Hollywood Is Trading Cannes’ Uncertainty for Controlled Hype
Bring the cameras; skip the critics
Photographer: Aurore Marechal/Getty Images
With superyachts lining the harbor and strict dress codes for gala screenings, the Cannes Film Festival is a traditionally glitzy affair — and for decades, Hollywood has been its most glamorous tenant. This year, no major Hollywood studio has brought a marquee premiere to Cannes. That hasn’t happened since 2017, when the festival was defined by tensions over Netflix’s high-profile presence and heightened security following terrorist attacks.
The absence of studios this time around arguably reflects a more profound shift. They have changed their relationship with the one thing film festivals have always offered: independent cultural legitimacy. This matters not only as a shift in marketing strategy, but as a sign of the diminished role tastemakers play in appraising studio films.