10 Movies We’re Lining Up to See at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival

by

Recent Cannes Film Festivals usually include a big premiere with Tom Cruise and several Hollywood blockbusters, but this year has significantly fewer American films, and none from major studios. Festival director Thierry Friemaux attributes this to a slowdown in Hollywood over the past five to ten years, though some wonder if it reflects a decline in America’s global image. Despite the lack of American presence, there’s still a lot to be excited about, with new films from directors like Pedro Almodóvar, Asghar Farhadi, and Hirokazu Kore-eda, plus promising projects like a musical with Rami Malek, a crime drama from James Gray, and a horror film by Jane Schoenbrun. Here are our picks for the ten most anticipated films at this year’s festival.

Bitter Christmas

Pedro Almodóvar, a frequent director at the Cannes Film Festival, returns with a new feature film after his 2023 short, Strange Way of Life, and his 2019 film, Pain and Glory, which earned Antonio Banderas an award for his performance. His latest movie is a tragicomedy starring Bárbara Lennie and Leonardo Sbaragli as filmmakers who draw on their own lives and the experiences of those around them for their work. The film features a story within a story and explores themes of life and death. Already released in Spain, El Mundo newspaper has called it Almodóvar’s “deepest, rawest, and most complex” film – high praise from the director of The Skin I Live In.

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

Jane Schoenbrun quickly became a distinctive filmmaker with their first two movies, We’re All Going to the World’s Fair and I Saw the TV Glow, known for their captivating visuals and stories exploring themes of sexuality, gender, and hidden feelings. Their new film, Teenage Sex and Death, seems to continue this trend, though with a slightly more upbeat tone. Schoenbrun describes it as a movie about discovering sexual pleasure after transitioning, and promises it will be both funnier and more shocking than their previous work. Starring Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, the film follows a young, eager director and a withdrawn actress who team up to revive a famous horror series, and inevitably find themselves immersed in a terrifying world of longing, dread, and madness.

The Man I Love

Ira Sachs is a filmmaker known for capturing both the ordinary and the extraordinary moments in the lives of regular people. His films – including Love Is Strange, Frankie, Passages, and Peter Hujar’s Day – are often beautiful and unexpected glimpses into life. His newest film, The Man I Love, is a departure for him, being a larger-scale musical set in 1980s New York. Rami Malek stars as Jimmy George, an actor battling AIDS who sees the role as potentially his last. Rebecca Hall, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Tom Sturridge also star.

All of a Sudden

Ryusuke Hamaguchi gained international recognition in 2021 with his award-winning film Drive My Car, which earned him three prizes at Cannes and an Oscar for Best International Feature. His latest film, All of a Sudden, marks his first time directing in French. It’s inspired by the book You and I — The Illness Suddenly Get Worse by Makiko Miyano and Maho Isono. The film stars Virginie Efira, a well-known French actress, as Marie-Lou Fontaine, the director of a care home who is trying to implement a more compassionate approach to patient care, despite facing challenges. Her work is profoundly affected when she meets a Japanese playwright who is nearing the end of his life (played by Tao Okamoto).

Fatherland

Polish filmmaker Paweł Pawlikowski is known for beautifully crafted films that explore hidden emotions and complexities. This is evident in works like his sensual drama, My Summer of Love, which launched Emily Blunt’s film career, and his passionate romance, Cold War. His newest film revisits the post-World War II era, telling the story of a road trip taken in 1949 by German novelist Thomas Mann (played by Hanns Zischler) through his fractured homeland, after being forced into exile by the Nazis. Mann was accompanied by his daughter Erika, portrayed in the film by Sandra Hüller. Hüller is enjoying a standout year with roles in Project Hail Mary, the critically praised Rose where she plays a 17th-century soldier disguised as a man, and an upcoming film by Alejandro G. Iñárritu called Digger.

Clarissa

Filmmakers Arie and Chuko Esiri, brothers originally from Lagos, have set both of their films in their hometown. Their first film, Eyimofe: This Is My Desire (2020), was a critically acclaimed story about two people in Lagos whose hopes of a better life in Europe are challenged by the everyday struggles of survival. Their new film, Clarissa, is a reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, set in modern-day Lagos, and stars Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo, Ayo Edebiri, and Nikki Amuka-Bird.

Hope

South Korean director Na Hong-jin is known for making genre films—like thrillers and horror—that are surprisingly complex and often very dark. His first film, The Chaser, was a shockingly violent thriller about a serial killer and a crooked former police officer. His next, The Wailing, started as a story about a mysterious illness in a village but evolved into a haunting tale with roots in Korea’s colonial past and themes of demonic possession. His newest film, Hope, again stars Hwang Jung-min (from The Wailing) and centers on a possible tiger attack near the DMZ, which quickly becomes much more complicated. While details are still emerging (it’s being called a sci-fi thriller), the film also features Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, and Taylor Russell.

Paper Tiger

With fewer big Hollywood films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Paper Tiger delivered the biggest dose of American star power – aside from a special showing of The Fast and the Furious. The new film, directed by James Gray and starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Miles Teller, is a classic Gray crime story: it follows two brothers who get tangled with the Russian mafia and risk everything for their family.

Club Kid

Jordan Firstman, known as a writer, comedian, and the star of I Love LA, steps behind the camera for his first film, a funny and touching story. He also plays Peter, a New York club promoter whose wild lifestyle is turned upside down when he unexpectedly becomes a father. While the idea of a party promoter raising a child could easily feel predictable, Firstman handles it with intelligence and genuine affection for the vibrant, fast-paced LGBTQ+ nightlife world – a place where a child feels completely out of place.

I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning

Clio Barnard is a remarkably talented filmmaker known for combining realistic storytelling – reminiscent of Ken Loach – with creative, experimental techniques. Her first feature film, The Arbor (2010), a documentary about playwright Andrea Dunbar, uniquely used lip-syncing of actual interviews and incorporated scenes from Dunbar’s plays. Barnard’s latest film adapts Keiran Goddard’s novel, following five working-class friends in Birmingham as they navigate growing up and drifting apart. The film features a strong cast of up-and-coming British and Irish actors, including Anthony Boyle, Joe Cole, and Daryl McCormack – many of whom were considered for roles in the upcoming Beatles biopic but weren’t selected.

Read More

2026-05-12 22:55