UPDATE AFTER EXCLUSIVE: John Carney’s Power Ballad starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas is now going limited on May 29 before a wide break on June 5.
The movie about the bond between a past-his-prime wedding singer (Rudd) and a fading boy-band star Danny (Jonas) world premiered at SXSW, where it scored a 92% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Deadline film critic Glenn Garner wrote that the pic “has the potential to serve as a feel-good movie for a date night or maybe even a comfort watch for artists who want to feel valued in an oversaturated creative landscape.”
EXCLUSIVE, Oct. 28, 2025: Lionsgate has dated the John Carney-directed Power Ballad starring Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas for June 5, 2026.
In the movie, co-written by Carney and Peter McDonald, Rick (Rudd), a past-his-prime wedding singer, meets fading boy-band star Danny (Jonas) during a gig. The two bond over music and a late-night jam session. But when Danny turns one of Rick’s songs into the hit that reignites his career, Rick sets out to reclaim the recognition he believes he deserves – even if it means risking everything he cares about. The pic is billed as being a feel-good story about music, self-respect, friendship, and the price of ambition.
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McDonald also stars with Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu, and Jack Reynor. Producers are Anthony Bregman, John Carney, Peter Cron, Rebecca O’Flanagan and Robert Walpole. 30West fully financed and executive produced Power Ballad.
Power Ballad will open up against Amazon MGM Studios’ Masters of the Universe from filmmaker Travis Knight, as well as Warner Bros and Legendary’s hybrid live-action animated title, Animal Friends.
Upcoming for Lionsgate is I Wish You All the Best on Nov. 7 through its Lionsgate Premiere label, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t on Nov. 14, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair on Dec. 5, Paul Feig’s The Housemaid starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried on Dec. 19, Greenland 2: Migration on Jan. 9, 2026; I Can Only Image 2 on Feb. 20, and Michael, the Michael Jackson biopic from Antoine Fuqua on April 24, 2026.