The 13 Most Anticipated Films at Cannes 2025

Since its 1946 release, the Cannes Film Festival has marked an annual prime level for the world movie group, bringing in combination probably the most inventive minds in cinema for some pleasant festival. In fresh years, regardless that, the glamorous pageant’s recognition has gotten even headier, as a lot of its choices have long gone directly to develop into crucial darlings, fan-favorites, and Oscar winners. From Bong Joon Ho’s Palme d’Or-winning Parasite (which received Best Picture on the 2020 Academy Awards), to final yr’s The Substance, Emilia Pérez, and Anora, which all went directly to dominate awards season, the Cannes lineup has confirmed to be a tastemaking harbinger of what’s to return.

At this yr’s pageant, mythical French actress Juliette Binoche takes over as jury president from 2024’s Greta Gerwig, marking the primary time two ladies have held this position consecutively in six many years. The agenda is full of thrilling movies from administrators each seasoned and emblem new (Harris Dickinson, Kristen Stewart, and Scarlett Johansson are all making their directorial debuts—extra on that underneath). There might be blockbusters—like Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise’s go back following the pageant’s 2022 Top Gun: Maverick premiere, and new movies from nice auteurs, together with Spike Lee, Lynne Ramsay, Joachim Trier, Ari Aster, Ethan Coen, and Wes Anderson.

Ahead of this yr’s 78th version, which runs from May 13 to 24 and the place Robert De Niro might be introduced with an honorary Palme d’Or for lifetime fulfillment, listed below are the 10 maximum expected releases to appear out for:

Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier)

Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person within the World made a dash at Cannes when it premiered in 2021, with its lead, the charismatic and enigmatic Renate Reinsve, taking house the Best Actress prize for her portrayal of a tender lady’s coming-of-age tale. The Norwegian director has teamed up together with his muse as soon as once more for Sentimental Value, a tale about what occurs to an Oslo circle of relatives when an actress (Reinsve) and her more youthful sister (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) reconnect with their estranged father (Stellan Skarsgård) to make a movie. Elle Fanning additionally has a job within the extremely expected, intimate circle of relatives drama.

Alpha (Julia Ducournau)

French director Julia Ducournau’s gut-churning Titane earned her the Palme d’Or in 2021—making her the second one lady to win the prize in 70 years—and now she’s again with any other annoying providing. Alpha stars Golshifteh Farahani and Tahar Rahim in a tale about an 11-year-old girl in a fictional model of 1980s New York City. One of the girl’s oldsters falls in poor health all through the AIDS disaster, and in consequence, she should face her personal mortality. After the huge luck of Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, which received Best Screenplay final yr at Cannes, female-led frame horror has develop into a revered style of its personal. Like Titane—beneath its raunchy, violent premise was once in point of fact a circle of relatives drama—Alpha turns out to have deeper issues, or even a social message: to organize for filming, Ducournau met with one of the vital founding individuals of ACT UP.

Highest to Lowest (Spike Lee)

Denzel Washington, 70, has been caution audiences that he’s making plans to retire quickly. But happily, he reunited with Spike Lee one final time prior to that occurs—for Lee’s newest characteristic, Highest to Lowest. The movie is a reinterpretation (no longer a remake!) of Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime movie High and Low and boasts a fever-dream forged that incorporates Jeffrey Wright, Dean Winters, Ice Spice, and A$AP Rocky. This yr marks the 36th anniversary of the Cannes premiere of Lee’s vintage movie Do the Right Thing, and can also be Washington’s first time on the Croisette—a special day certainly.

Nouvelle Vague (Richard Linklater)

Richard Linklater brings a historical past lesson to Cannes with Nouvelle Vague, a behind-the-scenes take a look at the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 debut movie, Breathless, which helped kick off the French New Wave. French actor Guillaume Marbeck performs Godard and Zoey Deutch will painting Jean Seberg, whose flip in Breathless made her an icon of the New Wave motion. Expect: pixie cuts, darkish shades, and never-ending cigarette chain-smoking.

The Phoenician Scheme (Wes Anderson)

Wes Anderson is a confirmed Cannes favourite; his final two movies, The French Dispatch and Asteroid City, premiered on the pageant. This yr, the director returns with any other story, The Phoenician Scheme, that includes a stacked ensemble forged that incorporates Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Riz Ahmed, Richard Ayoade, Jeffrey Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Willem Dafoe. Even amongst all that celebrity energy, emerging skill Mia Threapleton (who occurs to be Kate Winslet’s daughter) stands proud as one to observe. Her persona is each a nun and the daughter of the richest guy on the earth (Del Toro), and the tale sounds slightly extra frenetic than standard Anderson fare—the 2 get stuck up in a deadly scheme that ends up in a sequence of adventures around the globe.

The History of Sound (Oliver Hermanus)

Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal taking part in fanatics who romp round rural New England recording people track after World War I might sound like fan fiction, nevertheless it’s very actual: South African director Oliver Hermanus’s queer romance The History of Sound has been a hotly expected name because it was once first introduced within the fall of 2021. Back then, its leads weren’t relatively the mainstream stars they’re these days, so the excitement across the movie has handiest gotten—and can continue to grow—louder.

Eddington (Ari Aster)

Terrifying movies like Midsommar and Hereditary made Ari Aster one of the vital thrilling horror administrators of his era, however in recent years, the filmmaker has been branching out into different genres—like 2023’s surrealist drama Beau Is Afraid and this yr’s Western, Eddington. The latter is about in May 2020 within the titular small the town of Eddington, New Mexico, the place the sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) and mayor (Pedro Pascal) are dueling over the right way to care for the social crises spark off through the pandemic. Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Austin Butler, and Emma Stone spherical out the solid. Although the movie is billed as a black comedy, its trailer suggests components of contemporary horror: there’s numerous doom-scrolling.

Urchin (Harris Dickinson)

After a breakout yr taking part in Nicole Kidman’s more youthful lover in Babygirl (and a brand new position within the Beatles biopics as John Lennon at the horizon), Harris Dickinson has discovered time to get in the back of the digicam for his feature-length directorial debut, Urchin. Dickinson additionally wrote the movie, which stars Frank Dillane as a London drifter within the strategy of looking to flip his lifestyles round. In overdue 2024, Dickinson instructed Dazed of the movie, “It’s about the people that fall between the cracks. It’s about mental health and about the ways in which the system fails people in certain ways.” Dickinson is not any stranger to the Croisette, having starred in 2022’s Palme d’Or winner Triangle of Sadness.

Eleanor the Great (Scarlett Johansson)

Scarlett Johansson is taking part in double accountability at this yr’s pageant. In addition to starring in Wes Anderson’s Phoenician Scheme, she’s premiering her directorial debut: Eleanor the Great, which stars June Squibb because the titular Eleanor, a 90-year-old Floridian who strikes to New York City, following the demise of her easiest pal, to rebuild her lifestyles. The Oscar-nominated Squibb, herself 95 years previous, has been appearing for the reason that 1950s however had a profession resurgence after final yr’s buzzy indie hit Thelma. It’ll be nice to look her again in a lead position.

Splitsville (Michael Angelo Covino)

When we bring to mind Cannes, we might first bring to mind critical, prestigious dramas—nevertheless it’s at all times great to get a buzzy comedy within the combine, too. Splitsville is simply that. The movie facilities a pal workforce rocked through a divorce and the revelation of an open marriage, which leads every member to query their lifestyles alternatives. Starring Adria Arjona, Dakota Johnson, Kyle Marvin, Nicholas Braun, and O-T Fagbenle, Splitsville appears to be like to be a completely relaxing investigation of the state of contemporary relationships, instructed during the wry, tragicomic lens of director Michael Angelo Covino (who additionally stars within the movie as Johnson’s husband).

Die, My Love (Lynne Ramsay)

A later addition to the agenda, Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love is in accordance with the Ariana Harwicz novel of the similar identify, a couple of lady (Jennifer Lawrence) who descends into insanity after having a toddler. Her husband (Robert Pattinson) doesn’t appear to note. It’s a buzzy movie on a number of fronts, from its difficult however cult-favorite director, to its enigmatic and well timed supply subject material, to its primary film celebrity headlining forged. The movie’s premiere marks Lawrence’s first time again at Cannes, following 2017’s You Were Never Really Here, which received Best Screenplay. Adding Ramsay to the lineup makes her the 7th feminine director to enroll in the contest this yr, breaking a prior Cannes file.

The Chronology of Water

Kristen Stewart joins Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson in making her directorial characteristic movie debut with the extremely expected The Chronology of Water. The movie is an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s bestselling 2011 memoir of the similar identify, which recounts her reviews with despair and habit. Imogen Poots performs Lidia, as she “turn[s] trauma into art,” consistent with an professional synopsis. Stewart first introduced the movie’s construction again in 2018, and in 2024 instructed Variety she wouldn’t “make a-fucking-nother movie until I make this movie.” She saved her promise!

Honey Don’t!

Margaret Qualley will celebrity Honey Don’t!, the second one lesbian B-movie of the queer trilogy Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke are making. The first was once 2024’s Drive Away Dolls, during which Qualley’s persona went at the run from some horrifying males, taking her easiest friend-turned-lover (Geraldine Viswanathan) alongside for the campy journey. Honey Don’t! will characteristic its personal crime plot, regardless that this time Qualley performs the movie’s titular detective. “I tend to want to defuse things before they even happen, Qualley recently told i-D of her character. “[Whereas] Honey, she’s like honey—she’s skillful, she’s smooth, she is slipping in and out undetected.”