10 Movies You Never Knew Premiered At The Cannes Film Festival
When it comes to prestige filmmaking, you have to include the most widely publicized cultural event of the year, the Festival de Cannes. It’s where movies make their world premieres, where critics come together with actors and creatives to celebrate new movies, and it’s a staple when it comes to preserving the art of filmmaking.
With the first Cannes Film Festival being held in 1946, there have been hundreds of movies that have premiered there. For the casual moviegoer, you would think that only Oscar-winning films have debuted there because it’s a “prestige” festival. And while that’s true, there are plenty of blockbusters that you might’ve grown up with that started their journey at Cannes.
Here are 10 movies you never knew premiered at the Cannes Film Festival!
E.T. changed how we look at aliens in movies while also emphasizing that just because something is a family movie doesn’t mean that it can’t deal with heavy topics like loss and empathy. It tells the story of a troubled child who finds the courage to help a friendly alien return home.
Sadly, E.T. didn’t win any awards at Cannes. But it went on to be a commercial success and a pop culture touchstone for any kid born in the ‘80s. It also won four Oscars at the 1983 Academy Awards for Sound, Visual Effects, Sound Effects Editing, and Original Score.
Shrek marks a turning point for modern animation and storytelling that has left an impression on children all over the world, no matter the language. It tells the story of a grumpy ogre who goes on a quest to rescue a princess to get his land back. Things take an unexpected turn when they fall for each other, proving that you can’t judge a book by its cover.
Though Shrek didn’t win an award at Cannes, its pop culture impact is probably the largest of any movie on this list because it subverted fairy tale tropes and was the next step in CGI animation. It went on to win an Oscar at the 2002 Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. Since then, it has garnered multiple sequels, including the upcoming Shrek 5 (2027), a stage musical, a theme park ride, and multiple spin-offs.
Even if you’re not a fan of movie musicals, you know Moulin Rouge!. The iconic movie stars Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor as doomed lovers. She’s a beautiful courtesan and nightclub star, and he’s a poor Bohemian poet. Jealousy and illness tear their love apart. But what you remember is the absolute visual and musical spectacle this movie is.
Though Moulin Rouge! didn’t win any awards at Cannes, but it did win two Oscars for Set Decoration and Costume Design at the 2002 Academy Awards. It also went on to inspire Moulin Rouge! The Musical, which is beloved by fans all over the world.
That’s not all. This movie is also considered a turning point for movie musicals. Chicago released in 2002 and won an Oscar for Best Picture. Since then, we’ve gotten movie musicals like Rent (2005), Dreamgirls (2006), Hairspray (2007), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), and the iconic Enchanted (2007).
When it comes to zombie movies, the Cannes Film Festival is no stranger to the genre. Zack Snyder’s Dawn of the Dead made its world premiere there, introducing us to a group of people trying to survive a zombie plague in a shopping mall. It was a success because of its production value, epic opening sequence, and its honesty in the cruelty and hope that happens when society crumbles.
Dawn of the Dead didn’t win an award at Cannes. But it was considered a major commercial success and part of a wave of zombie films like 28 Days Later (2002) where the zombies aren’t slow hazards. They are fast and terrifying threats. Even though this movie is a standalone remake of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead (1978), Army of the Dead (2021) is considered the spiritual successor of what Snyder built in the 2004 movie.
Yes, Kung Fu Panda made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival because animation is also prestige filmmaking with the ability to tell complex storytelling that sticks with you, no matter if you’re a kid or an adult. And what better place to introduce people to Po, the famed Dragon Warrior destined to protect the Valley of Peace against its enemies, than Cannes?
Like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda didn’t win an award at Cannes. However, it ended up with an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2009 Academy Awards. It went on to have multiple sequels, video games, and TV shows like Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011) and Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny (2018).
Sentimental Value is an intimate exploration of a family as they work through reconciliation and the memories that tore them apart. It’s also a movie seemingly perfect for this festival, as the power of art and filmmaking ties to their reconciliation. A little slow in some scenes, it’s the one movie on this list that you need to trust and continue watching because it’s worth it.
Cannes celebrated the movie’s strength with one specific award. Sentimental Value won the Grand Prix, the second-highest honor at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Then, during the 2026 Academy Awards, it won an Oscar for Best International Feature Film.
Mad Max: Fury Road is the continuation of the adventures of survivors in a dystopian desert wasteland created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. Highly stylized and action-packed, the movie stars Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy as they try to liberate a group of female prisoners. And it’s one of those movies where even though you might not know what’s happening all the time, you can’t stop watching because of how purposeful everything is, from the villains to the outfits and music.
Though Mad Max: Fury Road didn’t win an award at Cannes, it did go on to win six Oscars at the 2016 Academy Awards for Film Editing, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, and Production Design.
An adaptation of the semi-autobiographical romance novel The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, Carol has become an iconic sapphic movie since its release. Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, it tells the story of an aspiring photographer and the intimate relationship she develops with an older woman in 1950s New York. It’s subtle, intimate, and captures that nervous feeling when you realize you’re falling in love.
Carol is the only movie on this list that won multiple awards at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Rooney Mara won for Best Actress, and director Todd Haynes won a Queer Palm, an award for movies with LGBTQ+ themes.
Train to Busan is the height of zombie movies. After a zombie virus outbreak occurs in South Korea, a group of passengers struggles to survive on a train from Seoul to Busan. While the zombies are terrifying and the stunts are like no other, what makes this movie stand out is the emotional heart. Gong Yoo stars as Seok-woo, a father on a mission to protect his daughter after the outbreak, and the lengths that he’s willing to go for her are unforgettable but also heartbreaking.
Though it didn’t win an award at Cannes, it’s won over 30 awards since, including at the Baeksang Art Awards and the Blue Dragon Awards. Director Yeon Sang-ho recently had the world premiere for his latest zombie movie, Colony, at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones acts as a bridge between the original trilogy and Anakin Skywalker’s fall in the prequels. In this movie, Anakin shares a romance with Padmé Amidala, leading to some of the most memorable moments of the franchise. And Obi-Wan Kenobi discovers a secret clone army crafted for the Jedi.
For leaving such an impression, this movie didn’t win an award at Cannes. However, that didn’t stop it from becoming one of the most important films within the Star Wars franchise. Not only does it show the beginnings of Anakin Skywalker’s Dark Side turn, but also how we get to Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977). Additionally, it was one of the first movies to be shot entirely on digital cameras, helping move Hollywood forward.
