cheadle
Dr. Jack

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Boots Riley
Writers: Boots Riley
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 46% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Boots Riley, shot by Natasha Braier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Merrill Garbus. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Matthew Hannam shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Keke Palmer and Naomi Ackie and Taylour Paige carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Booster: Somebody who steals clothes from a store and sells them at a discount price, aka community service.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt30827810 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Boots Riley directs. Natasha Braier behind the camera. Merrill Garbus scores. Matthew Hannam cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 46% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
3Directed by Boots Riley, shot by Natasha Braier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Merrill Garbus. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Matthew Hannam shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Keke Palmer and Naomi Ackie and Taylour Paige carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Booster: Somebody who steals clothes from a store and sells them at a discount price, aka community service.".
8IMDB entry: tt30827810 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 17 themes, including "department store", "surreal", "fashion designer", "fashion".

The technical file

Cinematography: Natasha Braier
Original score: Merrill Garbus
Editing: Matthew Hannam
Production design: Christopher Glass
Costume design: Shirley Kurata
Makeup / hair: Jessi Dean
VFX supervisor: Nathan McGuinness
Sound: Tom Myers
Stunt coordinator: Chelsea Bruland
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $20,000,000
Box office: $9,204,473
Return: 46% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: I Love Boosters (2026)

Also by

Boots Riley

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Brent Marchant2026-05-24
★ 5/10
The power of film to make statements and to effect meaningful change is truly quite impressive. But it’s also possible for the impact of that influence to be diminished when a picture overstates its case, a problem that seriously hampers the latest feature from writer-director Boots Riley. This second offering from the filmmaker in many ways echoes themes introduced in his debut release, the deliciously satirical “Sorry To Bother You” (2018), with its poignant but deftly balanced messages related to social and economic fairness, personal ethics, and the business and political climate. However, in this case, the volume on these notions has been turned up considerably, to the point where it fundamentally screeches at the audience, no matter how much viewers may personally agree with the points the director is attempting to make. The film essentially follows the exploits of a group of “boosters” – designer clothing thieves – in the greater Oakland, CA area, led by aspiring designer Corvette (Keke Palmer) and her associates (Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige). They target the retail outlets of iconic clothing creator Christie Smith (Demi Moore), a notoriously self-absorbed, self-important designer of overpriced clothing that she sincerely though euphemistically looks upon as “body art,” an element that she believes is integral to the evolution and advancement of society. Smith has made a fortune through her efforts (many of which are less than honorable), but she quietly seeks more than money: she lusts for power and control over her loyal and easily bamboozled customers and overworked employees, many of whom toil under deplorable conditions in manufacturing sweatshops in China. As revelations surface regarding Smith’s methods, things turn both personal and focused on bigger social and economic causes, especially when supported by idealistic aims at reframing injustices in all of these areas. This sets up factional; battlegrounds on multiple fronts to address these issues. Regardless of one’s personal opinions, the premise here would appear to be a somewhat noble one. However, it becomes mind-bogglingly overwhelming and tedious through a narrative that loses its way by becoming overstuffed with images, superfluous story threads, and initiatives that are difficult to track and differentiate from one another. Consequently, it’s easy to lose interest, particularly when storylines turn silly and the basic distinctions between reality and fantasy become irretrievably blurred (surrealism is one thing, but this is wholly over the top). The need for ruthless editing (not to mention major script revision) can’t be emphasized enough, no matter how laudable the underlying inherent notions might be. To its credit, when the picture works, it often succeeds brilliantly, especially in some of its biting one-liners, inspired sight gags, and performances by the likes of Moore, Chinese employee advocate Poppy Liu, and retail store manager Will Poulter, who uncharacteristically plays against type in his usual bad ass persona. The film also sports a stunningly colorful production design that’s a vibrant feast for the eyes. But there’s a lot lost here as well, primarily the result of a cloying story that quickly becomes more annoying than enlightening, some surprisingly cheesy special effects, and the generally poor use of cast members LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle and the trio of boosters. While it’s readily apparent that director Riley is genuinely gifted when it comes to the range of his vision, passion and imagination, it’s also equally apparent that he needs to be seriously reined in rather than let loose without restraint (there’s that notion of knowing “when to kill one’s darlings” again). Looking back at the virtues of his vastly superior debut effort would make for a good starting point, an exercise that might help the filmmaker get his artistic and storytelling sensibilities back on track. I’m convinced Riley ultimately has much to say of great importance, but he needs to find more effective ways to say it, and “I Love Boosters” is definitely not the vehicle for that.
ChristlichenSoldaten2026-05-31
★ 1/10
This is a low-IQ movie written by a low-IQ dummy for the lowest IQ zombies walking this earth. One of the worst attempts at an artsy movie I've ever watched (part of anyway). Several people in the movie theater got up and left and we eventually did as well. Full disclosure: We live in a very nice part of the city, not anywhere near the ghetto part of town. I am sure in the dumb part of town they thought it was valid entertainment. So to sum up, the mouth-breathing knuckle-draggers walking around our planet will clap like seals for this, and the rest of us will just star in amazement at their utter stupidity. 1/10 total trash.
aestarr2026-07-07
This was a very good movie. It's very smart and it's for smart people. I watched the full movie and understood the content very well.