Cinemas to host free screenings of new musical comedy Power Ballad

Musical comedy drama Power Ballad will screen for free at over 100 independent UK cinemas this month – including many in Wales.

The movie follows Rick Power (Paul Rudd), a wedding singer who meets washed up former boy band singer Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas) at a wedding one night and bonds with him over a jam session. Danny steals one of Rick’s songs and it becomes a number one hit that brings Danny back into popularity, leading to Rick seeking out revenge and recognition.

Power Ballad stars Nick Jonas, the global pop icon who first broke into acting as a Broadway star when he was just seven years old. Jonas went on to form The Jonas Brothers with his older brothers Joe and Kevin. A star of the CAMP ROCK and JUMANJI films, Nick Jonas has also had a successful solo music career in recent years with hit singles including Jealous.

Paul Rudd plays wedding singer Rick Power in the film. Rudd is best known for three decades of iconic film and TV roles including CLUELESS, ANCHORMAN, THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN, ANT-MAN, FRIENDS and I LOVE YOU, MAN.

Power Ballad is directed by beloved Irish filmmaker John Carney. Carney directed his breakthrough film ONCE for just £110,000 in 2007 which went on to become a breakout global hit grossing more than $23m worldwide. Steven Spielberg said: “ONCE gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year.”

John Carney has since gone on to direct MODERN LOVE, BEGIN AGAIN, and SING STREET. Now, POWER BALLAD has been hailed by Variety as “John Carney’s most winning pop-music drama since ONCE.”

Rounding out the cast are Havana Rose Liu, who is best known for her lead role in the comedy film BOTTOMS and Jack Reyner who reunites with director John Carney after his award-winning performance in Carney’s SING STREET (2016).

These screenings as part of the Escapes scheme will be some of the first previews for UK audiences before the film’s UK-wide cinema release on 29 May 2026

Escapes is supported by the BFI awarding National Lottery Funding. The nationwide cinema initiative is designed to make cinema more accessible, celebrate independent cinemas and bring new audiences to local venues. Every month, Escapes gives away free cinema tickets in over 100 locations across the UK. Since its launch in 2024, over 200,000 free cinema tickets have been claimed.

POWER BALLAD screens for free at over 100 UK independent cinemas on 26-27 May 2026.

Tickets are available now at escapetothecinema.co.uk