It had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024. The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 18, 2024.
Premise
A Real Pain follows mismatched cousins David (
Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (
Kieran Culkin) who reunite for a tour through
Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple's old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history.
It premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2024.[9] Shortly after,
Searchlight Pictures acquired worldwide rights to the film for $10 million in an all-night auction.[10][11]
The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 18, 2024.[12]
Reception
On the
review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 53 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8/10. The website's consensus reads: "Led by a scene-stealing turn from Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain is a powerfully funny, emotionally resonant dramedy that finds writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg playing to his strengths on either side of the camera."[13]Metacritic, which uses a
weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[14]
Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood praised Culkin for his performance, calling it a career-high.[15]