Poster © Elevation Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
|
GenreAdventure, Comedy & Sci-Fi
RatedR
Runtime1 hr 40 mins
ReleasedFebruary 13, 2026
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorMatt Johnson
StarringMatt Johnson, Jay McCarrol
|
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie's Details | |
| Genre | Adventure, Comedy & Sci-Fi |
| Rated | R |
| Released | 03/09/2025 (SXSW); 02/13/2026 (Canada & United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 40 mins |
| Budget | $2M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Nirvana the Band the Show and Nirvanna the Band the Show by Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie's Interests | |
| General | The Rivoli, the CN Tower, a tricked-out RV, the last bottle of Orbitz, the year 2008. |
| Music | Jay McCarrol, scoring it with big Alan Silvestri and John Williams energy. |
| Movies | Back to the Future (1985). Matt built the whole RV off it. |
| Television | Nirvanna the Band the Show, the Viceland series. Same two guys, same zero gigs. |
| Heroes | Jay. Seventeen years of saying yes to Matt's plans. |
| Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie's Crew | |
| Director | Matt Johnson |
| Writers | Matt Johnson (story), Jay McCarrol (story), Jared Raab (story), Curt Lobb (story), Matthew Miller (story), Matt Greyson (story), Luca Tarantini (story), Evan Morgan (story), Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol |
| Producers | Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson |
| Cinematography | Jared Raab |
| Music | Jay McCarrol |
| Edited By | Curt Lobb, Robert Upchurch |
| Production | Zapruder Films, Telefilm Canada, Crave |
| Distributed By | Elevation Pictures (Canada), Neon (United States) |
Matt and Jay would rather build a time machine than send the Rivoli a polite email, and that’s the whole movie. It’s so devoted to Back to the Future that it practically borrows the DeLorean’s homework, and if Matt’s manic energy wore you out on the TV show, it’ll wear you out here too. But the craft is nuts. Matt Johnson shot much of it in public with real passersby who had no clue they were extras, and you’ll keep wondering how a scene was even possible. A skydive off the CN Tower that fizzles when the SkyDome roof closes is just the warmup. A trip back to 2008 to swipe a bottle of Orbitz from their younger selves is the funniest heist of the year. Under all the irony is a sincere movie about a friendship that might be ending. It made $5.3 million worldwide on a reported $2M. An 8.6 because it’s ridiculous on purpose and heartfelt anyway. $3,952 says you walk past a local music venue this month and seriously consider asking them for a gig.
What works: The guerrilla filmmaking is astonishing, and under all the irony, the friendship between Matt and Jay lands with real feeling.
What doesn’t: It leans so hard on Back to the Future that whole stretches play like a fan tribute, and Matt’s mania can test your patience.
Who it’s for: Anyone who has had the same band name, or the same big dream, since high school.
Spoilers
In the broken timeline, Jay’s solo fame goes so wrong that he ends up on the run, and Matt sacrifices himself on a lightning-powered cable to send Jay back. Jay fixes the whiteboard so their younger selves play the Rivoli, and in the repaired 2025, Matt pitches the skydive all over again.
Matt (Matt Johnson) and Jay (Jay McCarrol) started Nirvanna the Band in Toronto back in 2008 with exactly one goal: get booked at the Rivoli. Seventeen years on, still nothing. Matt's newest plan is skydiving off the CN Tower into a Blue Jays game, and it flops hard. Jay quietly books himself an open mic in Ottawa. Then Matt rigs their RV with fake time-travel gadgets, douses it with his final bottle of Orbitz, and the two of them wake up in 2008. Johnson directs, and plenty of people on screen had no idea a movie was happening. One hundred minutes, still unbooked.
Anyone who books shows at the Rivoli. Matt has a plan, and you will not like it.
| Matt Johnson | |
| Jay McCarrol |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +360 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $5.3M; Domestic box office $4M; Opening weekend $1.3M; Profit / loss (est.) -$355K; Rotten Tomatoes 95%; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 95% (127 reviews); IMDb users 7.7 / 10 (14,182 votes); movie.guru score 9.3.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 18 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.