2026 hasn’t kicked off just yet, but Cannes and Venice chiefs Thierry Frémaux and Alberto Barbera are already packing their suitcases for the ritual January pilgrimage to Los Angeles to pursue the year’s hottest films for their festivals.
The courtship season might be slightly bumpier than it was at the start of 2025, when Cannes and Venice breakouts such as “Anora,” “Emilia Perez” and “The Brutalist” were dominating the awards season chatter. This year, many of the big English-language titles that lit up Cannes and Venice have struggled to turn red carpet frenzy and long standing ovations into box office heat or sustained best picture momentum.
Still, in a crowded, jittery marketplace, a Cannes or Venice berth is considered one of the last true power moves for filmmakers with ambitions for Oscars glory and global stature. Questioned by Variety about how the sluggish box office could impact studios’ festivals strategy, Barbera remained optimistic. “Getting an invitation for a big festival like Cannes, Venice, or later, Telluride and Toronto, is one of the most profitable way to promote a film and the international premiere of a film,” he said while on the red carpet at Marrakech Film Festival. “I think that the studio will keep on attending big festivals with their best films, for sure.”
And 2026 is shaping up to offer Fremaux and Barbera many attractive options that could garner an impressive roster of stars. These include Steven Spielberg’s UFO movie “Disclosure Day,” starring Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor; Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s “Digger” with Tom Cruise; David Fincher’s “The Adventures of Cliff Booth” starring Brad Pitt; Ruben Östlund’s “The Entertainment System Is Down” with Keanu Reeves and Kirsten Dunst; and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three” headlined by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya. The 2026 festival pipeline is stacked — at least on paper.
We’ve limited our wishlist to 10 titles, but there are many more films from revered auteurs which we expect to see launch at either Cannes or Venice, notably “Minotaur” from Andrey Zvyagintsev, the two-time Oscar-nominated Russian filmmaker of “Loveless” and “Leviathan”; “Sheep in the Box” (already bought by Neon) or “Look Back” from Palme d’Or-winning Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda; Quentin Dupieux’s Paris-set film “Full Phil” sarring Woody Harrelson and Kristen Stewart; “The Unknown,” starring Lea Seydoux and directed by Arthur Harari who won an Oscar for the screenplay of “Anatomy of a Fall” (shared with Justine Triet); and Nanni Moretti’s next film “It Will Happen Tonight,” among others.
Below, Variety rounds up 10 of the most anticipated films (in alphabetical order) we’re betting could land on the Croisette or the Lido next year, assuming the courting pays off and the stars align.
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‘The Adventures of Cliff Booth,’ David Fincher
Three years after presenting “The Killer” in competition at Venice, Fincher could return to the Lido with “The Adventures of Cliff Booth,” his anticipated sequel to Quentin Tarantino‘s 1960s-set “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” The spinoff brings back Brad Pitt, reprising his role as Cliff Booth the effortlessly cool, occasionally hilarious and fearless stuntman — a performance that won him an Oscar for best supporting actor in 2020. The movie, which reteams Pitt with Fincher after “Fight Club” and “Seven” and shot on location in L.A., follows Booth as he starts a new career as a Hollywood studio fixer. It’s the third movie that Fincher has done for Netflix after “Mank” and “The Killer.” But since it’s a Netflix movie, it’s safe to assume it won’t play at Cannes (where Netflix pics aren’t allowed in competition).
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‘Her Private Hell,’ Nicolas Winding Refn
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Refn is expected to show up in either Cannes or Venice with “Her Private Hell,” his mysterious next film which marks his feature film comeback a decade after delivering divisive body horror “The Neon Demon.” While the plot is under wraps, Refn teased the project in an interview with Variety at Venice 2024, saying it will boast “lots of glitter, sex, and violence.” The subversive Danish director, best known for “Drive,” “Pusher,” “Bronson” and “Only God Forgives,” has assembled an alluring cast of up-and-comers including Charles Melton, Sophie Thatcher, Kristine Froseth and Havana Rose Liu. Neon bought worldwide rights to the film and will be releasing it in U.S. theaters. We’re curious to see if Refn still has it, after a 10-year big-screen absence during which he directed a couple series, Netflix’s “Copenhagen Cowboy” and Amazon’s “Too Old to Die Young.”
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‘Bunker,’ Florian Zeller
Image Credit: Louis Amourette
An elevated psychological thriller, “Bunker” is Zeller’s third film after “The Son,” which competed at Venice and earned Hugh Jackman a best actor nomination at the Golden Globes, and “The Father,” which won best actor for Anthony Hopkins and best adapted screenplay at the Oscars. The movie’s star-studded ensemble is led by Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem alongside Stephen Graham, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Paul Dano. “Bunker” sees Cruz and Bardem play a married couple whose relationship and family implode after a powerful tech mogul steps into their lives with a mysterious construction project. As it’s currently shooting and will likely be completed in the spring, “Bunker” could technically premiere on the Lido, like “The Son” did.
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‘Digger,’ Alejandro González Iñárritu
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Iñárritu’s first English-language feature since his Oscar-winning “The Revenant,” “Digger” is a darkly comic drama billed as “a comedy of catastrophic proportions.” The film stars and is produced by Tom Cruise, who plays Digger Rockwell, “the most powerful man in the world,” as he races to prove he is humanity’s savior before the disaster he’s unleashed destroys everything. The Warner Bros. and Legendary title — whose cast is completed by Sandra Hüller, John Goodman, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons, Sophie Wilde, Riz Ahmed and Emma D’Arcy — has set an Oct. 2 release date, positioning it for a potential fall festival debut. Venice is a natural possibility, having hosted Iñárritu premieres including his latest film “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” as well as “Birdman” and “21 Grams;” though Cannes also looms as a possibility given the director’s long-standing relationship with the festival dating back to “Amores Perros.” Cruise also has a soft spot for Cannes, having recently premiered “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible. The Final Reckoning” there.
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‘Disclosure Day,’ Steven Spielberg
Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Could Spielberg’s next film, “Disclosure Day,” bow on the Croisette? It’s surely on Fremaux’s radar since Universal Pictures has set a June 12 release date. The science-fiction movie stars Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo, Wyatt Russell and Henry Lloyd-Hughes. Spielberg developed the UFO story with screenwriter David Koepp, with whom he previously worked on “Jurassic Park,” “Jurassic Park: The Lost World,” “War of the Worlds” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” If the movie launched at Cannes, it would most likely play out of competition where Spielberg presented “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in 2008, “The Color Purple” in 1986″ and “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” which played as the closing night film in 1982. Cannes is also close to Spielberg’s heart because his first film, “Sugarland Express,” won best screenplay at the fest in 1974. He was also president of the jury in 2013.
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‘Dune: Part Three,’ Denis Villeneuve
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Besides “Digger,” Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment have another hot movie that could land a big festival premiere: Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three,” whose cast is stacked enough to draw dozens of headlines and carry an entire festival. Based on Frank Herbert’s second “Dune” novel, “Dune: Part Three” sees Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya reprising their roles alongside Robert Pattinson, Florence Pugh, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson and Anya Taylor-Joy. Barbera, who hosted the world premiere for “Dune” out of competition at Venice in 2021, told Variety at Marrakech that he’s already talked to Villeneuve about coming back to the Lido with the third opus. “He just finished shooting the film,” Barbera said, adding that “It will be released in the fall of next year. So it could be a possibility.” In fact, Warner Bros. has set the release date for the winter, rather than the fall, on Dec. 18. The last installment, “Dune: Part Two” skipped festivals and bowed in London.
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‘The Entertainment System Is Down,’ Ruben Östlund
Image Credit: Courtesy of Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI
One of our surest bets is the return of Östlund to Cannes’ competition with his next satirical black comedy, “The Entertainment System Is Down,” starring an ensemble cast including Kirsten Dunst, Keanu Reeves and Daniel Brühl. The Swedish provocateur spent four years making this new film — his most ambitious yet — after winning two Palme d’Ors back to back with “The Square” in 2017 and “Triangle of Sadness” in 2022. Acquired early on by A24 in an eight-figure deal, the big-budget project unfolds on a long-haul flight between England and Australia where the entertainment system fails, sparking chaos and rage among bored passengers. Östlund shot it in a real Boeing 747 which was acquired for the film. Speaking to Variety about the project a couple of years ago, Östlund said it will be “a study of how human beings interact in this little laboratory that is a plane” and “how modern human beings are wrecked under these circumstances.” Östlund also seemed confident that it “will cause the biggest walkout” in the history of Cannes Film Festival.
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‘1949,’ Paweł Pawlikowski
Image Credit: Christian Hüller
Paweł Pawlikowski, the Oscar-winning Polish director of “Ida,” is now in post on “1949,” a period drama starring Sandra Hüller (“Zone of Interest,” “Anatomy of a Fall”) which marks his first film since his Oscar-nominated 2018 hit “Cold War.” The film is set at the height of the Cold War and revolves on the relationship between German writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika, an actress, journalist and rally driver, as they embark on a road trip in a black Buick cruiser across a Germany in ruins — from U.S. dominated Frankfurt to Soviet controlled Weimar. It’s produced by Mubi and Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani’s Our Films. Exploring once again themes of identity and family bonds in post-WW2 Europe, “1949” could open at Cannes where Pawlikowski won best director with “Cold War” in 2018 and earned three Oscar nominations the following year.
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‘Paper Tiger,’ James Gray
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James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” a gritty crime story starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, doesn’t yet have a release date but is expected during the first half of 2026 which means that it could world premiere at Cannes. It would be a homecoming of sorts for Gray, who is beloved in France and considered a Croisette regular having already presented five films there, including “Armageddon Time,” “The Immigrant,” “Two Lovers,” “We Own the Night” and “The Yards.” He also sat on Cannes’ jury in 2009, the year it was presided over by Isabelle Huppert. Yet, the mix reception of “Armageddon Time” at Cannes in 2022 could temper expectations. “Paper Tiger” was independently produced and doesn’t have U.S. distribution yet.
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‘Parallel Tales,’ Asghar Farhadi
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Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi looks like a natural fit for Cannes 2026 with his latest film,” Parallel Tales.” Slated for a spring release, the film shot in Paris with a dazzling French ensemble led by two of the country’s most iconic actresses, Isabelle Huppert and Catherine Deneuve, alongside Virginie Efira and Vincent Cassel. Cannes has consistently championed Farhadi’s dramas over the years. His previous French-language film, “The Past,” marked his first film in competition at Cannes in 2013 and won best actress for Berenice Bejo. He has presented three other movies in competition: “The Salesman” which won best screenplay and best actor for Shahab Hosseini in 2016, the Spanish-language film “Everybody Knows” which opened the festival in 2018, and “A Hero,” which won the Grand Prize in 2021. He served on the jury (presided over by Vincent Lindon) the following year.
