A24 has emerged victorious from one of the most fiercely contested acquisition battles at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, closing a $17 million global rights deal for Club Kid, the buzzy debut feature from writer-director Jordan Firstman that premiered in the festival’s Un Certain Regard sidebar. Multiple buyers were in the room across several rounds of competitive bidding, with the final price reflecting both the film’s critical reception and broader marketplace confidence in Firstman as an emerging filmmaker.
Club Kid screened to rapturous response at the Croisette, with the film’s party scenes reportedly prompting one of the more memorable audience reactions of the festival’s first week. Firstman, a social media personality turned actor and filmmaker, has been on Hollywood’s radar for several years, and the acquisition confirms his arrival as a major creative force in independent film.
The deal is a significant statement of intent from A24, which continues to dominate the acquisition end of the independent film market while also producing its own slate. The $17 million global rights figure is substantial for an Un Certain Regard title and underscores the company’s willingness to move aggressively when it identifies a film with crossover potential. A24 has previously acquired and successfully released a number of Cannes discoveries in recent years.
The Cannes market this year has been described by veteran sales agents as a more condensed environment than in the recent past, partly due to ongoing consolidation among major studio buyers. With fewer bidders in the room for any given title, the competition for truly breakout films has become even more intense, which helps explain the heated atmosphere around Club Kid.
Firstman’s film joins a Cannes acquisitions class that also includes Paper Tiger, the James Gray crime drama starring Adam Driver, Miles Teller, and Scarlett Johansson, which has been generating Oscar buzz after its premiere ovation. Neon, which holds Paper Tiger, is seeking distribution for several of its Cannes titles and is expected to confirm a theatrical strategy in the coming weeks. The combination of Club Kid and the wider slate signals that this year’s Cannes, despite the absence of Hollywood blockbusters in competition, has delivered rich material for the acquisitions market.
