Power Ballad

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Carney directs. Yaron Orbach behind the camera. John Carney scores. Stephen O'Connell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Ireland, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released this year — you're seeing it while it's still in the cultural conversation.
• 2International production across 2 countries: Ireland, United States of America.
• 3Directed by John Carney, shot by Yaron Orbach. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by John Carney. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Stephen O'Connell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas and Peter McDonald carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "It's time to set the record straight.".
• 8IMDB entry: tt32267691 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Yaron Orbach

Original score

John Carney

Editing

Stephen O'Connell

Production design

Anna Carney

Costume design

Triona Lillis

Runtime

99 min · 1h 39m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Box office

$3,394,770

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Power Ballad (2026) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

88% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

67/100

IMDB rating

6.7/10 · 7,106 votes

MPAA

R

Also by

John Carney

• 
  Bachelors Walk

  2001 · ★ 8.0
• 
  Sing Street

  2016 · ★ 7.9
• 
  Once

  2007 · ★ 7.4
• 
  Modern Love

  2019 · ★ 7.3
• 
  Begin Again

  2014 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Park

  1999 · ★ 7.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Official Clip - "I Wrote That Big Hit"

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Already a favorite.

  Teaser · Official
• 

  ▶
  sunny side up eggs & Stevie Wonder = Nick Jonas' perfect morning.

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Yea, I like that.

  Teaser · Official
• 

  ▶
  brb, going to The Stags Head incase i bump into Paul Rudd, John Carney, and Bono.

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  A standing ovation.

  Teaser · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• CinemaSerf2026-06-07
  ★ 6/10

  "Rick" (Paul Rudd) is a frustrated wedding singer in Dublin who lives with his wife and daughter dreaming of a success that he scented years earlier but that has eluded him since. They get a gig at a swanky hotel where they are reluctantly compelled to share the stage with a friend of the couple - a former boyband crooner "Danny" (Nick Jonas). It turns out that he isn't such a bad singer after all, and later that evening "Rick" finds himself sharing a bottle of whisky and a jamming session with his more successful new friend. This results in him leaving with an exclusive Gibson guitar and he thinks that's that. Months later, though, he hears a song in a shopping mall that he recognises instantly. It's the song that he wrote years earlier that he introduced to "Danny" and that the latter man has now turned into a global hit. Surely he must be due some royalties? Well the shrewdly venal "Mac" (Jack Reynor) manages his star and is in no mood to engage with the pleading Irishman so the only solution seems to be to head to Los Angeles and confront "Danny" in his jacuzzi! Did anyone else think Jonas was lip-synching to Stevie Wonder at the start? In any case I thought Rudd actually won the battle of the voices as poor old "Rick" struggled to get his fair share of recognition (and cash) whilst Jonas seemed content here to provide the eye candy and very little else. Eagle-eared might spot a little of "Mary's Prayer" from the original Danny Wilson but otherwise I found this to be a pretty flat affair that could have made so much more of the issues of "borrowing" tunes and lyrics and a bit less of the good looking but soapy melodrama we are presented with here. It's all watchable enough, but you will never remember it.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Likely Story

  US

• 

  30WEST

  US

• 

  Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland

  IE

• 

  Treasure Entertainment

  IE

• DI

  Distressed Films

  IE

• 

  Media Capital Technologies

  US

Key crew

• ProducerAnthony Bregman
• ProducerRobert Walpole
• ProducerJohn Carney
• ProducerPeter Cron
• ProducerRebecca O'Flanagan
• EditorStephen O'Connell
• Title DesignerDean Wares
• CastingJeanne McCarthy
• CastingAmy Rowan
• Co-ProducerSarah Hong
• SongsGary Clark
• SongsJohn Carney
• Production DesignAnna Carney
• Costume DesignTriona Lillis
• Executive ProducerMicah Green
• Executive ProducerDaniel Steinman
• Executive ProducerDan Friedkin
• Executive ProducerCathleen Dore
• Executive ProducerKeith Potter
• Executive ProducerChristopher Woodrow
• Executive ProducerConnor DiGregorio

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• songwriting
• boy band
• music
• past their prime

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2026-03-14· South by Southwest Film & TV Festival
• Premiere2026-04-23· PFS SpringFest
• Premiere2026-04-04· Desertscape International Film Festival
• Premiere2026-04-16· Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival / Wisconsin Film Festival
• Theatrical (limited)2026-05-29R
• Theatrical2026-06-05R
• Digital2026-06-23R
• TV2026-09-26R· Starz

Also known as

International titles

• Letras RobadasMX
• เพราะเพลงนี้ เพลงของคุณTH
• 파워 발라드KR
• Sing AgainKR
• 싱어게인KR