The Cannes Film Festival is notorious for its lengthy standing ovations.
It is tradition for audience members to stand and clap for a long time as a show of good faith towards the cast and crew members attending the screening. This year is no different: films like The substance And Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga received more than five minutes of unrelenting applause.
However, the length of time that customers are willing to clasp their hands together in appreciation does not always reflect the future success of the film. We looked at IMDBPro’s data but found no direct correlation between the duration of applause and a film’s box office prospects.
The now iconic Pan’s Labyrinth earned Cannes’s longest ovation ever, at a whopping 22 minutes. It went on to quadruple its budget at the box office. Other notable films such as the mega-blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick and Best Picture winner The artist receiving feverish beatings for five and twelve minutes respectively.
However, a few films that flopped financially and critically also received long ovations. The neon demonThe ovation lasted 17 minutes, The paper boy‘s lasted 15 minutes and The Beaverclocked in at 10 minutes.
While we’re not sure how the films will be received by the general public, we know how applause-worthy Cannes audiences found the highly anticipated 2024 releases. The seven-minute ovation for Horizon: an American saga brought tears to the eyes of star/writer/director/producer Kevin Costner. So far, the Demi Moore-led film The substance has produced the longest ovation of 11 minutes, according to Variety.
Cannes audiences are also notorious for booing films. Pulp Fiction was booed for winning the festival’s top prize. The same thing happened Cab driver. Both films eventually ended up on the American Film Institute’s list of the greatest films of all time.
Ultimately, all the ovations and boos at Cannes reveal is how long those particular audience members are willing to stand or shout. It’s still fun to keep track, though, so here are the longest ovations in Cannes history:
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) – 22 minutes
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) – 20 minutes
Mud (2012) – 18 minutes
The neon demon (2016) – 17 minutes
Once upon a time in America (1984) – 15 minutes
The paper boy (2012) — 15 minutes
Two days, one night (2014) — 15 minutes
Capernaum (2018) — 15 minutes
Happy as Lazzaro (2018) — 15 minutes
Belle (2021) — 14 minutes
Sam Matthews contributed reporting.
