A24 has taken home one of Cannes 2026’s hottest titles. Club Kid, Jordan Firstman‘s directorial debut, has landed a major sale worth $17 million after a weekend of heated bidding in the South of France.
A24 outbid virtually every other major indie and studio distributor, including Focus Features, Searchlight, Netflix, and MUBI, to secure the film. Warner Bros.’ new indie label Clockwork also drew interest before bowing out early, while Neon was considered a potential suitor but already had a packed 2026 slate.
Multiple studio suitors were in for the movie, with the deal growing and growing following its premiere to surpass the eight-figure mark before eventually closing in the high teens.
Firstman stars as a party promoter who has long outgrown his time on the scene. When the 10-year-old son he never knew he had shows up at his door, he must choose to finally enter the adult world as a father or keep dancing the years away. Shot on 35mm, the film was lensed by recent Emmy Award-winner Adam Newport Berra, known for The Studio and Blink Twice.
Firstman wrote and directed Club Kid in his feature debut
Firstman stars alongside Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, and newcomer Reggie Absolom. The film danced its way to an electric seven-minute standing ovation at its world premiere. During the celebration, Firstman picked up costar Absolom and started a chant in his honor.
The critical reaction matched the crowd’s energy. TheWrap‘s Zachary Lee called it “an earnest, heartwarming, and vivacious look at the realities of parenting.” Wendy Ide of Screen Daily assessed that Firstman’s “depiction of queer party culture is loving, authentic and non-judgemental”. And that the film could become a “breakout indie hit.”
Club Kid marks the feature directorial debut of Firstman, who currently stars on the Rachel Sennott series I Love LA. He previously wrote and directed two short films: 2016’s Call Your Father, which premiered at Sundance, and 2017’s Men Don’t Whisper. Prior to his on-screen work, he spent nearly a decade in writers’ rooms for comedy series.
Academy Award-winner Alex Coco (fresh off his Oscar win for Anora) and Lurker producer Galen Core came on board as producers. The project features backing from Topic Studios, then hot off Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain. Four months after landing financing, Firstman was on set for the first day of his 26-day shoot.
“Jordan’s unique because he’s, technically, a first-time filmmaker, but he’s anything but green. He was coming with a level of experience that was distinct from what you might think of as a first time director.”
Topic’s head of film Ryan Heller said of Firstman
Club Kid marks the first major sale at this year’s Cannes, a market notably void of Hollywood star power or blockbuster muscle. UTA handled the sale with an international assist from Charades.
