Leonardo DiCaprio, who is set to receive the 2026 Palm Springs Film Festival‘s Actor counterpart of the Desert Palm Achievement Award for his turn in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, will be forced to miss the event due to air restrictions resulting from the U.S. attack on Venezuela.
“Leonardo DiCaprio is unable to join us in person tonight due to unexpected travel disruptions and restricted airspace. While we will miss celebrating with him in person, we are honored to recognize his exceptional work and lasting contributions to cinema. His talent and dedication to the craft continue to inspire, and we are delighted to celebrate him with the Desert Palm Achievement Award this evening,” the festival said in a statement.
Deadline has reached out to the Oscar winner’s reps for further details.
The Palm Springs International Airport also posted online about travel restrictions impacting Southern Californian airspace and leading to delays. Departing flights were noted to be “under a ground stop,” though arrivals have proceeded as normal or otherwise been diverted. (DiCaprio was vacationing off the coast of St. Barts with Jeff Bezos and his wife Lauren Sánchez during the New Year festivities.)
The Sonoran Desert fete, which runs from Jan. 2-11, is hosting its film awards gala tonight at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
Expected honorees and attendees include Miley Cyrus, Timothée Chalamet, Adam Sandler, Amanda Seyfried, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Hudson, Rose Byrne and Ethan Hawke, as well as the casts and filmmakers behind Oscar-buzzy projects Frankenstein, Sentimental Value and Hamnet.
This year will also see the return of the festival’s Book to Screen program, hosted in partnership with Deadline.
PTA’s rousing father-daughter adventure drama has made over $205 million at the box office worldwide and appears poised to be an Academy Award frontrunner. Earlier today, it was named the National Society of Film Critics‘ Best Picture of 2025. As the awards circuit heats up, DiCaprio will also vie for Best Actor at the Critics’ Choice Awards tomorrow.
In the early morning hours today, President Donald Trump oversaw strikes on Venezuelan soil in a proposed invasion of the South American nation. After toppling and capturing leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who have since arrived in New York to face charges — including of narco-terrorism conspiracy and destructive devices against the United States — Trump indicated his advisers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, would be tasked with running the country.
As reasoning for the non-Congressionally approved move, the POTUS has cited Venezuela’s rich oil reserves and its alleged role in drug trafficking to the U.S. The tactical decision has drawn harsh criticism and protests for its dubious legality, as some Democrats have branded the military incident an Iraq War deja vu. The Senate is prepared to vote next week on a bipartisan war powers resolution to block the GOP leader from continuing its offensive in Venezuela.
Variety was first to report on DiCaprio’s absence.
