This year’s Cannes for Hollywood was a mess, with rivals crowded together, films shown in cramped apartments, and studio teams staying at home.
Cannes 2026 concluded on Saturday night, closing out the lowest-wattage Ubergram festival in five years. In 2021, most of Tinseltown remained in the United States as the Delta variant of the coronavirus raged on. Economic concerns have dominated this year. The euro has soared 6% against the dollar in the past 12 months, and all major studios except Universal’s trip to the Côte d’Azur have been canceled this year, although Universal took a small contingent to the 25th anniversary screening of “Fast and Furious.”
Adding to the low-key atmosphere, some five-star hotels offered deep discounts at 11 o’clock, the Vanity Fair party had a boring dinner, and Scarlett Johansson not only missed the premiere of her indie film, Paper Tigers, but also missed a FaceTime call from director James Gray during a standing ovation. (We hear that Johansson is filming Universal’s “The Exorcist” reboot in New York and has a very busy schedule.)
The lineup at the French festival was a departure from recent years, when major studio films such as “Elvis” (Warner Bros.), “Top Gun 2” (Paramount) and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” (Sony) made splashy debuts. Indie film companies and specialty labels also assembled smaller teams this year.
One executive who booked a room at the Majestic at the last minute told Page Six Hollywood that he paid just over $800 a night for the first weekend of prime time. Standard rooms typically cost up to $3,000 during this period.
In another sign of cash-strapped times, a rival agency’s publicist was sleeping in an Airbnb to save money. One buyer also said he had to walk to a studio apartment near a bus stop in Cannes to watch a movie that was on sale. The three filmmakers staying in the apartment vacated their bedrooms so the buyers could watch movies in their rooms.
“Nothing is the same as before. Everything has changed,” mused the buyer.
Most traditional beach parties held after indie film premieres involve heavy drinking and light food. At Lucia Beach’s afterparty after the festival’s screening of the blockbuster film Club Kid, attendees followed up on an unsubstantiated rumor that a tray of hamburgers was circulating as if it were a Bigfoot sighting.
In contrast, this year’s funds were used for a beach bash to attract influencers. On the same day, an event organized by Bodvar was held at Copa Beach, filled with the best rosé and delicacies. Victoria’s Secret model Sara Sampaio (8.2 million followers on Instagram) and Chinese influencer and actress Miao Zhang, who has 3.7 million followers on Weibo, appeared. (Interest in French wine is increasing in China.)
The Vanity Fair Party, once the highlight of the fest, has this year become a dinner filled with anemic guests. Oscar winners Chloé Zhao, Odessa Azion, Peter Jackson and Nicky Hilton visited the classic Cannes restaurant Tetu, which was renovated with private equity support.
But one VIP said there was no line to get into the event, which was held about 20 minutes away from the Palais near the port.
Sources also told Page Six Hollywood that director Jordan Firstman, whose movie Club Kid was acquired by A24 in a bidding war and was the toast of the year this year, had trouble finding an Uber to take him to the secluded festival. “It felt like the party was over before it even started,” sighs one veteran Cannes attendee.
Some in the film world even skipped the VF incident after the magazine’s new global editorial director, Mark Guiducci, did not attend the Cannes premiere, which is significant in the eyes of the industry. (Mr. Guducci is from Vogue and has more of a fashion sense than a film background.) His predecessor, Radhika Jones, attended the 2022 premiere of “Elvis” at the 75th Cannes, among other recent film events. Guducci’s absence from Cannes film events earned him the nickname “The Invisible Editor” among movie fans. But he attended an event co-hosted by VF and director Ron Howard’s Imagine Documentary on a yacht to celebrate the director’s new film about iconic photographer Richard Avedon.
Several executives from Meta, the festival’s official sponsor and sponsor of the Vanity Fair Soiree and Hollywood Reporter Studios, with Meta House on the Croisette, were also seen leaving the VF party to head to the afterparty for the movie Paper Tiger, starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller.
One bright spot on the party scene is former VF editor Graydon Carter’s Hotel du Cap bash. Sharon Stone, filming Season 4 of The White Lotus, was spotted wearing an Oscar-worthy ball gown as she was greeted by George and Amal Clooney. Guests started the party just after 1 a.m.
Despite tightening their belts again, pants still seem to be losing their share at Riviera Fest. “A young couple is currently having sex on the floor in the back row of Sal Bunuel during a screening of a short film competition,” wrote Han Lu, a producer based in Paris and Beijing, on X. — Tatiana Siegel
