Green Day’s new coming-of-age comedy Nimrods follows three teenagers chasing a Green Day concert in Los Angeles, with a 30-track soundtrack spanning the band’s catalogue, live recordings and new music.
by Paul Cashmere
The Green Day-inspired feature film Nimrods will open in Australian cinemas following its international festival and theatrical rollout, bringing a fictional punk band, a cross-country road trip and a substantial Green Day soundtrack to the big screen. Directed and written by Lee Kirk, the film follows three teenagers who travel from Kansas City to Los Angeles believing they have secured the opportunity of a lifetime: opening for Green Day on New Year’s Eve. The film opens in UK cinemas on August 11 and in the United States on August 14, 2026.
Nimrods centres on Tommy, played by Mason Thames, and his bandmates Fred, played by Kylr Coffman, and Chad, played by Ryan Foust. Together they form Analog Dogs, a fictional Kansas City punk trio whose journey is triggered by a prank phone call. Tommy is led to believe that his older brother has arranged for the band to support Green Day at the Hollywood Palladium, prompting the teenagers to take to the road.
The premise draws from Green Day’s own early years, when the band travelled in vans and played wherever opportunities presented themselves before the breakthrough of Dookie in 1994. Kirk has used those experiences as inspiration rather than attempting to make a conventional Green Day biopic.
Green Day members Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool appear as themselves and also serve as producers. Their catalogue provides much of the film’s musical framework, with songs ranging from early material through to more recent recordings. The soundtrack also introduces music performed by Analog Dogs, alongside contributions from Mckenna Grace, The Paradox and Ultra Q.
Kirk previously worked with Armstrong on the 2016 film Ordinary World, which starred the Green Day frontman. The director developed Nimrods as a story about a young band seeking independence while dealing with family tensions and the uncertainty of trying to establish a life around music.
Armstrong has described the film’s central idea as reflecting the determination required to start a band. “You have to be delusional to be in a band,” he said. “It takes a certain kind of dreamer.”
Mike Dirnt similarly connected the story to the role music can play for young people. “When people are playing music together at a young age, that may be all that they have, but that’s their emotional vessel,” he said.
The film deliberately gives its young characters an analogue relationship with music. Tommy records on a four-track cassette machine, collects vinyl and exists largely outside social media. Kirk said that approach allowed the story to occupy a contemporary setting while retaining the atmosphere of an earlier punk era.
The production was originally announced under the title New Years Rev. The project had been in development for several years before being renamed Nimrods in 2026, taking its title from Green Day’s 1997 album Nimrod. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12, 2025, under its original title.
The supporting cast includes Jenna Fischer, Angela Kinsey, Fred Armisen, Bobby Lee, Sean Gunn and Mckenna Grace. Grace plays Olivia, a young musician encountered by the band during its journey west.
Green Day’s involvement extends beyond appearances and production. The band’s history is woven into the story through episodes inspired by its early touring experiences, including vehicle breakdowns, improvised performances and the unpredictable conditions surrounding life on the road.
The soundtrack provides another connection between the fictional band and Green Day’s history. Nimrods (Original Soundtrack) was released by Reprise Records on July 31, 2026. Alongside established Green Day recordings, it contains previously unreleased live performances and the new song “I’m Never Gonna R.I.P.”, which was issued as a single on July 7.
The soundtrack also gives the fictional Analog Dogs their own musical identity, while songs from The Paradox, Mckenna Grace and Ultra Q broaden the musical palette beyond Green Day.
For Green Day, the project places material from different stages of its career within a narrative about young musicians discovering the possibilities of performing together. Armstrong has noted that the band continues to encounter younger listeners discovering albums such as Dookie decades after their original release.
That generational connection is central to the film’s premise. Nimrods is set in the present but largely removes the digital technology that defines contemporary youth culture, allowing the characters to experience music through physical recordings, flyers, four-track equipment and face-to-face encounters.
The result is a film that uses Green Day as its musical and cultural reference point while keeping the fictional Analog Dogs at the centre of the story. The band members themselves are supporting figures within the narrative, with Green Day’s music becoming the bridge between the fictional teenagers and the real-world history that inspired the film.
The soundtrack closes with “I’m Never Gonna R.I.P.” and a previously unreleased live recording of “Going To Pasalacqua”, reinforcing the connection between the new film and Green Day’s early catalogue. With the movie now moving into its theatrical release period, Nimrods offers Green Day fans a fictionalised version of the road that the band itself travelled before becoming one of punk rock’s most enduring acts.
Tracklisting
Green Day – “Longview”
Green Day – “In The End”
Analog Dogs – “Bored”
Green Day – “When I Come Around”
Green Day – “Walking Contradiction”
Green Day – “Dilemma”
Green Day – “Waiting”
Green Day – “Geek Stink Breath”
Green Day – “Bab’s Uvula Who?”
Green Day – “Panic Song”
Green Day – “Basket Case”
Green Day – “Hitchin’ A Ride”
Analog Dogs – “Dominated Love Slave” (Live)
Green Day – “Haushinka”
Green Day – “Bobby Sox”
The Paradox – “Ms. Lauren”
Mckenna Grace – “It’s So Fine”
Analog Dogs – “Getaway”
Analog Dogs – “Freaking Out”
Ultra Q – “Cold”
Green Day – “Last Night On Earth”
Green Day – “Brain Stew”
Green Day – “Wake Me Up When September Ends”
Green Day – “Corvette Summer”
Green Day – “American Idiot” (Live)
Green Day – “Know Your Enemy” (Live)
Green Day – “Auld Lang Syne” (Live)
Green Day – “Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)”
Green Day – “I’m Never Gonna R.I.P.”
Green Day – “Going To Pasalacqua” (Live)
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