Major Hollywood Studios Skip Cannes for First Time Since 2017

For the first time since 2017, no major Hollywood studio film will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The 2026 lineup includes U.S. indie films like Ira Sachs' 'The Man I Love' (with Rami Malek) and James Gray's 'Paper Tiger' (with Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Miles Teller), but lacks blockbusters such as Paramount's 'Top Gun: Maverick' or Disney's 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny'. Cannes artistic director Thierry Frémaux acknowledged the absence, noting studios are less present. The festival has added a Midnight Screening of 'The Fast and the Furious' (2001) and a 'Pan's Labyrinth' anniversary screening with Guillermo Del Toro. High costs (up to seven figures for talent logistics) and risk of negative press from early reviews deter studios, exemplified by the 2023 Cannes debut of 'Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny', which earned only $384 million globally against a $295 million budget. The trend extends to other festivals: Berlin director Tricia Tuttle cited the 2024 Venice launch of 'Joker: Folie à Deux' as a cautionary tale. Toronto Film Festival director Cameron Bailey noted that bad reviews go viral quickly. A24, a regular at Cannes, has no films this year after last year's 'Eddington' underperformed. Meanwhile, films like Ryan Coogler's 'Sinners' and Paul Thomas Anderson's 'One Battle After Another' succeeded without festival premieres. Cannes is shifting back to its roots as a showcase for auteurs and world cinema, as noted by producer Mike Downey.