Cannes 2026 Opening Day: Every Big Moment

The 2026 Cannes Film Festival opened Tuesday on the French Riviera with the kind of night that reminded everyone why this festival still matters — part glamour, part provocation, part genuine cinematic love letter. Twelve days of premieres are now officially underway, all building toward the Palme d’Or ceremony on May 23.

The Grand Théâtre Lumière hosted the opening ceremony, led by French-Malian actress Eye Haïdara, and from the very first moments it was clear this wouldn’t be a quiet, self-congratulatory affair. There was a massive backdrop of Thelma and Louise — this year’s festival poster — looming over the stage. There were political speeches. There was a blood-red, slightly eerie performance of the Beatles’ “Get Back.” And yes, James Franco was there.

Peter Jackson’s Honorary Palme d’Or — and a Beatles Serenade

The emotional centerpiece of the evening was the tribute to Peter Jackson, who received an honorary Palme d’Or for a career that includes, among other things, convincing the world that three very long films about hobbits were a good idea. Elijah Wood — who played Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy — introduced his director with warmth, speaking about how even Jackson’s most technically massive, complicated films are always, at their core, infused with heart.

Jackson, shaggy-haired and characteristically self-deprecating, took the stage and immediately made the room laugh. “I’ve never figured out why I’m getting a Palme d’Or,” he said. “I’m not a Palme d’Or sorta guy.” He also recalled previewing footage from the Lord of the Rings at Cannes back in 2001, when plenty of skeptics thought the whole thing might be a wildly expensive disaster — and credited the festival’s early support with helping silence those doubts. His best line of the night: the award was, he joked, “Cannes’s apology for not giving Bad Taste the Palme d’Or in 1988.”

Jackson was then serenaded with “Get Back” — a nod to his acclaimed 2021 Beatles documentary — and sat stage right mouthing the words. The performance, delivered by two French women against blood-red lighting, was reportedly a little unsettling in person, but the sentiment landed. Peter Jackson’s kids, Billy and Katie, were in the audience to share the moment. Elijah Wood brought his wife, Mette-Marie Kongsved.

Jane Fonda Gets Fiery, Gong Li Brings the Elegance

The honor of officially declaring the 79th Cannes Film Festival open went to two icons: Jane Fonda, 88, and Chinese-Singaporean actress Gong Li. Fonda, wearing Gucci, wasted no time going there.

“I believe that cinema has always been an act of resistance because we tell the stories and stories are what make a civilization,” she said from the stage. “Stories that bring empathy to the marginalized, stories that allow us to feel across difference, stories that let us see that there is an alternative future that is possible. Standing beside Li tonight, I’m reminded why this festival matters. Here in Cannes, story comes first — the courage to tell it comes first. So let’s celebrate audacity, freedom, and the fierce act of creation.”

It was the kind of speech that gets a standing ovation. And it set the tone for what followed.

The Jury Didn’t Come to Make Nice

The jury introduction — where the nine members who will decide the Palme d’Or are formally presented to the world — turned into one of the more charged moments of the night. Jury president Park Chan-wook, the South Korean filmmaker behind Oldboy and No Other Choice, is the first Korean jury president in Cannes history. He spoke about the weight of judging 22 films in competition with “thoughtfulness,” and offered a line that’s already being quoted widely: “Art and politics are not concepts that are in conflict with each other. One cannot disqualify a film on the pretext that it has a political message. Just as one cannot reject a film because it would not be political enough.”

He also referenced a conversation with fellow jury member Paul Laverty — the Scottish screenwriter who has long collaborated with director Ken Loach — about whether creative partners fight or argue. “I asked Paul Laverty over there if he fought a lot with Ken Loach when they were working together, and he said, ‘We argued a lot but we didn’t fight,’” Park said. “Our jurors will do the same. To everyone here today, I sincerely hope that you don’t fight with the people around you, but you argue sufficiently.”

Laverty himself was more blunt. Pointing to the Thelma and Louise festival poster, he invoked what he called “genocide in Gaza” and quoted King Lear: “Madmen lead the blind.” Then he called out Hollywood directly. “Isn’t it fascinating to see some of them like Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo blacklisted because of their views in opposing the murder of women and children in Gaza?” he said. “Shame on Hollywood people who do that.”

The rest of the nine-member jury includes Chloé Zhao, Stellan Skarsgård, Ruth Negga, Laura Wandel, Diego Céspedes, and Isaach De Bankolé. And then there’s Demi Moore — who two years ago was celebrated at this very festival for her comeback performance in The Substance, and who showed up Tuesday night in a custom Jacquemus corset gown with Chopard jewelry, looking every bit like someone who’s made her peace with the Croisette.

James Franco, Guillermo del Toro, and the Rest of Day One

Cannes has a long history of welcoming figures who’ve had a complicated reception back home — the festival famously opened in 2023 with a Johnny Depp film. Tuesday’s equivalent was James Franco, 48, who turned up at the opening ceremony in a Giorgio Armani tuxedo alongside girlfriend Izabel Pakzad. Franco also attended in 2024. In 2021, he and co-defendants settled a lawsuit for $2.2 million over allegations involving students at an acting school he founded.

On a warmer note, Guillermo del Toro returned to the Croisette to screen a 4K restoration of Pan’s Labyrinth, exactly 20 years after the film premiered here. The dark fantasy — about a young girl and a fascist military captain in 1940s Spain — has only grown more resonant, and del Toro said as much. “We are, unfortunately, in times that make this movie more pertinent than ever because they tell us everything is useless to resist, that art can be done with a f—ing app,” he said.

The opening film screened that evening was Pierre Salvadori’s La Vénus Électrique (also known as The Electric Kiss), with the ceremony itself closed out by a performance from Theodora and Oklou.

The Fashion, Even Without the Usual Hollywood Crowd

This year’s festival has noticeably fewer big American titles in competition — only two U.S. films made the lineup — which means the usual parade of Hollywood A-listers is thinner than normal. But the red carpet held its own. Moore’s custom Jacquemus was a standout. Heidi Klum arrived in Elie Saab Couture. Emily in Paris star Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu wore an airy purple Saint Laurent gown by Antony Vaccarello. Maika Monroe stepped out in Ashi Studio. Maura Higgins of The Traitors wore Andrew Kwon.

Over the next two weeks, the Croisette is expected to draw Scarlett Johansson (whose new film Paper Tiger, co-starring Adam Driver and Miles Teller, is in the lineup), Rami Malek, Javier Bardem, Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Deneuve, Sebastian Stan, Charles Melton, and Sandra Hüller. Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close are expected for The Black Ball. Anticipated filmmakers include Pedro Almodóvar, James Gray, Cristian Mungiu, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, and Diego Luna.

The Palme d’Or will be awarded May 23. Park Chan-wook has his jury. The films are queued up. And if day one is any indication, nobody came here to stay quiet.

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