The 13 buzziest films to watch out for at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival has a long and storied reputation of showcasing the best of the best in cinema. In recent years, winners of the coveted Palme d’Or have also become major players during the subsequent awards circuit, with Palme d’Or victors like Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite and Sean Baker’s Anora going on to triumph in the Best Picture category at the Oscars. Other films that have premiered on the Croisette have also inevitably attracted critical acclaim, including recent contenders like Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, and Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez.

This month, filmmakers across the world are once again gearing up to return to Cannes for the 78th iteration of the annual festival, which will run from May 13 to May 24. Juliette Binoche is set to succeed Greta Gerwig as the 2025 jury president, marking the second time ever that a woman has presided over the jury for two consecutive years. Movie lovers can expect to be treated to a wide spectrum of stories—from intimate dramas to action blockbusters—as well as a slate of buzzy directorial debuts from the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Stewart, and Harris Dickinson.

When it comes to identifying frontrunners for our next round of awards shows, all projects are on the table. Ahead, find our picks for the top 13 premieres to look out for.

The Phoenician Scheme

Directed by Wes Anderson

Third time’s the charm. After premiering his last two films, The French Dispatch and Asteroid City, at Cannes, Wes Anderson will again return to the Croisette with his latest cinematic offering. Benicio del Toro leads the film as Zsa-zsa Korda, a European business magnate intent on bequeathing his luxurious estate to his sole daughter, a nun named Leisl, played by Kate Winslet’s daughter Mia Threapleton. Together, the two set out on a dangerous mission across the world, bumping into an array of eclectic characters played by Michael Cera, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Riz Ahmed, and Willem Dafoe. 

Alpha

Directed by Julia Ducournau

Former Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau is no stranger to provoking audiences with her visceral and stomach-churning films on the Croisette. Now, she’s set to return to the international festival with her latest body horror, which is billed as her “most personal [and] profound” project yet. Set during the AIDS crisis in ’80s New York City and starring Tahar Rahim and Golshifteh Farahani, Alpha follows a troubled teen girl who comes home one day with a tattoo on her arm.

The History of Sound

Directed by Oliver Hermanus

Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor costarring as gay folk singers romping around rural Maine in a historical romantic drama was an announcement that made many a girl fall to their knees in a Walmart parking lot. Helmed by South African director Oliver Hermanus, the movie is based off of a 2024 short story by Ben Shattuck (Shattuck also co-wrote the screenplay with Hermanus). Respectively, Mescal and O’Connor play Lionel and David, students at the New England Conservatory during the midst of World War I. After sparking an instant connection in a smoky piano bar, the two set out to collect folk songs from their fellow countrymen.

Eddington

Directed by Ari Aster

The auteur behind beloved horror staples Midsommar and Hereditary is now turning his keen directorial eye to another classic genre: the Western. Set in a small New Mexico town amidst the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Eddington is a thoroughly modern and satirical interpretation of the escalating conflict between law enforcement and local politicians. Joaquin Phoenix—who starred in Ari Aster’s last film, Beau Is Afraid—plays a small-town sheriff who goes toe-to-toe with Eddington’s mayor, played by Pedro Pascal. The cast also features performances from Austin Butler and Emma Stone.

Urchin

Directed by Harris Dickinson

In between Babygirl’s success and his casting announcement in the forthcoming Beatles biopics, Harris Dickinson managed to find time to get behind the camera, too. He makes his directorial debut with Urchin, a film starring Frank Dillane as a young man in London who has trouble shaking out of old habits. The logline describes the movie, which Dickinson also wrote, as “raw and absurd,” highlighting “the strange patterns that keep pulling us back.”

Once Upon a Time in Gaza

Directed by Tarzan and Arab Nasser

Palestinian director-and-writer twins Tarzan and Arab Nasser, best known for their 2020 dramedy Gaza mon amour, are heading back to Cannes with their latest feature film, Once Upon a Time in Gaza. The crime-thriller echoes storytelling beats traditionally seen in modern Westerns. Shot in Jordan, it stars Nader Abd Alhay as Yahya, a young student who befriends a falafel restaurant owner. Together, the two begin to sell drugs at the restaurant, until their business gets complicated with the interference of an egotistical cop.

The Chronology of Water

Directed by Kristen Stewart

For her feature film directorial debut, Kristen Stewart takes on an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s 2011 memoir, which contemplates the intersection of sexuality, gender, addiction, and survival from the vantage point of a lifelong swimmer and artist. Stewart, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Andy Mingo, cast Imogen Poots in the starring role as Lidia.

Highest 2 Lowest

Directed by Spike Lee

Five years after the release of his last movie, Spike Lee is finally back. This time, the auteur is reimagining Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 police procedural crime film, High to Low, which in turn was loosely based off of Evan Hunter’s 1959 novel, King’s Ransom. Set in New York City, the movie stars Denzel Washington as a music mogul who gets mixed up in a life-or-death ransom scheme, alongside performances from Jeffrey Wright, A$AP Rocky, and Ice Spice. While the film’s premiere will mark Washington’s first time at the Cannes Film Festival since 1993, fans can also hopefully look forward to a possible red-carpet appearance from Rihanna, too, who is currently pregnant with her and Rocky’s third child.

Die, My Love

Directed by Lynne Ramsay

Almost ten years since the release of her last film, Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay (You Were Never Really Here, We Need to Talk About Kevin) is teaming up with Jennifer Lawrence for an adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s 2017 novel of the same name. Lawrence, who produced the project through her production company Excellent Cadaver, stars as Grace, a new mother struggling with postpartum depression and inching towards her breaking point. Robert Pattinson and LaKeith Stanfield round out the cast, starring as Grace’s husband and lover, respectively.

Honey Don’t

Directed by Ethan Coen

Margaret Qualley as a private investigator? Aubrey Plaza as a lesbian cop? Chris Evans as the reverend of a southern megachurch? What more could you want from an Ethan Coen dark comedy? Just a year after their last collaboration, Drive-Away Dolls, Coen and Qualley have reunited yet again for Honey Don’t, the second installment of Coen and wife Tricia Cooke’s planned “lesbian B-movie” triptych. Qualley stars as our titular Honey O’Donahue, a small-town detective who has connected a string of local murders with the doings of a cult-like ministry.

Sentimental Value

Directed by Joachim Trier

Pretty much everybody was talking about Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person in the World after its premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. The romantic dramedy propelled its leading lady, Norwegian actor Renate Reinsve, to critical acclaim, and the movie wound up earning two nominations at the following year’s Academy Awards ceremony. Now, Trier and Reinsve are back, this time teaming up for an intimate family drama that also stars Stellan Skarsgård and Elle Fanning.

Eleanor the Great

Directed by Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson has two reasons to walk up the Palais steps at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. In addition to appearing in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, the actor is also set to premiere her feature film directorial debut. The film follows a Floridian woman in her nineties, played by 95-year-old June Squibb, who relocates to New York City in order to live with her daughter. There, she strikes up an unexpected friendship with a young aspiring journalist, played by Erin Kellyman.

Splitsville

Directed by Michael Angelo Covino

Michael Angelo Covino directs and stars in Splitsville, a comedy about the pitfalls of marriage, romance, and modern relationships. The movie—which also stars Dakota Johnson, Adria Arjona, Kyle Marvin, and Nicholas Braun—chronicles a couple on the precipice of divorce who seek advice from their fellow married friends, who happen to find their own version of marital bliss through the embrace of non-monogamy.

Lead image collage: Sarah Oliver

Also read: Inside the jury room at Cannes 2025

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