Cannes 2026 Kicks Off With Stars, No Studios

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The 79th Cannes Film Festival is officially underway on the French Riviera, and while the Hollywood machine is notably quieter than usual, the Côte d’Azur is anything but short on glamour. Twelve days of world premieres kicked off Tuesday, with the whole thing wrapping May 23 when the jury hands out the Palme d’Or — one of the most coveted trophies in all of cinema.

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The opening night belonged to The Electric Kiss, a French period-comedy, and to a moment that had Lord of the Rings fans feeling all kinds of nostalgic: director Peter Jackson received an honorary Palme d’Or. Elijah Wood — who arrived in Nice on Monday with his wife, Mette-Marie Kongsved — was on hand to present the honor to his former director. It was the kind of full-circle moment Cannes does better than anywhere else.

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Before the first film even screened, arrivals at the Nice airport set the tone. Demi Moore touched down ready for business — she’s serving on the jury this year alongside Oldboy director Park Chan-wook (who serves as jury president), Nomadland‘s Chloé Zhao, actor Stellan Skarsgård, and others including Ruth Negga and Isaach De Bankole. Heidi Klum also made her annual pilgrimage to the carpet, where she reliably delivers some of the festival’s most talked-about fashion moments. Even Nathan Mitchell, fresh off the end of The Boys, was spotted making his way into town.

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Moore’s connection to Cannes runs deeper than jury duty. Her film The Substance premiered here in 2024, with writer-director Coralie Fargeat taking home the Best Screenplay award. Coming back in an official capacity feels like a full-circle moment for her too.

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Hollywood’s Quiet Year on the Croisette

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What everyone keeps talking about, though, is what’s missing. Previous editions have welcomed blockbusters like Top Gun: Maverick and Elvis with open arms. This year, the studio presence is almost nonexistent — the closest thing to a marquee Hollywood moment is an anniversary celebration for the Fast & Furious franchise.

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Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux addressed it head-on in a press briefing Monday, acknowledging that Hollywood “is reshaping” amid the ongoing turbulence of Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Studios, he suggested, have been either spooked by the prospect of a chilly critical reception or simply unwilling to absorb the expense of flying A-list talent to the South of France right now.

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“I hope the studio films will come back,” Frémaux said.

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But the filmmaker lineup this year is genuinely stacked. Pedro Almodóvar brings Bitter Christmas. James Gray unveils Paper Tiger. South Korean director Na Hong-jin, whose previous work has been nothing short of electric, arrives with Hope. Pawel Pawlikowski (Ida, Cold War) has Fatherland. And Ryusuke Hamaguchi, the Japanese filmmaker behind Drive My Car, is back with All of a Sudden. For cinephiles, this is the good stuff.

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The Neon Factor and the Oscar Pipeline

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If there’s one company that has quietly turned Cannes into its personal awards-season launchpad, it’s specialty distributor Neon. The company has backed the last six Palme d’Or winners in a row — an unprecedented run — and this year they’re attached to more than a quarter of the 22 films competing for the top prize. The streak could easily continue.

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The template is well established at this point. Two years ago, Sean Baker’s Anora won the Palme d’Or here before going on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. Last year, Cannes selections including Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent, and It Was Just an Accident all carved out significant roles in awards season. The festival has become less of a Hollywood showcase and more of an Oscar incubator — and that’s not a bad trade.

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The Stars Are Still Coming

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Hollywood studios may have stayed home, but their talent didn’t get the memo. Over the next two weeks, the Croisette will see Kristen Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Adam Driver, Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Rami Malek, Sebastian Stan, and Sandra Hüller, among many others.

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There’s also a meta layer to all of this that’s hard to ignore. The fourth season of HBO’s The White Lotus — Mike White’s acclaimed series that has become one of the most-watched shows on television — is set entirely around a trip to Cannes. Production began on the French Riviera last month, meaning the real festival is essentially unfolding inside its own fictional backdrop. How much of this year’s Cannes energy bleeds into the show, and vice versa, is going to be fascinating to watch.

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Park Chan-wook’s jury convenes Tuesday for their first press conference before settling in for nearly two weeks of sequestered screenings. The Palme d’Or winner will be announced May 23 — and if history is any guide, Neon will probably be celebrating.

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“category”: “Movies