A24 Unveils First Trailer for 'Club Kid,' Its $17 Million Cannes Acquisition
A24 has released the first trailer for Club Kid, the Jordan Firstman film it bought for $17 million after a fierce bidding war at the Cannes Film Festival in May (Variety). The film arrives in theatres on November 6.
Firstman wrote, directed and stars in the picture, playing a hard-partying New York City club promoter whose whirlwind life is upended when a 10-year-old son he never knew existed shows up at his door (A24). The cast includes Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Reggie Absolom (Variety).
Club Kid had its world premiere at Cannes, where it drew rave reactions from attendees (Variety). Variety's critic Guy Lodge called it "a sweet, surprisingly old-fashioned heartwarmer" in his review out of the festival (Variety). The $17 million acquisition price — a figure confirmed to Variety by three sources — came after A24, Netflix, Searchlight Pictures, Focus Features and Mubi all vied for the title (IMDb News; Variety).
Firstman is best known to audiences for his work in front of the camera, with appearances in I Love LA, English Teacher, Hacks and Rotting in the Sun (Variety). Club Kid marks his most prominent turn behind the camera to date.
During buyer meetings at Cannes, Firstman told studios that honouring his queer cast on the promotional tour was a priority for him — a stance he made clear before the deal with A24 was sealed (Variety).
A24 is positioning Club Kid as one of its major awards-season pushes this autumn, alongside Jesse Eisenberg's The Debut (Variety). A November 6 release places it squarely in the corridor where distributors launch prestige titles ahead of year-end voting deadlines.
The trailer's debut follows a poster reveal by Rotten Tomatoes Trailers, which teased the next-day drop on its YouTube channel (Rotten Tomatoes Trailers). A24 has also published an official page for the film on its own website (A24).
For a film that sparked a five-way bidding war on the Croisette, the November date gives A24 roughly three months to build from festival buzz to a wide audience. The trailer is the first look for everyone who was not in that Cannes screening room.
