By Justin Waldman

This past Saturday, Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol did what they never thought they could, they got over 700 people to line-up at The Rivoli to see them! And the duo don’t even have songs together!

Fans braved the cold for a chance to meet the geniuses behind NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW and now, NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE. The event started around noon, with Johnson and McCarrol seeing people up till around 5 PM for the merch drop. The venue was decorated with fun tie-ins with the Movie and Series, including photographs and Orbtiz bottles produced for the event!

Fans also got to get up-close to the famous RV parked outside The Rivoli both days and on the Friday, fans were treated to a breakdown with one of the people behind the props!

The event was so popular an encore was held the following day for those who missed their shot on the Saturday!

As a huge fan of Johnson and McCarrol (along with Nicholas Porteous from Team Mr. Will!), this was such a surreal experience, meeting the people behind the best movie of 2026 (thus far, but will be hard to beat!).

If you didn’t make it down to The Rivoli and within Canada, you can get the merch online here.

Some highlights:

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE is now in theatres.

(Photo/video credit: Justin Waldman/Nicholas Porteous/Elevation Pictures/Shawn Goldberg)

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie had an incredible opening weekend, pulling in an estimated 290K for three days and a projected 350k for the four-day holiday, making it the biggest opening for a live-action English Canadian title since BlackBerry.

Cineplex Scotiabank Theatre ranked #1 in North America, ahead of IFC Center in NYC and Music Box Theatre in Chicago. In Canada, it was followed by Cineplex Yonge-Dundas and Fox Theatre. The result is especially notable given the film opened on half as many screens as BlackBerry when it released in 2023. Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, distributed in the U.S. by NEON, is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with a 97% critics score and 96% audience score.

Plans to support the film’s second week in theatres continue, as Elevation Pictures has confirmed a merch pop-up at The Rivoli on February 21 from 12–3 p.m. ET, with co-creators Matt Johnson and Jay McCarroll in attendance. Merch will also be available for Canadians to purchase online.

“This is our first-ever merch drop as a company, driven by the extraordinary community that formed around the series and expanded with the film,” said Laurie May, co-president of Elevation Pictures. “With the successful opening weekend numbers, we’re thrilled to have Matt and Jay go somewhere they’ve never gone before… The Rivoli,” added Noah Segal, co-president of Elevation Pictures.

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE is now playing across Canada

Directed by: Matt Johnson
Starring: Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson

When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008

By Mr. Will Wong

Cult favourite Mockumentary Sitcom Television Series NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW amassed a huge following when its two seasons aired on Viceland between 2017 and 2018. While fans never got its third season, the answer to the void is NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE. Right out the gate, it won huge raves premiering at SXSW ’25 and eventually it took prestigious the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award at tiff50 this past September.

The Comedy-Adventure sees buddies Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, reprising fictional versions of themselves, trying to get a gig at Queen Street’s Rivoli, but things go to the wayside when they accidentally get transported back in time to 2008 Toronto, their friendships tested to the limits in the most crazy death-defying situations, and fates possibly altered forever as they try to get back to today.

This Film is a cinematic feat and unapologetically Torontonian. The Buddy Comedy we all need to take us out of this depressing winter!

We had the joy of chatting with Johnson and McCarrol, who not only star in the Film, but co-wrote together, with the former directing. They ask us for some food recos for lunch, and we direct them to New Zealand’s The Carvery at The Well, although we felt a bit hesitant directing them to a food court. Alas, we learned that Johnson actually really loves their food court and is going to hit them up soon!

We ask them about the unique editing here which makes the most unbelievable situations believable here.

Johnson: The real struggle is not what you think. And this is what’s so fun about making movies in this format. The struggle is when the Editors get a better idea for what our scene should have been than what we had.

A great example would be (spoiler alert) when we try to sneak through security at the CN Tower, and we, and the production team were expecting to be stopped. We thought they were gonna say, “Hey! You can’t bring parachutes in here. You can’t bring wire cutters in here!”, and stop us. So they let us through and all of the sudden, we’re like “Now what do we do?”. We send that footage back to the Editors and we ask, “Can we use this? What can we do?”, and they confront us with the idea that they love this footage, so let’s see where this goes.

You actually go in and shoot what you said you were gonna shoot. Every day we were hearing alternate versions of what we had shot from the Editors as they said, “Don’t do that, do this instead”. Now that said, it means that we’re really working for them. We’re trying to shoot as much content as we can, trying to shoot as much crazy shit as we can, so that they have enough clay to really mold this into something interesting. But we trust them completely. Curt Lobb and Bobby Upchurch are more or less in-charge of the Movie.

McCarrol: It’s fun to be presented by them. We get to perform before each other. So Matt and I improvise a lot of stuff, there’s no script, and they play with those ingredients and concoct something, and they show it back to us. But often, they’re not just doing that to make it funny, they’re trying to find some better writing as well. And often what happens is, we go back to shoot again, as the Editors have discovered a way to punch-up the writing, to help it make more sense, to help the storyline.

It’s this process of going back and forth between the people on the field and the people in Editing. We’re making it all together.

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE must be seen to be believed! Incredible!

Elevation Pictures release in theatres February 13, 2026.

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures/Mr. Will Wong)

Elevation Pictures and Mr. Will are thrilled to give readers a chance to win passes to a special Toronto Advance Screening of tiff50 Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award winner, NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE.

Details:

LOCATION: Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

ADDRESS: 259 Richmond St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3M6

DATE: Wednesday, February 4, 2026

TIME: 7:00 PM

Synopsis: When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008.

Starring: Matthew Johnson and Jay McCarrol

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Tag one friend you’re bringing and multiple entries are allowed.

Rules and regulations here.

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE is in theatres on February 13, 2026

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

Watch the official for tiff50 Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award winner
NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE
In Theatres February 13, 2026.

Directed by: Matt Johnson
Starring: Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson

When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008.

Elevation Pictures & NEON present

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE THE TOUR

Elevation Pictures is excited to be share that NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE will be touring across North America this fall, including two Canadian tour dates. All stops will feature appearances with director Matt Johnson and co-creator Jay McCarrol.

Directed by: Matt Johnson
Starring: Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson

When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008.

Canadian Tour Stops
Montreal – Cinema Du Musee – October 29 – TICKETS
Vancouver – Rio Theatre – November 10 – TICKETS

Canadian merch details to come.

it’s a bittersweet feeling as we near the half-way point of tiff50. but we are thrilled that we finally get a chance to see some films, which is always what has made this festival so special for us! make no mistake though, there are still some very notable names in-town!

some day six sightings:

•shu qi (pronounced “shoo chee”) at tiff for girl

•rebecca zlotowski and jodie foster at tiff for a private life

•colin farrell and fala chen at tiff for ballad of a small player

•plus a day four flashback with matt johnson and jay mccarrol of nirvanna the band the show the movie

highlights here:

(photo/video credit: mr. will wong)

By Nicholas Porteous

Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol bring Nirvanna The Band The Show to the big screen in what is likely the single most Toronto movie of all time–Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. For those unfamiliar with the early 2000s web series and VICE TV show–watch it all right now!–but if you can’t, you’ll be completely fine. Matt and Jay once again attempt to land a gig at The Rivoli, only this time they’re unintentionally warped back to 2008–a vastly different era than you might imagine, in a bonkers tribute to Back to the Future (Parts 1 AND 2).

It’s a fool’s errand to try to pin down the magic of Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie in words, but I’ll do my best. It takes place in a hyper-specific and yet all-too-relatable world of stunts and in-jokes, idiotic schemes and deceptively complex filmmaking that wraps Toronto in a thick blanket of Matt and Jay’s mischief, pulling in unsuspecting real humans and manufacturing situations that can’t possibly be real but also can’t possibly be fake. There’s always a question in the air about what percentage of their misadventures is staged and how much is legit–and that’s half the fun. The other half–we’re talking another metric TON of fun, here–is the unhinged situations themselves. Right up front, we get their most daring stunt yet, involving a trip to the top of the CN Tower. A minor qualm–The Movie never totally matches the sheer scope and awe of this opening sequence again. But even if it was just this sequence–The Movie would be worth a full-priced festival ticket.

Explosively gleeful from the first to the final frame, Nirvanna is meant for a big crowd. The sheer volume and length of audience reactions is so intense, you’ll likely miss several jokes at your screening. At 100 convoluted-as-hell minutes, The Movie might be just slightly too dense with ideas, even for its minor runtime. The shorter length of the show and web series gave more license to sustain this very specific level of crazed storytelling in concentrated chonks. Still, there’s nothing else in the world like it. Aside from tracing the faintest outline of Back to the Future, I could never predict where it was heading next, and it’s impossible not to be swept up in the tidal wave of its audacious aura.

The midnight screening is one of the main events at TIFF ’25, but if you can’t secure a spot there, it’s also showing in IMAX–for perhaps the only time EVER–on the 8th. Don’t miss it.

Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie screens at TIFF ’25:

Thurs. Sept 4 at 11:59 PM at The Royal Alexandra Theatre

Mon. Sept 8 at 7:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sat. Sept 13 at 10:30 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Nirvanna The Band the Show the Movie has been awarded the SXSW 2025 Midnighter Audience Award after making its highly anticipated world premiere at SXSW last week. The film has been met with overwhelming praise from both longtime fans and newcomers alike, currently holding a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The long-awaited follow up from Matt Johnson (Blackberry) and Jay McCarrol delivers the signature offbeat comedy and chaotic energy that made the cult-hit series a fan favorite—only bigger, bolder, and more ridiculous than ever.

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE
Director: Matt Johnson
Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson
Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol

When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Matt Johnson’s highly anticipated follow-up to ‘BlackBerry’ is set to premiere in Austin this March as part of the festival’s Midnighter section!

Synopsis:

When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Blah blah blah blah blah.

Starring: Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol
Director: Matt Johnson
Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson
Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol

Elevation Pictures to release the Film, more to come.