Is the Cannes Film Festival confirming Hollywood studios’ growing fear of film festivals?

According to the CinemaDrame news agency, “When studios are less present in Cannes, they are less present overall,” artistic director Thierry Frémaux said on Thursday at the opening of the festival’s lineup announcement.

The Cannes Film Festival on Thursday unveiled its 2026 selection, a slate bolstered by internationally popular auteur filmmakers such as Pedro Almodóvar, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and Asghar Farhadi.

And while a number of notable Hollywood figures are present — including Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve for Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder for Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, and Cara Delevingne for Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid — these titles are backed by independent companies such as Neon, Mubi, and UTA.

Where are the studios? Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day at Universal was never a confirmed contender, and The Hollywood Reporter was similarly unconvinced about the presence of “the other” Tom Cruise (Warner Bros.) or Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (also Universal). The same applies to Disney and the highly anticipated Toy Story 5.

It should also be noted that not all films have been announced yet, and Frémaux is expected to add more titles in the coming weeks. However, major studio films that have recently appeared at Cannes — such as Top Gun: Maverick, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny — were all revealed ahead of the official press conference. It is therefore notable that no similar titles have been announced so far.

Frémaux himself addressed the absence of studio films at the start of the lineup presentation. “The United States [this year] will be present, but studios less so. When studios are less present in Cannes, they are less present overall,” he said.

He continued: “Tom Cruise and Paramount were here two years ago for Mission: Impossible and Top Gun. Beyond the studios and Los Angeles… there is cinema, and this year’s selection will prove that. The art of cinema will be present on the Croisette this year.”

Historically, showcasing films at Cannes and other major festivals (Venice, Toronto, Berlin) has always represented a dual opportunity for studios. The Croisette is undoubtedly the most glamorous red carpet in the world (are there any stairs more photographed than those leading up to the Palais?), and major premieres can generate significant publicity waves — such as the Top Gun: Maverick jet flyover in 2022 that filled the beach with red and blue smoke.

But these festivals are also home to some of the most unpredictable film critics, a dynamic The Hollywood Reporter also highlighted in Berlin this year, where that festival likewise struggled to attract studio attention. Berlin’s director Tricia Tuttle attributed the trend in part to the reception of Joker: Folie à Deux at the 2024 Venice Film Festival — Todd Phillips’ sequel to Joker, which was sharply criticized by festival reviewers and ultimately considered a failure. The film eventually grossed $200 million worldwide (compared to over $1 billion for the first installment, which also won the Golden Lion).

This does not mean Cannes lacks exciting titles: Ira Sachs’ The Man I Love starring Rami Malek, John Travolta’s directorial debut Propeller One-Way Night Coach, Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Kurokurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner, and another Kurosawa film Sheep in a Box will all screen at the Palais. Documentaries from Ron Howard and Steven Soderbergh are also part of the program.

Still, the absence of Hollywood is so noticeable that Frémaux himself had to acknowledge it before unveiling the 2026 lineup. Is it safer to avoid Cannes’ tough critics? Has enthusiasm around major festivals declined? Has post-festival marketing become more difficult, or audience engagement harder to sustain in the following weeks? If Frémaux cannot land a major studio film, these questions will become even more pressing as the Cannes Film Festival opens in May.