After its rapturous reception at Cannes, Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid” sparked an intense eight-figure bidding war among multiple studios, including Mubi, A24, Netflix, and Searchlight.
A24 has finally won the rights to “Club Kid” in a deal said to be worth $17M. Given that A24’s Oscar slate is fairly weak this year, I presume this might become their main priority in the race.
It’s quite apropos that the film landed there, given that “Club Kid” has been described by many as “A24 meets Big Daddy.” Well, now A24 has its “Big Daddy,” a crowd-pleaser that currently sits at 85 on Metacritic.
“Club Kid” is Firstman’s directorial debut. It screened in the Un Certain Regard section and has emerged as the breakout title of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
Set in New York’s queer nightlife scene, the comedy-drama follows a reckless party promoter who suddenly discovers he has a 10-year-old son from a long-forgotten encounter, forcing him to confront adulthood and responsibility.
The film’s mix of raunchy humor, emotional sincerity, and authentic club-scene energy — along with supporting turns from Cara Delevingne and Diego Calva — makes it very accessible, and I can definitely see why it sparked so much interest. It is both a chaotic and heartfelt film, mostly avoiding cliché despite its familiar “man-child grows up” premise.
Meanwhile, I reported a few days ago that buzz surrounding Emmanuel Marre’s “A Man of His Time” was through the roof, having already screened in Paris to extraordinary word of mouth. A recent market screening at Cannes, days before its official premiere, has generated even more intense interest in the film. Watch out for this title.
This project is the total opposite of Snyder’s usual maximalist brand of filmmaking. Hell, there’s not even a distributor attached to it yet.