10 Big Movies to Expect at Cannes or Venice Film Festivals in 2026

Three years after presenting “The Killer” in competitors at Venice, Fincher may 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 film that Fincher has performed for Netflix after “Mank” and “The Killer.” But since it’s a Netflix film, it’s protected to assume it gained’t play at Cannes (the place Netflix pics aren’t allowed in competitors).

Refn is anticipated to present up in both Cannes or Venice with “Her Private Hell,” his mysterious next movie which marks his feature movie comeback a decade after delivering divisive physique horror “The Neon Demon.” While the plot is under wraps, Refn teased the project in an interview with Variety at Venice 2024, saying it can boast “lots of glitter, sex, and violence.” The subversive Danish director, best identified for “Drive,” “Pusher,” “Bronson” and “Only God Forgives,” has assembled an alluring solid of up-and-comers including Charles Melton, Sophie Thatcher, Kristine Froseth and Havana Rose Liu. Neon purchased worldwide rights to the movie and will likely 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 pair collection, Netflix’s “Copenhagen Cowboy” and Amazon’s “Too Old to Die Young.”

Iranian auteur Asghar Farhadi appears like a pure match for Cannes 2026 along with his latest movie,” Parallel Tales.” Slated for a spring release, the movie shot in Paris with a stunning French ensemble led by two of the nation’s most iconic actresses, Isabelle Huppert and Catherine Deneuve, alongside Virginie Efira and Vincent Cassel. Cannes has constantly championed Farhadi’s dramas over the years. His earlier French-language movie, “The Past,” marked his first movie in competitors at Cannes in 2013 and gained best actress for Berenice Bejo. He has offered three other motion pictures in competitors: “The Salesman” which gained best screenplay and best actor for Shahab Hosseini in 2016, the Spanish-language movie “Everybody Knows” which opened the competition in 2018, and “A Hero,” which gained the Grand Prize in 2021. He served on the jury (presided over by Vincent Lindon) the following 12 months.

James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” a gritty crime story starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller, doesn’t yet have a release date however is anticipated during the first half of 2026 which suggests that it may world premiere at Cannes. It could be a homecoming of types for Gray, who’s beloved in France and regarded a Croisette common having already offered 5 movies there, including “Armageddon Time,” “The Immigrant,” “Two Lovers,” “We Own the Night” and “The Yards.” He also sat on Cannes’ jury in 2009, the 12 months it was presided over by Isabelle Huppert. Yet, the combine reception of “Armageddon Time” at Cannes in 2022 may mood expectations. “Paper Tiger” was independently produced and doesn’t have U.S. distribution yet.

Paweł Pawlikowski, the Oscar-winning Polish director of “Ida,” is now in publish on “1949,” a interval drama starring Sandra Hüller (“Zone of Interest,” “Anatomy of a Fall”) which marks his first movie since his Oscar-nominated 2018 hit “Cold War.” The movie is about at the top of the Cold War and revolves on the relationship between German author Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika, an actress, journalist and rally driver, as they embark on a street journey in a black Buick cruiser across a Germany in ruins — from U.S. dominated Frankfurt to Soviet managed Weimar. It’s produced by Mubi and Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani’s Our Films. Exploring as soon as again themes of id and household bonds in post-WW2 Europe, “1949” may open at Cannes the place Pawlikowski gained best director with “Cold War” in 2018 and earned three Oscar nominations the following 12 months.

One of our surest bets is the return of Östlund to Cannes’ competitors along with his next satirical black comedy, “The Entertainment System Is Down,” starring an ensemble solid including Kirsten Dunst, Keanu Reeves and Daniel Brühl. The Swedish provocateur spent 4 years making this new movie — his most bold yet — after successful two Palme d’Ors again to again 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 the place the leisure system fails, sparking chaos and rage among bored passengers. Östlund shot it in a real Boeing 747 which was acquired for the movie. Speaking to Variety about the project a few years in the past, Östlund said it is going to 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 appeared confident that it “will cause the biggest walkout” in the historical past of Cannes Film Festival.

Iñárritu’s first English-language feature since his Oscar-winning “The Revenant,” “Digger” is a darkly comedian drama billed as “a comedy of catastrophic proportions.” The movie stars and is produced by Tom Cruise, who performs Digger Rockwell, “the most powerful man in the world,” as he races to show he’s humanity’s savior before the catastrophe he’s unleashed destroys all the pieces. The Warner Bros. and Legendary title — whose solid is accomplished 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 possible fall competition debut. Venice is a pure risk, having hosted Iñárritu premieres including his latest movie “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths,” in addition to “Birdman” and “21 Grams;” though Cannes also looms as a risk given the director’s long-standing relationship with the competition courting again to “Amores Perros.” Cruise also has a mushy spot for Cannes, having not too long ago premiered “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Mission: Impossible. The Final Reckoning” there.

Besides “Digger,” Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment have another sizzling film that may land a big competition premiere: Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Three,” whose solid is stacked sufficient to draw dozens of headlines and carry a whole competition. 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 competitors at Venice in 2021, told Variety at Marrakech that he’s already talked to Villeneuve about coming again to the Lido with the third opus. “He just finished shooting the film,” Barbera said, including 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, relatively than the fall, on Dec. 18. The last installment, “Dune: Part Two” skipped festivals and bowed in London.

Could Spielberg’s next movie, “Disclosure Day,” bow on the Croisette? It’s absolutely on Fremaux’s radar since Universal Pictures has set a June 12 release date. The science-fiction film 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 beforehand labored on “Jurassic Park,” “Jurassic Park: The Lost World,” “War of the Worlds” and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” If the film launched at Cannes, it will most possible play out of competitors the place Spielberg offered “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in 2008, “The Color Purple” in 1986″ and “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial,” which performed as the closing night time movie in 1982. Cannes is also shut to Spielberg’s coronary heart because his first movie, “Sugarland Express,” gained best screenplay at the fest in 1974. He was also president of the jury in 2013.

An elevated psychological thriller, “Bunker” is Zeller’s third movie after “The Son,” which competed at Venice and earned Hugh Jackman a best actor nomination at the Golden Globes, and “The Father,” which gained best actor for Anthony Hopkins and best tailored screenplay at the Oscars. The film’s star-studded ensemble is led by Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem alongside Stephen Graham, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Paul Dano. The film sees Cruz and Bardem play a married couple whose relationship and household implode after a strong tech mogul steps into their lives with a mysterious development project. As it’s presently taking pictures and can possible be accomplished in the spring, “Bunker” may technically premiere on the Lido, like “The Son” did.