Cara Delevingne Gets a Kiss Sandwich at the Club Kid Premiere as A24’s New Comedy-Drama Steals the Night

Some premieres are polite affairs. Handshakes, a few posed smiles, everybody home by ten. The Club Kid premiere in Los Angeles was not one of those nights.

On Wednesday night, November 4, the Vista Theatre turned into exactly the kind of scene the movie itself is about — loud, a little chaotic, and impossible to look away from. And right in the middle of it all was Cara Delevingne, who found herself quite literally caught between her two co-stars. Jordan Firstman leaned in from one side, Diego Calva from the other, and the cameras caught the whole thing: a full kiss sandwich on the red carpet, delivered with the kind of gleeful energy that tells you this cast genuinely likes each other.

It was the perfect image for a movie that, by all accounts, is way more heartfelt than its title lets on. Club Kid might sound like a night out. In reality, it’s a story about growing up when you least expect to.

A Red Carpet That Felt Like a Party

The Vista Theatre is one of those old Los Angeles movie palaces that makes everything feel a little more cinematic, and the Club Kid crowd leaned into it. Alongside Delevingne, Firstman and Calva, the premiere brought out fellow cast members Reggie Absolom, Saturn Rising, Colleen Camp and Miss Benny, all posing for photos and soaking in what was clearly a big night for the film.

Firstman had extra backup, too. His I Love LA co-stars Rachel Sennott, True Whitaker and Odessa A’zion showed up to support him, which makes sense — this is a big swing for Firstman, and having your people in the room matters on a night like that. The whole evening had the feel of a group of friends celebrating something they built together, rather than a stiff industry obligation. People were laughing. People were hugging. Somebody, somewhere, was definitely having more fun than the average Wednesday allows.

And then there was the kiss sandwich. Delevingne, sandwiched between Firstman and Calva, grinned through it like someone who has been on a thousand red carpets and still knows how to enjoy one. It’s the kind of photo that does the rounds for a reason — silly, warm, and instantly shareable. For a small A24 film trying to cut through the noise of awards season, that one frame might be worth more than a billboard.

What Is Club Kid Actually About?

Strip away the premiere-night antics and Club Kid has a surprisingly tender premise. Firstman plays a hard-partying New York City club promoter whose entire world gets flipped upside down when a 10-year-old son he never knew he had suddenly shows up in his life. The whirlwind lifestyle — the late nights, the velvet ropes, the never-ending party — doesn’t exactly mix with school runs and bedtime stories.

It’s a classic setup, sure. The irresponsible adult forced to grow up by a kid who didn’t ask for any of this. But the early word suggests Firstman found something real inside it. This isn’t a broad, wacky comedy about a man-child learning to change diapers. The critics who’ve seen it keep coming back to the same words: earnest, warm, sincere. The party scenes are there, but they’re the backdrop, not the point. The point is what happens when someone whose whole identity is built on never settling down suddenly has a reason to.

And here’s the thing that makes the whole project more interesting: Firstman didn’t just star in it. He wrote the screenplay, and Club Kid marks his directorial debut. That’s a lot of hats for one movie, and it’s the kind of gamble that either falls flat or announces a real filmmaker. Judging by the reaction so far, it’s looking a lot more like the second one.

Jordan Firstman’s Big Swing Behind the Camera

If you know Jordan Firstman at all, you probably know him from his online persona — arch, ironic, very online. He’s spent years building a following on a very specific brand of deadpan comedy, the kind that treats sincerity like a punchline. So the fact that his first film as a director is, by most accounts, genuinely heartfelt is kind of the story here.

IndieWire, which gave the film an A-, put it better than anyone: Club Kid has real potential to break out bigger than its seemingly niche scope would suggest, with Firstman finally shirking the ironic pose he’s taken online for years to emerge as a sincere storyteller with heart as much as humor. That’s not a small compliment. It’s basically saying the guy everyone thought was too cool to care actually cares a lot — and it shows on screen.

It also puts his performance in a different light. Playing a club promoter who has to figure out fatherhood on the fly is one thing. Directing yourself through that arc, while also steering the whole production, is another. Firstman clearly bet on himself here, and the early returns suggest the bet is paying off.

The Critics Are All In — and So Is the Awards Chatter

Let’s talk numbers, because they’re genuinely striking for a film this size. Club Kid currently sits at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, with 65 reviews counted. A perfect score with that many reviews in is rare for any movie, let alone a small A24 comedy-drama arriving in the thick of awards season. Perfect scores don’t last forever — one grumpy review and the streak is over — but 65 in a row is a statement.

The write-ups back it up. TheWrap called it an earnest, heartwarming, and vivacious look at the realities of parenting and a celebration of the warmth and love in unconventional lifestyles. The Hollywood Reporter praised it as a confident, exciting directorial debut, stylish in an unobtrusive way and agreeably paced. Those are the kinds of notices that make distributors very happy and awards consultants very busy.

Speaking of awards: yes, there’s already Oscar buzz, and it’s not just the polite kind people throw around for every festival darling. Club Kid is currently predicted to land a Best Original Screenplay nomination for Firstman, and he’s also in the rankings for Best Actor and Best Director. The film itself is in contention for Best Picture. That’s a lot of heat for a movie about a club promoter and a ten-year-old, but then again, the Academy has a soft spot for a heartfelt debut that comes out of nowhere — and right now, Club Kid is the definition of coming out of nowhere.

Cara Delevingne, Back Where She Belongs

For Delevingne, the premiere was another reminder of how comfortably she moves between worlds. Model, actress, professional scene-stealer — she’s spent the last decade refusing to be boxed into one thing, and her presence at the Club Kid premiere felt like a genuine endorsement rather than a favor. She showed up, she played along with the kiss sandwich bit, and she made the whole night feel like an event.

She’s also, quietly, built up a pretty interesting filmography of her own over the years, picking projects that let her be funny, strange, or surprising rather than just decorative. Club Kid fits that pattern. Whatever her role in the film — and the premiere photos suggest she’s right at the heart of the ensemble — she clearly had a good time making it, and that kind of energy tends to be contagious on screen.

There’s something fitting about Delevingne being the one at the center of the night’s most talked-about photo, too. She’s a natural red-carpet magnet, the kind of star photographers actually want to shoot rather than just have to. Firstman and Calva flanking her for the kiss sandwich wasn’t just a cute moment — it was the cast telling the world, without saying a word, that this is a team.

Why This Little Movie Might Be a Big Deal

Here’s the honest truth about November at the movies: it’s crowded. Awards contenders, holiday blockbusters, prestige dramas all elbowing each other for attention. A small A24 film about a club promoter learning to be a dad could easily get lost in the shuffle. But Club Kid has a few things going for it that most small movies don’t.

First, the reviews. A 100% Rotten Tomatoes score with 65 reviews is the kind of thing that makes casual moviegoers curious and awards voters pay attention. Second, the story behind the movie — a first-time director dropping the irony and making something sincere — is exactly the kind of narrative that builds momentum through awards season. And third, it has a cast that clearly loves the film and isn’t shy about showing it, which is how word of mouth actually works in 2026.

There’s also the timing. Club Kid hit theaters on Friday, November 6, right as the awards conversation is heating up. If the box office numbers follow the reviews, don’t be surprised if this becomes one of those movies people talk about as the little film that could — the one that started with a kiss sandwich on a Wednesday night in Los Angeles and ended up somewhere nobody expected.

At the very least, it’s already given us one of the best premiere photos of the year. Cara Delevingne, grinning, caught between two co-stars who clearly adore her, at a party that felt like the movie itself. If Club Kid is half as much fun as its premiere was, audiences are in for a good time — and maybe a few tears they didn’t see coming, too.

Source: Just Jared