EXCLUSIVE: Bummer. Two time Palme d’Or winner Ruben Östlund won’t be at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival with buzzy new movie The Entertainment System Is Down, we understand from sources.
Östlund said in January that he may not be ready for Cannes due to the amount of material he had to edit. There were hopes he may still make it but it seems we will indeed have to wait to see this fun-sounding project.
The filmmaker said in January that if it wasn’t ready, he would likely “wait and edit one more year before we release the film”, adding that his sights were set on a tilt at a record third Palme d’Or.
Kirsten Dunst, Daniel Brühl, and Keanu Reeves are among the starry cast on the darkly satirical film which is set on a long-haul flight between England and Australia where the entertainment system fails and passengers are forced to face the horror of being bored.
Filming began in late January 2024 with principal photography primarily taking place on a studio set built around a real Boeing 747 acquired and fitted out for the production. Above is a photo of Östlund on set. As we previously revealed, A24 pre-bought U.S. rights. Erik Hemmendorf, who teamed with the director on Force Majeure and Palme d’Or winners The Square and Triangle Of Sadness, produces alongside the Swedish filmmaker.
The movie is the latest anticipated film we’re hearing won’t be hitting the Croisette. We already told you in our festival movie preview some months ago that a handful of summer studio movies wouldn’t be heading to the festival, films such as Steven Spielberg’s UFO film Disclosure Day (June 12 launch), Disney/Pixar sequel Toy Story 5 (June 19) and Christopher Nolan epic The Odyssey (July 17).
We hear that Cannes can also cross off May releases such as Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft – The Tour, Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu, Pressure and In The Grey. We assume Netflix movies won’t be on the Croisette per usual and buzzy studio films such as Digger have already committed to fall releases so seem destined for a fall festival. Cannes has prided itself on mixing the cream of the arthouse crop with a sprinkling of big studio buzz movies, but the latter are looking very thin on the ground this edition. Nothing akin to Top Gun or Indiana Jones in sight.
There’s even uncertainty over starry non studio fare such as James Gray’s Paper Tiger, which has appeared on most prediction lists but we hear isn’t a sure thing and could potentially push to fall. Still tbc. Florian Zeller’s Bunker is — at the moment — more likely for fall, we understand.
Cannes always pulls together a tantalising and intriguing lineup. There are sure to be a host of acclaimed directors. Kore-eda, Farhadi, Almodovar, Mungiu, Moretti, Zvyagintsev, Dupieux, the Zellner brothers, Pawlikowski and Leigh are just some of the names widely tipped. Those movies pack a good amount of star power between them. Anyway, just because a lineup looks fun on paper, doesn’t always mean the movies deliver. It also potentially opens up more space for discoveries. But…who doesn’t love that sprinkle of studio stardust and a bit of Hollywood bling along the way. Thierry Frémaux clearly does, just like the rest of us. We’ve been spoiled in recent years.
It’d be great if the festival pulled off some leftfield intrigue like Frank Ocean’s directorial debut, which has been in post a little while. David Jonsson and Taylor Russell star. We hear it’s unlikely at the moment, but here’s to hoping. Films like Chris Rock’s Misty Green and Tony Gilroy’s Behemoth! would also be fun.
It has been reported in some trades that this may be a trend facing A list festivals — that studios are shying away from them. I don’t see it so far. Venice and other fall festivals have the potential to be plenty big and shiny. I just think it’s how the cards have fallen this year. There were plenty studio movies at the fall festivals last year and last Cannes had Mission Impossible as well as a host of arthouse and awards season gems. Berlin has been out of the major studio sweepstakes in recent years (there were a number of interesting movies at the Berlinale, just not big studio level ones). So, a year on from Sentimental Value, Sirat, Arco and The Secret Agent, I’d fully expect Cannes to deliver at least another crop of awards season contenders.