A calmer Cannes still delivered big performances, bold buys, and a shifting landscape for global film distribution. Boardroom highlights the biggest takeaways from this year’s film festival.
The 2025 Cannes Film Festival is wrapping up, leaving behind a trail of standing ovations, record-breaking acquisitions, and even some Oscar buzz.
Overall, the 78th annual festival screened over 100 films between official selections and parallel sections, including shorts, student projects, documentaries, and classics. While the mood was less frenzied than in some years past, the festival delivered a solid mix of prestige cinema and strategic dealmaking, suggesting an awards season seeded with strong international contenders and new distribution dynamics.
Let’s take a look at some of the big moments from the annual festival.
Early Oscar Contenders Emerge
Cannes again gave us a first look at films likely to show up in the awards conversation later this year. The biggest spotlight was on Jennifer Lawrence in Die, My Love, directed by Lynne Ramsay. The film follows a woman spiraling through mental illness and emotional isolation in rural France, and Lawrence’s performance was widely praised — many critics are calling it her best work yet. She’s now considered an early front-runner for Best Actress.
Several international titles also stood out. Sound of Falling, from German director Mascha Schilinski, tells the story of a young mother navigating grief and identity while raising a neurodivergent child; it landed at the top of many critics’ lists thanks to its emotional depth and bold structure. Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent reimagines Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel as a contemporary Brazilian political thriller about a man caught between government forces and anarchist resistance.
Another major contender is Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, a semi-autobiographical drama about two adult siblings reconnecting with their long-estranged father over a summer in Norway. It received a 19-minute standing ovation — the longest of the festival — and feels primed for a strong run through the fall festivals and possibly the Oscars.
The Curious Theater of Standing Ovations
Few traditions at Cannes inspire as much fascination — or cynicism — as the standing ovation. Timed with stopwatch precision and often circulated via rapid social media posts, these ovations have become their own form of cinematic currency. Sentimental Value claimed the unofficial crown this year, joining the ranks of Cannes lore.
But what do these ovations really mean?
While they’re often interpreted as barometers of a film’s impact, the truth is more ambiguous. The longest ovation in Cannes history, a reported 22 minutes for Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006, did not result in a Palme d’Or. However, it did pick up three Academy Awards at the 79th Oscars in 2007 for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Makeup.
Applause doesn’t always translate into hardware, but these extended displays of affection can help a film build momentum, especially with distributors and Oscar strategists watching closely. The line between genuine enthusiasm and performative ritual is blurry, yet in rare cases, as with Trier’s latest, the energy in the room feels undeniably real.
Cautious Deals in a Calibrated Market
Cannes is also a marketplace, and this year’s film festival reflected the mood of a more cautious, strategically-minded industry. The days of speculative bidding wars appear to be fading. Instead, buyers prioritize prestige, clear audience hooks, and reliable returns.
While some seven-figure deals were inked, especially for films with major stars or glowing early reviews, the broader trend was one of discipline. Fewer pre-sales and more conservative offers signaled an industry still recalibrating after pandemic disruptions and shifting streaming economics. This isn’t to say the market was sluggish. Instead, it was selective. I’d say quality, not quantity, drove acquisitions.
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Mubi’s Moment
The single most dominant player at Cannes this year was Mubi, the once-niche streaming platform that has now fully evolved into a heavyweight distributor that continues to redefine what an arthouse streamer can be. Previously known mainly for its carefully curated rotating library, Mubi has steadily evolved into a serious force in the theatrical and awards space. This year, that evolution went into overdrive.
Mubi made headlines by acquiring Die, My Love for a reported $24 million — the company’s largest deal to date and the first major deal of this year’s festival. It picked up rights to distribute the film in North America, the UK & Ireland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Turkey, India, Australia, and New Zealand, with plans for a robust theatrical rollout followed by streaming. It’s a significant move that signals Mubi isn’t just licensing films post-festival; it’s competing at the highest level for prestige premieres.
That wasn’t the only big swing. Mubi also picked up Sound of Falling and The Secret Agent, securing rights across Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. It also has territory rights for Sentimental Value in the UK and Ireland, Latin America, Turkey, and India, with Neon handling North American distribution. These moves give Mubi a hand in four of the most buzzed-about titles at Cannes 2025.
Mubi’s current model blends streaming, theatrical distribution, and in-house production. The platform releases select titles in theaters in major markets before bringing them to its app, where it caters to a global audience that skews toward cinephiles, festival followers, and younger viewers seeking alternatives to studio fare. It’s a vertically integrated approach, combining taste-making with reach—and it’s paying off.
This year’s moves build on the momentum from The Substance (Cannes 2023), which Mubi guided from festival favorite to awards contender. With its current slate, Mubi is poised to be a key player not just during festival season but throughout the awards calendar.
Other Standout Films
Aside from the Oscar buzz and Mubi’s dominance, Cannes 2025 featured several films that stood out, whether for their scale, first-time premieres, or star power. Here are two more films I’m also excited to see:
Highest 2 Lowest
A modern rewrite of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, this crime thriller from Spike Lee stars Denzel Washington, who received an honorary Palme d’Or at the film’s premiere, as a music mogul dragged into a kidnapping crisis. Produced by A24, Apple Original Films, 40 Acres & a Mule Filmworks, Escape Artists, and Mandalay Pictures, the film premiered out of competition. Distribution will be split with A24 handling its U.S. theatrical release on Aug. 22, followed by a global stream on Apple TV+ starting Sept. 5.
Eleanor the Great
This drama, starring June Squibb as a 95-year-old rebuilding her life in New York after loss, premiered in Un Certain Regard. The film is produced by Maven Screen Media, Dauphin Studio, These Pictures, Pinky Promise, and Wayfarer Studios and will be distributed by TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics. It earned a six-minute standing ovation for Squibb’s performance and Scarlett Johansson‘s directorial debut.
Cannes in Transition
Cannes 2025 didn’t erupt in a frenzy — but it didn’t need to. The festival showcased a global film culture in quiet evolution: more diverse in form, more mature in tone, and more deliberate in business.
The Oscar race has a few clear front-runners. The market has a breakout player. And Cannes, for all its ceremony and tradition, still proves it matters. At its best, the festival isn’t just a launchpad — it’s a snapshot of where cinema is headed, whether you’re watching a 19-minute standing ovation or tracking who’s closing the biggest deals.
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