Cannes debuts a notably blockbuster-free 2026 lineup
After a few years of Mission: Impossible and Top Gun, the lineup this year is notably auteur focused.
Graphic: Handout
It’s been about a month since the Oscars, so now that whole cycle can start all over again. The Cannes Film Festival unveiled its lineup this morning, bringing new works from filmmakers like Ira Sachs, Hirokazu Kore-eda, László Nemes, and Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The festival is notably light on Hollywood and potential blockbuster releases this year; there is no Mission: Impossible to be found here, nor any Spike Lees or Wes Andersons or Francis Ford Coppolas to be found in the main competition. There are, however, a Jane Schoenbrun, a Jordan Firstman, a Ron Howard, and a Steven Soderbergh and whatever he’s up to with John Lennon elsewhere in the festival.
“It’s important to note that when studios have a smaller presence at Cannes, it’s because they’re simply less active in the kind of cinema that used to allow them to come here,” said Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux, per Variety. This is somewhat unique, at least compared to some recent years. “Tom Cruise and Paramount were here just two years ago for Mission: Impossible and Top Gun,” Fremaux continued. “What I mean by that is that outside of studio cinema — independent cinema, cinema made outside of Los Angeles — continues to exist, and this selection will bear witness to that.”
To be sure, there is plenty of film outside of Hollywood or American studios to be excited about. This year, Park Chan-wook serves as Jury President. Take a look at the festival’s full lineup below.
COMPETITION
Minotaur, Andrey Zvyagintsev
El Ser Querido (The Beloved), Rodrigo Sorogoyen
The Man I Love, Ira Sachs
Fatherland, Paweł Pawlikowski
Moulin, László Nemes
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