Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Neon | Release Date: February 13, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
23
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
The Irish TimesTara BradyJul 6, 2026
Johnson films the action in the same freewheeling documentary style as the television series, mixing hidden-camera encounters with unsuspecting members of the public and increasingly ambitious set pieces. The result preserves the scrappy, improvised amiability of the original while expanding it into a diabolically clever comedy, poignantly pivoting around two chums as they confront the distance between youthful certainty and middle age. Read full review
100
EmpireBen TravisJun 23, 2026
An instant cult-classic comedy that should be seen with a rowdy crowd — and then cherished for years to come on repeated quote-along home viewings. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comClint WorthingtonFeb 13, 2026
It’s movies like these that prove that cinema still has the capacity to surprise, even in criminally goofy comedies like this. Read full review
100
Wall Street JournalZachary BarnesFeb 12, 2026
An achievement as unlikely as it is inspired. Read full review
100
Original-CinChris KnightFeb 12, 2026
If you’re not at all familiar with the originals, but you know and/or love Back to the Future, that should be enough to guarantee you a good time at this almost-lawsuit-worthy homage/parody to the 1980s time travel classic. And if perchance you already love both Nirvanna and BTTF, then strap in, because when this movie hits 88 kilometres an hour… Read full review
97
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzMar 10, 2025
More than anything, NTBTSTM is simply hilarious – a furiously funny roller coaster of a film whose energy never, ever dips. It is difficult to imagine a better, sharper comedy coming along this year. Or the next. Read full review
91
The Film StageDevan SuberFeb 12, 2026
It functions just as much as a standalone movie as it does a conclusion for a beloved project. If Johnson and McCarroll never reach these comedic heights again, just be glad they managed to get the Canadian government to fund and release this. Read full review
90
IGNSiddhant AdlakhaFeb 11, 2026
Part guerrilla prank saga, part heartwarming friendship story, and part riff on Back to the Future, the result is an incredibly fine-tuned mishmash of styles and ideas that keeps evolving in surprising ways. Read full review
90
ColliderNate RichardMar 13, 2025
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is not only the funniest movie I’ve seen at SXSW, it’s one of the funniest I’ve seen in years. Read full review
85
Film ThreatAlan NgFeb 20, 2026
The movie is funny, but for me, the fun is watching this well-controlled mess unfold. Read full review
83
IndieWireChristian ZilkoMar 13, 2025
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie delivers everything a fan of the show could want, expanding the level of spectacle while keeping the core of the ongoing project intact. Read full review
80
Little White LiesHannah StrongJul 1, 2026
At its core it’s a film about the joy of hanging out and creating stuff with your pals – a daffy but delightful ode to delusional dreamers the world over with an admirable commitment to the bit. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawJul 1, 2026
If there is a serious point to this film it is how very quickly time goes past while you are trying and failing to make it in the music business. But the laughs are the important thing. Read full review
80
The RevealScott TobiasFeb 20, 2026
While there are surely gags and references that are for-fans-only in the film, which exists in part to pay off longstanding support, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is shambling and sweet, loaded with hilarious standalone bits that are held together by the duo’s warm camaraderie and intimate connection to the city of Toronto. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleFeb 17, 2026
Johnson is nothing if not a punchy ringmaster of deadpan humor and his grab-bag mindset generates enough goodwill to appreciate the DIY brashness of it all. I’m one of those who had no clue of this act’s history and I’m fairly certain I’d look forward to Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie the Sequel. Read full review
80
The Daily BeastNick SchagerFeb 12, 2026
No matter the out-of-this-world nature of their adventure, they remain an amusing and endearingly down-to-Earth doofus duo. Read full review
80
Time OutElizabeth WeitzmanFeb 11, 2026
Because the movie’s on-the-fly style is as scruffy as its protagonists, it’s easy to underestimate the intelligence and artistry it takes to make something so silly. Read full review
80
Next Best PictureJason GorberSep 4, 2025
Making dumb seem clever, and clever seem silly, Matt Johnson and company take their mockumentary shtick to new and dizzying heights, literally. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeMar 13, 2025
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is nothing if not an homage to the lasting impact that junk culture can have on impressionable minds. Read full review
75
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenMay 13, 2026
I defy anyone to resist the pair’s commitment to their bits, many of which involve hidden-camera work on the streets of Toronto—or above them. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineMarshall ShafferFeb 10, 2026
The film offers a joyous throwback to the optimistic feeling of the early internet creator era. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeSep 9, 2025
Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie is so affable, so good-natured, so modest—just so gosh-darned charming—that it’s difficult not to crack at least a little bit of a smile while watching it. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerFeb 12, 2026
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie may not win over many or even any new fans, but devotees of the TV show, and even diehards from the single-n Nirvana web days will relish having their favorite gentle idiots back and hearing the same joke on a bigger stage. Read full review
60
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisFeb 12, 2026
While much of this is muddled and repetitive, it is also now and then slyly amusing. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckFeb 12, 2026
This overly meta farce beats its mildly silly jokes so steadily into the ground that it’s not so much a case of diminishing returns as humor abuse. Read full review
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