Image Credit: A24 — Official Trailer/Poster via YouTube
A film with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes is rare. A debut film with a perfect score is rarer still. That is exactly what this Club Kid review is about: Jordan Firstman’s first feature as a writer-director has opened in American cinemas to a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 100 reviews, with an average score of 8.6 out of 10.
On Metacritic, the film holds 81 out of 100 from 27 critics, a score the site labels “universal acclaim”. For a small A24 comedy-drama about a washed-up New York party promoter who suddenly has to raise a 10-year-old son he never knew existed, that is an extraordinary start.
Club Kid opened in limited release in the United States on 6 November 2026, in New York and Los Angeles, and it expands nationwide on 26 November 2026.
As this Club Kid review will show, the film had already travelled a long way before that: a world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival on 15 May 2026, where it received a seven-minute standing ovation, followed by a bidding war in which A24 paid a reported $17 million for worldwide rights. If you are wondering whether the hype is real, this Club Kid review breaks down the five reasons critics have fallen for it — and the few things to know before you book a ticket.
Club Kid Review: 5 Reasons Critics Are Calling It 2026’s Sweetest Surprise
1. A perfect Rotten Tomatoes score that keeps growing
When A24’s Club Kid reached cinemas, its Rotten Tomatoes page read 100% fresh. That number has held as the review count climbed to 100 critics, with an 8.6 out of 10 average — the kind of figure usually reserved for the year’s awards favourites.
MovieWeb called it one of the highest-rated films of the year on the aggregator, and the consensus on the site praises Firstman for making “an arresting first impression as a writer-director” in a “bittersweet father-son dramedy that injects the classic formula with a modern sensibility”. The Metacritic score of 81 tells the same story from a different angle: this is not a film critics merely liked, it is one they admired.
2. Jordan Firstman does everything — and it shows
Club Kid is Jordan Firstman’s feature directorial debut, and he also wrote it and stars in it as Peter, a mid-30s Brooklyn gay underground party promoter whose second home is the club and whose life is, by his own admission, a mess. Firstman is best known as an actor and internet personality, and as a lead in the HBO series I Love LA, but here he directs himself with real confidence. The film was shot on 35mm by cinematographer Adam Newport-Berra, which gives New York’s nightlife a warm, grainy texture that digital cameras rarely manage, and the music is by Cristobal Tapia de Veer.
Variety’s Guy Lodge, reviewing from Cannes, called the film a “sweet, surprisingly old-fashioned heartwarmer”, while The New Yorker’s Justin Chang described it on release day as “a disarming cocktail of grit and fantasy”. That combination — a wild first hour and a tender final stretch — is the film’s signature move, and several reviews single out the last half-hour as its most emotional passage.
3. A father-son story that earns its tears
The plot of Club Kid is simple on paper. Peter’s life takes an unexpected turn when he is forced to care for Arlo, a 10-year-old son he never knew he had. Newcomer Reggie Absolom plays Arlo, a boy carrying grief he struggles to put into words, and the film follows the two of them as a reluctant, chaotic household slowly becomes a real family. The Queer Review gave the film five stars out of five, praising Firstman’s “virtuoso feature debut as writer-director-star”, and the Cinema Group’s festival review called it “one of the best movies of the year”, saying it left a sold-out Toronto crowd in tears and roaring applause.
What makes the story land is that Peter does not magically become a good father. He fails, he parties, he leans on his friends, and he changes in small, believable steps — which is exactly why audiences have responded to it.
4. A cast full of real nightlife faces
Around Firstman and Absolom, Club Kid builds a world that feels lived-in rather than dressed up. Cara Delevingne plays Sophie, Peter’s business partner, whose patience with his destructive behaviour eventually reaches its limit. Diego Calva plays Oscar, Arlo’s kind and charming social worker, who complicates Peter’s life in a romantic way. Kirby Howell-Baptiste is Edison, Colleen Camp is Evelyn, and Vicki Pepperdine plays Lydia, a pro bono family lawyer and a highlight of the supporting cast.
The film also casts real figures from New York’s queer nightlife — Saturn Risin9 as the DJ Saffron, Miss Benny as Almi and Alaska Riley as Hana — and Firstman shot inside real New York clubs and parties with the city’s nightlife community. The soundtrack keeps the same energy, with music from Ethel Cain, Cocteau Twins, Slayyyter, Death Grips, Kelela and Elliott Smith. ScreenDaily’s Wendy Ide wrote that Firstman’s “depiction of queer party culture is loving, authentic and non-judgemental” and suggested the film could become a “breakout indie hit”.
5. A festival darling with awards season behind it
Club Kid arrived in cinemas with a festival record most debuts would envy. After Cannes, where it was nominated for the Camera d’Or and the Queer Palm, it played Telluride, Toronto, the BFI London Film Festival and the New York Film Festival, opened the Chicago International Film Festival on 14 October 2026, and won two awards at the Deauville American Film Festival in September 2026.
Firstman has since collected the Breakthrough Filmmaker Award at Middleburg and the Rising Star Director Award at SCAD Savannah. The film is now nominated for Best Feature and Breakthrough Director at the Gotham Independent Film Awards on 30 November 2026, and for Best International Independent Film at the British Independent Film Awards on 6 December 2026. For a film made for a reported $17 million acquisition price, that is a remarkable return on belief.
The Cast of Club Kid
The full cast of Club Kid brings together established names and genuine newcomers, and the balance is one of the things this Club Kid review rates most highly. Jordan Firstman leads as Peter, the party promoter at the centre of the story. Reggie Absolom, in his breakout role, plays Arlo, Peter’s 10-year-old son.
Cara Delevingne is Sophie, Peter’s business partner. Diego Calva is Oscar, the social worker who becomes important to both Peter and Arlo. Kirby Howell-Baptiste plays Edison, Colleen Camp plays Evelyn, Vicki Pepperdine plays Lydia Chestworth, Nigil Whyte plays Devon, Eldar Isgandarov plays Nicky, and Saturn Risin9, Miss Benny and Alaska Riley round out the nightlife family as Saffron, Almi and Hana. The film is produced by Alex Coco, Galen Core, Michael Bloom and Ryan Heller for Topic Studios, and it runs for 121 minutes with an R rating for drug content, strong sexual content, brief graphic nudity and language.
From Cannes to A24: The $17 Million Bidding War
The story behind Club Kid is almost as dramatic as the film itself. Shortly after its Cannes premiere and its seven-minute ovation, the film reportedly drew offers from multiple studios, including Mubi, Focus Features, Searchlight Pictures and Black Bear Pictures, with figures reaching seven and eight digits. Netflix and Warner Bros. also expressed interest before dropping out in the early stages.
A few days later, A24 acquired worldwide distribution rights for $17 million. It was one of the biggest deals of Cannes 2026, and it set the tone for everything that followed: A24 dated the film for 6 November 2026 in the United States, with France opening on 4 November and Australia and New Zealand to follow on 14 January 2027.
Club Kid Release Date and Where to Watch
Club Kid is currently playing in limited release in New York and Los Angeles, having opened on 6 November 2026, and it expands nationwide on 26 November 2026. It is not streaming yet on any platform — A24 has not announced a digital or streaming date, so the only way to watch it right now is in cinemas.
Our earlier Club Kid release-date post has the full background on the trailer and the Cannes premiere, and this Club Kid review builds on it with the verdict now that critics and audiences have actually seen the film. If the film expands as planned, the last week of November is when most American audiences will get their first chance to see it, and its perfect Rotten Tomatoes score makes it one of the most talked-about limited releases of the month.
Club Kid Box Office: A Small Start for a Limited Release
Because Club Kid opened in only a handful of cinemas, its opening numbers are modest: trade trackers put its early box office at around $175,398. That figure says very little about the film’s future, because limited releases live or die on their expansion, and A24’s nationwide rollout on 26 November is the real test.
What the numbers do show, and what this Club Kid review takes as a good sign, is that the film’s audience so far has been exactly the crowd A24 wanted — festival audiences, critics and the New York nightlife community the film portrays. If the word of mouth holds, and a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score is powerful word of mouth, the expansion could turn a small opening into a genuine sleeper hit.
Club Kid Review: Should You Watch It?
This Club Kid review comes down to a simple verdict: yes, and soon. A 100% Rotten Tomatoes score from 100 critics, an 81 on Metacritic, five-star reviews and a father-son story that critics keep calling the sweetest surprise of the year add up to a film that is easy to recommend. It is funny, chaotic, tender and honest about the mess of growing up late, and Jordan Firstman’s debut suggests a filmmaker worth following.
The one thing to know before you go is the tone: this is an R-rated film about adult nightlife, with drug use and strong language throughout, and its final half-hour is far more emotional than its party-filled opening suggests. If that sounds like your kind of film, Club Kid is playing in cinemas now and expands nationwide on 26 November 2026.
Club Kid FAQs
Here are the answers this Club Kid review found to the questions readers ask most.
Is Club Kid really 100% on Rotten Tomatoes?
Yes. As of the latest count, Club Kid holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 100 reviews, with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Its Metacritic score is 81 out of 100 from 27 critics.
Who directed Club Kid?
Jordan Firstman wrote, directed and stars in Club Kid. It is his feature directorial debut. He plays Peter, a New York underground party promoter.
Who stars in Club Kid?
The cast is led by Jordan Firstman as Peter and newcomer Reggie Absolom as his 10-year-old son Arlo. Cara Delevingne plays Sophie, Diego Calva plays Oscar, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Colleen Camp and Vicki Pepperdine co-star.
When did Club Kid release?
Club Kid premiered at Cannes on 15 May 2026 and opened in limited release in the United States on 6 November 2026 through A24. It expands nationwide on 26 November 2026.
Is Club Kid streaming on OTT?
No. Club Kid is not streaming yet on any platform. It is currently only in cinemas, with no digital or streaming date announced.
What is Club Kid about?
Club Kid follows Peter, a washed-up underground party promoter in Brooklyn, whose life changes when he has to care for Arlo, a 10-year-old son he never knew he had.
Image Credit: A24 — Official Trailer/Poster via YouTube
