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The directorial debuts of comedian Aziz Ansari, “Euphoria” breakout Maude Apatow, “Succession” star Brian Cox and “Split” actor James McAvoy will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Ansari’s action comedy “Good Fortune,” Apatow’s coming-of-age comedy “Poetic License,” Cox’s British drama “Glenrothan” and McAvoy’s musical biopic “California Schemin'” are among the new additions to the TIFF lineup. Other films that will host world premieres at the annual Canadian-based gathering include Alex Winter’s “Adulthood” and Bobby Farrelly’s “Driver’s Ed.”

Meanwhile Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine,” a wrestling drama starring Dwayne the Rock Johnson and Emily Blunt, and Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” will have their North American premieres at TIFF. Those movies have yet to announce where the world premieres will take place, though it’s likely the Venice Film Festival.

TIFF also announced that several movies that already debuted at other...

Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Edward Berger’s “Ballad of a Small Player,” Bobby Farrelly’s “Driver’s Ed,” Brian Cox’s “Glenrothan,” Gus Van Sant’s “Dead Man’s Wire,” Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” and Baz Luhrmann’s “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” will screen in the Galas and Special Presentations sections of the 2025 Toronto international Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Monday.

Those films were among the more than 50 new movies that were added to the robust TIFF lineup. Previously, the festival had announced 17 other galas and special premieres, including Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet,” Derek Cianfrance’s “Roofman,” Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers,” Agnieszka Holland’s “Franz,” Paul Greengrass’ “The Lost Bus” and Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” The festival will open with Colin Hanks’ documentary “John Candy: I Like Me.”

More than 30 of the newly announced films will be world premieres. Those include “Driver’s Ed,...

As the fall festivals begin to roll out their lineups (a phrase you’ll be seeing a lot of on IndieWire in the coming days), a word of both caution and delight: don’t forget about the festival films that have already premiered elsewhere, from Sundance to Cannes. The Toronto International Film Festival certainly has not, as today’s full lineup of Gala and Special Presentations includes plenty of previously-premiered films that are already ranking among the year’s best.

We’re talking Sundance standouts like Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” and Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams,” plus Cannes hits likes Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling,” Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague,” and Óliver Laxe’s “Sirāt.”

And today’s announcement also includes world premieres like Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune,” Maude Apatow’s “Poetic License,...

The Toronto Film Festival has unveiled new star-driven Gala and Special Presentations titles, including Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune, Maude Apatow’s Poetic License, Isabel Coixet’s Three Goodbyes, David Michod’s Christy, James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg and Alice Winocour’s Couture.

Set for the buzzy red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall are world premieres for Bobby Farrelly’s road trip comedy Driver’s Ed, which stars Alyssa Milano, Kumail Nanjani and Molly Shannon; Russell Crowe’s Nazi thriller Nuremberg from director James Vanderbilt and Sony Pictures Classics, with the historical drama also starring Rami Malek, Michael Shannon and Leo Woodall; Succession actor Brian Cox bringing his directorial debut Glenrothan, where he stars alongside Alan Cumming and Shirley Henderson in a film about estranged brothers looking to save a family whisky distillery; and David Freyne’s romantic comedy Eternity for A24, which stars Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen and Callum Turner.

Scarlett Johansson is a major movie star, having started her career as a child actress and starring in a series of critically and commercially successful films. The actress recently certified her icon status by becoming the highest-grossing actor of all time, and now she's ready to focus on being behind the camera as well.

For most of her career, Johansson focused on acting, but she also flirted with producing and now directing. She first directed a short film in 2009, These Vagabond Shoes, as well as an Ellie Goulding concert film, American Express Unstaged, but her official feature film is Eleanor the Great. After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, production company Wayfarer Studios announced Eleanor the Great is heading to theaters on Sept. 26.

Following an incredible reception at Cannes, Eleanor The Great is officially headed to theaters in the US and Canada September 26! 🤩🎡Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut...

Edward Berger’s Ballad Of A Small Player has been set for an awards corridor theatrical release in October by Netflix.

The dramatic thriller starring Colin Farrell will open in select theatres in the US on October 15 and in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on October 17, before making its global streaming debut on Netflix on October 29.

Berger’s films have been strong awards contenders in recent years, with Conclave winning this year’s British film Bafta and being nominated for the best picture Oscar and All Quiet On The Western Front winning the best international film Oscar for Germany...

Sony Pictures Classics will open Scarlett Johansson’s feature directorial debut Eleanor the Great on September 26 nationwide and in Canada.

The movie, which received a six-minute standing ovation at its Cannes Film Festival world premiere in May, follows Eleanor Morgenstein (Oscar nominee June Squibb), who is trying to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend. As a result, she moves back to New York City after living in Florida for decades.

Tory Kamen wrote the screenplay and the movie also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht and Erin Kellyman.

Partnering for the first time, TriStar Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics boarded the project in 2024. The film is produced by Johansson, Jonathan Lia, and Keenan Flynn for These Pictures, Kara Durrett and Jessamine Burgum for Pinky Promise, and Celine Rattray and Trudie Styler of Maven Screen Media. Steve Sarowitz, Justin Baldoni, Jamey Heath and Andrew Calof are executive producing for Wayfarer Studios.

Eleanor the Great receives an official US release date as its star, 95 years old, gears up for an Oscar campaign. From Scarlett Johansson in her directorial debut, with a script written by Tory Kamen, the drama stars June Squibb as the titular Eleanor Morgenstein, a nonagenarian Floridian who, after losing her best friend, moves back to New York City and forms an unlikely friendship.

In addition to Squibb in the lead role, the film also stars the Oscar-nominated Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), Emmy-nominated Jessica Hecht, and Erin Kellyman.

Now, Sony Pictures Classics has announced that Eleanor the Great will be released in theaters in the United States and Canada on September 26. Another awards-season hopeful, Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is also currently scheduled for that same date, as is The Strangers – Chapter 2.

What Eleanor The Great's Release Date Means For The Movie...

Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, “Eleanor the Great,” is getting a theatrical release in September.

The heartwarming drama, starring June Squibb as a 90-year-old woman trying to rebuild her life after the death of her best friend, will premiere in theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Sept. 26 from Sony Pictures Classics.

“Eleanor the Great” debuted in May at Cannes Film Festival in its Un Certain Regard section, earning a five-minute standing ovation. Johansson called screening the film at Cannes a “dream come true” during its premiere.

“When you make a film that’s an independent film like this, no one’s doing it for the money — surprise, surprise,” she continued. “Really, everyone that came together for this film came together because they loved the story, the script so much. It’s a film about many things: it’s about friendship, it’s about grief, it’s about forgiveness.

Lewis Pullman and Maya Hawke will join forces for the surrealist relationship comedy “Wishful Thinking,” Variety can report exclusively.

Writer-director Graham Parkes will helm the film, about a volatile couple who discovers their emotional state has supernatural consequences on the world around them. The pair must decide whether to fight for their relationship or accept that their powerful connection might be doing more harm than good.

Pullman’s profile has risen considerably over his last few projects, including Marvel’s “Thunderbolts*” (a.k.a. “The New Avengers”), “Top Gun: Maverick” and the acclaimed Apple Studios series “Lessons in Chemistry.” Hawke, a breakout from the sunsetting Netflix juggernaut “Stranger Things,” stole the show in the hugely profitable Pixar sequel “Inside Out 2” last year, in addition to roles in “Wildcat” and “Asteroid City.”

Highway 10, Buckwild and Pinky Promise are producing “Wishful Thinking.” Matt Smith and Dan Gedman will oversee for Highway 10, which also serves as financier.

Cannes 2025 festival-goers put their stamp of approval of Harris Dickinson the filmmaker, with his directing debut “Urchin” winning the Fipresci prize out of Un Certain Regard. What can’t the “Babygirl” and “Triangle of Sadness” and “Beach Rats” and “The Iron Claw” actor and future John Lennon star do?

A favorite of IndieWire’s Screen Talk podcast and Chief Film Critic David Ehrlich, “Urchin” seemed primed for a major scoop out of Cannes alongside other actor-turned-filmmakers.

Alas, it took two months since the festival’s end for rising distribution outfit 1-2 Special to step in and buy Dickinson’s film for North American distribution. Starring Frank Dillane as an unhoused, drug-chasing drifter in London, and in the vein of Mike Leigh’s “Naked” in terms of toxic emotional candor, “Urchin” follows Mike (Dillane) as he tumbles through a cycle of addiction, self-destruction, and London’s correctional system. In addition to the Fipresci prize,...

Scarlett Johansson's so money — and now everyone knows it.

With an assist from some rampaging dinosaurs, the Oscar-nominated actress is officially Hollywood's highest grossing lead actor at the worldwide box office, surpassing previous record-holder (and fellow Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran) Samuel L. Jackson. Three other MCU alums, Robert Downey Jr., Zoe Saldaña, and Chris Pratt, round out the top five.

That data comes fresh from the box office tracking site The Numbers, which lists Johansson's cumulative global gross at $14.8 billion versus Jackson's $14.6 billion.

The extra bump can be credited to Jurassic World: Rebirth, which roared its way to an opening weekend tally of $318.3 at the worldwide box office and $147.3 million in the U.S. alone. Despite largely mixed reviews, the seventh installment in the Jurassic franchise proves that audiences young and old still enjoy seeing famous faces like Johansson and Rebirth costars Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali running...

Scarlett Johansson has reached a new box office peak thanks to Jurassic World Rebirth's global opening weekend earnings. The seventh installment in the Jurassic Park franchise introduces Johansson to the dinosaur universe alongside co-stars Mahershala Ali and Jonathan Bailey. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film debuted before the Fourth of July weekend in 2025 and earned $318.3 million globally.

With this huge debut, Jurassic World Rebirth has become the ninth highest-grossing movie of 2025. Johansson's addition to the Jurassic franchise not only reinvigorates the series but also delivers a personal triumph to one of Hollywood's most bankable leading ladies.

Jurassic World has further fueled Johansson's earning power and expanded her international reach. According to box office analytics from The Numbers, Johansson is now not only the ninth top-grossing film star of all time, but with her films collectively earning over $15.6 billion worldwide,she has become the highest-grossing actress of all time at the worldwide box office,...

At the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, Dakota Johnson confirmed that she will step behind the camera for her feature directing debut, working from a screenplay by Vanessa Burghardt—her on-screen daughter in 2022’s Cha Cha Real Smooth—about a young woman with autism.

During Kering’s Women in Motion talk, Johnson called the script “really special” and said she felt “very protective” of Burghardt and the story, adding that she “couldn’t allow anyone else to direct it.”

The project stems from TeaTime Pictures, the production banner Johnson launched to gain greater artistic input after several films premiered far from her expectations. She told attendees she craves “more conversation and creativity,” positioning the debut as a natural extension of TeaTime’s mission.

Although no schedule was given, Johnson brings recent experience: her 23-minute short Loser Baby screened in TIFF’s 2024 Short Cuts programme. She arrived at Cannes this year...

Jurassic World Rebirth Rotten Tomatoes Score ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

The Scarlett Johansson-led ambitious Jurassic World: Rebirth is about to enter the theater screens. With less than a week to its Independence Day premiere, the Gareth Edwards directorial had been inciting speculations in its hesitance to lift the review embargo in a timely fashion. And the reputation has preceded its next misadventures! The Jurassic Park sequel hasn’t been warmly received by critics. Its susceptibility to repetitiveness over originality has weighed it down.

The Jurassic Era Nears Its End? Here’s What Rotten Tomatoes Says

Based on 98 reviews, Jurassic World: Rebirth currently holds a 54% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. When it comes to Jurassic Park sequels, audiences and critics have been echoing alike that maybe the franchise has run its course and it’s time to put the dinosaurs to sleep. And once again, critics have not deviated from this message.

Scarlett Johansson told The Times that early in her career “a lot” of roles revolved around her appeal to men, but “something has shifted” so that she is no longer cast purely for “desirability or the male gaze.” The two-time Oscar nominee made similar remarks during a promotional press stop on 30 June, saying the messaging for young actresses today is “different and better.”

Johansson’s frustration is long-standing: she previously recalled being “hyper-sexualized” as a teenager and feeling groomed into bombshell parts that left little room for nuance. A viral birthday video from friend Ryan Reynolds even mocked the perennial struggle to pronounce her surname—and, by extension, the stereotypes attached to it—underscoring how the issue had become part of her public persona.

Industry data partly support her optimism. The latest USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative survey found that 54 of 2024’s 100 top-grossing U.S. films featured a woman lead or co-lead,...

Fans of Disney’s Tower of Terror — formally named The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and located at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida (and formerly Disney’s California Adventure) — are going to have wait a little bit for the film adaptation. Scarlett Johansson is set to star in and produce the project, but she recently told Entertainment Weekly that “Tower of Terror” as a movie was “a hard nut to crack.”

“Harder than you think, because the ride itself, there’s some lore to it, but it’s… I don’t want to say thin, but it is, kind of!,” Johansson said of the ride’s plot, themed after the legendary anthology Rod Serling-created series (plural) “The Twilight Zone” — which itself became a notorious, lore-filled ’80s flick. Riders of the attraction are taken to the Twilight Zone after lightning strikes the Hollywood Tower Hotel.

While Johansson said there...

On Tuesday evening, Deadline launched its Deadline Dinners event series with Eleanor the Great screenwriter Tory Kamen as our first host. Proper Presents: Deadline Dinners is a new writer-focused event series designed to foster candid conversation, celebrate breakthrough storytelling and build community around the written word.

Kamen’s chosen theme for the evening was first-time female screenwriters, and she brought together a group of guests that included Ilana Wolpert (Anyone But You), Nora Garrett (After the Hunt), Rose Gilroy (Fly Me to the Moon), Amy Wang (Slanted), Jess Righthand (Grey’s Anatomy), Kale Futterman (Ginny & Georgia), Rebecca Rosenberg (The Librarians: The Next Chapter), Tracie Laymon (Bob Trevino Likes It) and Anna Greenfield (Late Bloomers).

Deadline

Kamen said of bringing the group together: “I really wanted a community of people that I could relate to, as somebody who’s trying to write features and really loves theatrical. What tonight’s about is celebrating future writers.

Deadline is launching a new writer-focused series Proper Presents: Deadline Dinners, an event designed to foster candid conversation, celebrate breakthrough storytelling and build community around the written word.

The first event will take place Tuesday, June 24 and be hosted by Tory Kamen, the screenwriter behind Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor the Great that just had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Kamen will invite a roster of young female screenwriters to honor the fresh perspectives and powerful storytelling of women making their mark in the entertainment industry.

All events will take place at the Santa Monica Proper hotel and be curated under Proper Hotels’ cultural platform “Proper Presents,” with each gathering featuring a menu crafted by Proper’s award‑winning culinary teams, bespoke Diageo’s cocktail pairings, and a roundtable discussion.

The first event in the series will be in partnership with Diageo’s brand Don Julio.

Sony stepped up to bat yesterday (June 16) as the first of the big five US studios to present a slate presentation at the CineEurope trade convention in Barcelona, wrapping its slot by showing the first 28 minutes of 28 Years Latertwo days ahead of the film’s world premiere in London on June 18.

The footage was introduced to the assembled cinema operators in a filmed message fromdirector/producer Danny Boyle, who promised that this belated sequel to 28 Days Later (2002) and 28 Weeks Later (2007) was a “new journey” and “something that stands on its own”.

28 Years Later is the first...

Actress Scarlett Johansson has been one of Marvel’s most iconic faces and brought Black Widow to life across a decade of blockbuster movies. So, because of this, she became a driving force behind the scenes, even earning an executive producer credit on Black Widow.

But now, in an unexpected twist, the actress has asked for her executive producer credit to be removed from Thunderbolts*. This, for obvious reasons, raised a lot of questions – and it turns out, the reason behind it may reveal more about Marvel’s current struggles than anyone expected. Let’s dive deeper!

Why didn’t Scarlett Johansson want her name on Marvel’s Thunderbolts*?

Looks like Scarlett Johansson has officially drawn the line with Marvel. The actress, famous for her role as Natasha Romanoff a.k.a. Black Widow, has asked for her executive producer credit to be removed from Marvel’s movie Thunderbolts* – and now she’s explaining why.

Scarlett Johansson first played Natasha Romanoff in 2008's Iron Man. The actor bid farewell to the role over a decade later when Black Widow sacrificed herself to help save the universe in Avengers: Endgame.

Despite that, a Black Widow movie (set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War) followed two years later. The movie filled in some gaps in Natasha's past and gave the MCU a new Black Widow in Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova. However, it wasn't the origin story many fans had hoped for.

As for Johansson, the movie's debut on Disney+'s short-lived "Premier Access" service saw her sue Disney for the box office profits she lost out on. Ultimately, things were made right, and we learned that she would return to the MCU with an executive producer credit on Thunderbolts*.

If you waited through the credits for that must-see Avengers: Doomsday tease, you might have...

Scarlett Johansson is, like a lot of people, a bigJurassic Parkfan. But her love for the franchise runs deeper than many people would admit to, especially if they were trying to impress Steven Spielberg.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Johansson said she was unsure if she should tell the legendary director how obsessed she was with the franchise he created during initial discussions about a potential role in Jurassic World Rebirth. "I had a meeting with him and I don't actually know if he knew the depths of my Jurassic fandom, but I'm hoping that no one explained it to him too thoroughly because it maybe would've come off as being a little too much," she said.

"Although knowing Steven now, he was excited when I shared with how much it would mean to me to play any part in Jurassic. I could've played it cooler, and maybe I wouldn't have gotten it,...

Scarlett Johansson didn’t hold back when showing her “Jurassic Park” fandom to producer Steven Spielberg. The actress, who will now lead franchise installment “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” recalled first meeting with Spielberg about the role.

“I had a meeting with him and I don’t actually know if he knew the depths of my ‘Jurassic’ fandom, but I’m hoping that no one explained it to him too thoroughly because it maybe would’ve come off as being a little too much,” Johansson told THR. “Although knowing Steven now, he was excited when I shared how much it would mean to me to play any part in ‘Jurassic.’ I could’ve played it cooler and maybe I wouldn’t have gotten it.”

She added of the experience, “It taught me that if you are enthusiastic about a project, it is actually good to share your enthusiasm. You don’t have...

Scarlett Johansson found directing to be a "really rewarding" experience.The 40-year-old star made her directorial debut with 'Eleanor the Great', the new drama movie starring June Squibb in the title role, and Scarlett has revealed that she loved the challenge of working behind the camera.The Hollywood star told 'Extra': "I have a different perspective on just the process of, you know, pre-production and then what goes on after we all leave. I think, as an actor, you’re hoping that the director sees kind of what you were doing and follows, you know, pulls the right thread and all of that stuff, but you don’t know."You have no, kind of, control over it and now, you know, having experienced the other side of it, it just gives you, I think, an interesting insight into how people, other directors make their choices and the process that they go through to,...

Scarlett Johansson stunned the Cannes audience this week, not as an actor but as a filmmaker. Her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, earned a five-minute standing ovation at its world premiere. Based on the theme of identity, grief, and loss, the dramedy struck a chord with the audience, who stood in applause.

But while Johansson now basks in praise, she admitted she hadn’t always felt so confident. Before the release of her movie, she was worried that her debut might overlap a little too closely with Jesse Eisenberg’s debut. Turns out her fears were unfounded.

Scarlett Johansson was worried that her movie might overlap with Jesse Eisenberg’s directorial debut Scarlett Johansson in a still from Marriage Story | Credit: Netflix

In an exclusive interview with Collider, Scarlett Johansson recalled hearing about Jesse Eisenberg’s own directorial debut, When You Finish Saving the World, which also explores Jewish identity and generational tension.

Scarlett Johansson is "not sure" whether to focus her attention on directing or acting.The 40-year-old movie star recently made her directorial debut with 'Eleanor the Great', the new drama film starring June Squibb and Chiwetel Ejiofor, but Scarlett doesn't yet know whether her long-term future is in front, or behind, the camera.Asked if the film marks a new beginning for her, Scarlett told Collider: "I don't know. I'm not sure. I guess we'll see. "My intention is to work on projects I would go and see, whether they're like 'Jurassic World' or this film. The commerciality of things is also important to me, too. Would audiences want to see this, too? Is this generally interesting? Those are things I look for and focus on and care about. So, we’ll see, I guess." Scarlett - who is one of the best-paid actresses in...

By the end of this year’s Cannes Film Festival — well, technically, up until this Memorial Day when Netflix announced the streamer snapped up Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” — 13 of the 22 films in competition had walked away with a stateside home.

That’s impressive, but there are still many more gems waiting out throughout the Official Selection, including even Harris Dickinson’s IndieWire-adored directorial debut “Urchin”. Kristen Stewart’s acclaimed Imogen Poots vehicle “The Chronology of Water,” one of three actor-turned-director efforts in Un Certain Regard along with Dickinson and Scarlett Johansson, doesn’t have a home yet, either. She’ll get there.

Surveying the Main Competition, either films like “Eddington” (A24) or “The Phoenician Scheme” (Focus Features) or “Sentimental Value” (Neon) came to the festival with deals in place, or a handful for stateside berth were brokered on the ground. Mubi took the buzziest buy of the festival...

Scarlett Johansson’s cinematic dream came true when she took over the director’s seat and premiered her movie, Eleanor The Great, at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Jump to a Look:

1. Preppy Pinstripes: Prada Skirt Suit & White Pumps 2. Quiet Luxury: Black Midi Prada Dress & Slingbacks 3. Showstopping: Dusty Blue Gown & Metallic Prada Platforms 4. Retro Glamour: ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ Prada Promo Look 5. Elegant in Carolina Herrera: ‘Asteroid City’ Premiere 6. Timeless in White Armani: White House Correspondents’ Dinner 7. Chic in Michael Kors: God’s Love We Deliver Event 8. Radiant in Red: Saint Laurent at ‘Transformers One’ Premiere

She turned to the renowned fashion house Prada to commemorate this new milestone in her career. Considering her appointment as Prada ambassador in 2023, I wasn’t surprised Johansson chose to sport the luxury fashion house’s elegant and sophisticated pieces.

Scarlett Johansson showcases her evolving directorial-era style in three distinct Prada looks—white pointed-toe pumps,...

Time can be a bit of flat circle when you’re starring in a handful of Marvel films for over a decade, but thankfully things have come back around for Scarlett Johansson. After “Avengers: Endgame” and “Black Widow,” she went on to be featured in a number Wes Anderson films, including the upcoming “The Phoenician Scheme,” as well as Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” and has now directed her feature debut “Eleanor the Great.” The dark dramedy had its world premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2025 and marks an important milestone in Johansson’s career. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Johansson explained how she always thought she’d be a director, but got lost in acting.

“When I was much younger, I thought I would end up doing that eventually,” Johansson said of directing. “In my early 20s, I became focused on understanding my job as an actor better.

Neon CEO Tom Quinn took no chances this year en route to winning the company’s sixth Cannes Palme d’Or in a row, for Iranian dissident Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident.” He acquired the film just two days before Saturday’s award ceremony. Neon also collected the festival Jury Prize for “Sirât” (shared with Mubi’s recent buy “Sound of Falling”), and two awards for Brazil’s “The Secret Agent” — Best Director (Kleber Mendonça Filho) and Actor (Wagner Moura ).

Neon came out ahead on the acquisitions derby, as Mubi’s starry $23-million pick-up “Die My Love,” from Scottish/British filmmaker Lynne Ramsay, came up empty-handed. A Cannes Actress win for Jennifer Lawrence could have fueled an Oscar campaign, but that loss won’t stop Mubi from pursuing that goal. Similarly, although Oliver Hermanus’ muted American drama “History of Sound” won nothing, Focus may still pursue acting...

The Marvel Cinematic Universe'sScarlett Johansson recently spoke up about whether she would return to the franchise, not as an actress, but as a director. Johansson previously produced and starred in 2021's Black Widow, a long-awaited solo adventure for her founding Avenger. The film also starred Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko, and Ray Winstone.

In an interview with Deadline to promote her 2025 directorial debut Eleanor the Great, the actress explained her perspective on filmmaking, which prioritizes "human connectivity." Johansson affirmed that she would be interested in directing a Marvel movie because the "big" projects she likes tend to be more character-focused in general.

She then brought up Black Widow as an example. Johansson stated: "Even producing Black Widow and being a part of the production of that and the development of the story and the story between Natasha and [her sister Yelena Belova] and this family drama that [..] is this small movie [...] in a huge world is,...

Yes, Cannes is still rolling. And no, the Palme d’Or winner has not been crowned (that’ll come later Saturday). Cannes has been going on for so long that “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning,” a film that screened early in the festival, is now playing on thousands of screens worldwide. But let’s get into the happenings before this year’s festival finally closes out.

Un Certain Regard Regarded

Everyone is always in a tizzy over what will get Cannes’ big award, the Palme d’Or, but just as interesting (perhaps more so) is the competition for the Un Certain Regard, which is run in parallel to the main competition. The goal of Un Certain Regard, which was introduced in 1998, is to give a spotlight to unusual films that take narrative or stylistic risks. And this year was no different.

This year’s top prize winner was “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,...

Ahead of the 2025 awards ceremony on Saturday, May 24, the festival has announced the winners for the Un Certain Regard section, with the top prize going to “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo.” A co-production between Chile, France, Belgium, Spain, and Germany, the 1980s-set drama marks the feature directorial debut of Chilean filmmaker Diego Céspedes.

The Best Screenplay award for the Un Certain Regard section went to Harry Lighton for his feature directorial debut, A24’s “Pillion,” starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård. In his Critic’s Pick review out of Cannes, IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio said of the film, “Dick-sucking, boot-licking, and ball-gagging are de rigueur for a movie like writer/director Harry Lighton’s wildly graphic and strangely moving Bdsm romance, ‘Pillion.’ But for a British queer film that puts the particulars of a gay dominant-submissive affair up front and up close, actors Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling find...

The 2025 Cannes Film Festival came at precarious moment in the history of cinema, yet still managed to revel in the splendors this art form can provide. While the annual international event may be coming to a close, it leaves behind a bevy of gems that will continue to be discussed throughout the year and may even land on the Oscars stage in 2026, as was the case with Sean Baker’s 2024 Palme d’Or winner, “Anora.” But before all that, there still remains the important act of closing out the festivities with the ever-important awards ceremony.

Predicting the Palme d’Or recipient has become a cherished pastime for fans and critics alike, but as is the case every year, the final decision rests in the hands of the Main Competition jury. This year it’s led by French actress and current European Film Academy president Juliette Binoche, and also includes Halle Berry,...

Diego Céspedes’ “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” has been named the best film of the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, the Ucr jury announced on Friday.

The film follows an 11-year-old girl growing up in the early 1980s in a queer family in a small Chilean mining town, where suspicion is growing over a mysterious disease that is rumored to be spread by glances between gay men.

Simón Mesa Soto’s “A Poet” won the Jury Prize, the second-place award.

The directing award went to Tarzan and Arab Nasser for “Once Upon a Time in Gaza,” while Cléo Diara and Frank Dillane won the performance prizes for “I Only Rest in the Storm” and “Urchin,” respectively. Writer-director Harry Lighton won the screenplay award for “Pillion.”

Un Certain Regard focuses on films from younger directors and often spotlights experimental work. This year, Ucr was also the...

The Cannes Film Festival’s second-most prestigious competition, Un Certain Regard, is typically dominated by newer, less heralded names in world cinema. But there was more star power than usual at stake in this year’s awards ceremony, as pundits wondered whether one of the three debut features by prominent actors-turned-directors in this year’s lineup — Kristen Stewart, Scarlett Johansson and Harris Dickinson — could land a prize.

As it turned out, people needn’t have worried about a Hollywood takeover. Stewart’s “The Chronology of Water” and Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great” both went unawarded, as the jury threw a relative curveball in handing the Prix Un Certain Regard to Chilean director Diego Céspedes for his alluringly titled first feature “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” an offbeat study of a transgender commune living in the Chilean desert around the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

The film...

The 2026 Oscar race has already started.

Over the last two weeks, several major titles premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, and it’s a safe bet to assume many of the films and performances launched on the French Riviera will play a significant part in the forthcoming awards season.

Ahead, the movies and actors who gained the most during the Cannes Film Festival.

Sentimental Value

Heading into this year’s Cannes Film Festival, no movie had more awards buzz than Sentimental Value — and yet, somehow, it seems like the actual film surpassed those lofty expectations. The response at Cannes to Joachim Trier’s latest was nothing short of ecstatic: Sentimental Value earned an absurd 19-minute standing ovation and was called a “masterpiece” by critics and instantly became the film to beat for the Palme d'Or. Regarding its awards prospects, expect most pundits to pencil this one in for nominations in Best Picture,...

Scarlett Johansson has done it all—from sci-fi films to Oscar-nominated dramas, and even MCU blockbusters. But now, she has ventured onto a different path, altogether. After decades of appearing onscreen and sometimes serving as a producer, Johansson made a dazzling splash at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, with her directorial debut, Eleanor the Great.

Trading her Black Widow latex suit for a director’s chair, Scarlett Johansson made waves with her new film Eleanor the Great. But somehow, fans can’t seem to move past her MCU role, and wondered if she might consider returning to Marvel. Turns out, she’s eyeing something exciting and totally unexpected.

Scarlett Johansson revealed her plans for her MCU return

Although most of us have failed to move past Black Widow’s death in Avengers: Endgame, the actress behind the role, Scarlett Johansson, seems to have bid adieu to Natasha Romanoff. So, while fans...

The 2025 Cannes Film Festival has wrapped following days of star-studded premieres, red carpets and dealmaking on the French Riviera.

This year’s lineup included major Hollywood premieres including Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme starring Benicio del Toro and Michael Cera, Richard Linklater’s Paris-shot Breathless homage Nouvelle Vague, Jochim Trier’s Sentimental Value and Titane Palme d’Or winner Julia Ducournau’s Alpha to name a few.

They were joined by new films from stalwart auteurs including horrormeister Ari Aster’s buzzy A24 feature Eddington, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind. Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson debuted in Un Certain Regard with her first directorial effort, Eleanor the Great.

Related: Standing Ovations At Cannes: How We Clock Those Claps, Which Movie Holds The Record and Why The Industry Loves To Hate The Ritual

Croisette regulars Kirill Serebrennikov, Raoul Peck and...

Scarlett Johansson first played Natasha Romanoff in 2008's Iron Man and bid farewell to the role over a decade later when Black Widow sacrificed herself to help save the universe in Avengers: Endgame.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, a Black Widow movie followed two years later. Set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, it filled in some of the gaps in Natasha's past and gave the MCU a new Black Widow in Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova.

Yelena's debut alone made Black Widow a worthwhile cause, but it still wasn't the movie many fans wanted. Johansson later served as an executive producer on Thunderbolts*, likely because of the movie's connections to her 2021 blockbuster.

Still, it seems her time as Natasha Romanoff is over, though that doesn't necessarily mean she's completely severed ties with the MCU.

Talking to Deadline at Cannes, where she's promoting her directorial debut,...

Scarlett Johansson first played Natasha Romanoff in 2008's Iron Man and bid farewell to the role over a decade later when Black Widow sacrificed herself to help save the universe in Avengers: Endgame.

However, in an unexpected turn of events, a Black Widow movie followed two years later. Set between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, it filled in some of the gaps in Natasha's past and gave the MCU a new Black Widow in Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova.

Yelena's debut alone made Black Widow a worthwhile cause, but it still wasn't the movie many fans wanted. Johansson later served as an executive producer on Thunderbolts*, likely because of the movie's connections to her 2021 blockbuster.

Still, it seems her time as Natasha Romanoff is over, though that doesn't necessarily mean she's completely severed ties with the MCU.

Talking to Deadline at Cannes, where she's promoting her directorial debut,...

Every step of the development and production process has its own unique hurdles to overcome. Whether it’s adjusting the tone of the script for an actor who’s just been cast or scaling back on locations due to budget constraints. In this sense, the project you envisioned when you began this process may be very different from the one that ends up on screen. Making sure that the best version of whatever you set out to make is the one that ends up being the final product is a huge part of what being a producer is all about and what keeps Pinky Promise founder Jessamine Burgum focused as she shepherds work from Scarlett Johansson, Andrea Arnold, Gia Coppola, and more.

The producer behind Johansson’s directorial debut “Eleanor the Great,” which recently had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes, Burgum understands how to collaborate with top talent.

Jurassic World 4, officially titled Jurassic World: Rebirth, has major stars attached and a plot featuring air, land and sea dinosaurs.

The next feature film in the tentpole franchise will build upon the five already existing films, kicked off with Steven Spielberg’s 1993 classic Jurassic Park starring Laura Dern, Sam Neil, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough.

Find everything we know about Jurassic World: Rebirthbelow.

When will the next Jurassic World film come out?

Jurassic World: Rebirth is slated to arrive in theaters on Wednesday, July 2, 2025.

Is there a trailer for Jurassic World: Rebirth?

Yes, two official trailers have been released for the film, one during the 2025 Super Bowl and one in May.

Related: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Trailer Sees Jonathan Bailey And Scarlett Johansson Caught In Pterodactyl Nest

Who is in the Jurassic World 4 cast?

Jonathan Bailey and Scarlett Johansson will lead the fourth film alongside Mahershala Ali. Johansson will play covert...

The Backrooms, the feature film adaptation of the internet phenomenon of the same name, may have just found its two leads. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Cristin Milioti are being considered to star in the horror film that's been in development since 2023.

Per a report by Deadline, Ejiofor and Milioti are in talks to star in the A24 project, which is based on the viral series created by Kane Parsons when he was just 17 years old. Parsons (also known as Kane Pixels on the internet) is directing the film from a script written by Roberto Patino. Production companies backing the project include 21 Laps and Atomic Monster, bringing in Shawn Levy and James Wan (The Conjuring and Saw universes) as producers.

Details about The Backrooms remain under wraps. The plot is still to be revealed, and A24 hasn't confirmed if it will be shot in a traditional format, or if the film will be in found footage style.

Scarlett Johansson will always be known for her work as Black Widow in the MCU, but now that she’s several years removed from playing the legendary spy, she’s taken on a new career challenge. Johansson makes her directorial debut on Eleanor the Great, the drama following Eleanor (June Squibb), a 70-year-old woman who moves to New York and makes friends with a 19-year-old, Nina (Erin Kellyman). Eleanor the Great recently premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and reviews for the film have given fans an idea of just how well Johansson handled her first time behind the camera. Eleanor the Great, which also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, currently sits at a 67% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. This comes from only 12 reviews at the time of writing, so it is subject to change as more reviews come in.

Eleanor the Great has yet to secure distribution, and it’s unclear...

Scarlett Johansson's feature directorial debut Eleanor the Greathad its world premiere during the Un Certain Regard section (which translates to "a certain look" and presents films with unusual styles or non-traditional stories) of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival on May 20. The response to the movie proved just how great Eleanor is, as the screening earned rapturous applause and a five-minute standing ovation from the crowd for Johansson and her talented cast, which includes June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Erin Kellyman.

MCU star Johansson called it "a dream come true" to premiere Eleanor the Great at Cannes, though she is also attending the festival as part of the star-studded cast of Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme. Per Variety, the actress-turned-filmmaker highlighted the themes of the story, which was penned by first-time feature writer Tory Kamen and follows 94-year-old Eleanor Morgenstein (Squibb) who moves to New York to live with...

Over these last few years in cinema, many famous actors have decided to try their hand at directing. Let's be honest – not that many are good at it, as it is an entirely different skill set and requires more creativity and leadership in addition to storytelling competence. Directing is an art. However, every once in a while we do get to discover that an actor is just as wonderful at filmmaking as they are at performing. I am very happy to report that Scarlett Johansson joins the small list of terrific actors who are also terrific directors. Her brand new feature directorial debut is a charming little original film titled Eleanor the Great, premiering in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival (right alongside directorial debuts from fellow actors Harris Dickinson and Kristen Stewart as well). The movie stars the absolutely amazing, adored 94-year-old actress June Squibb,...

Chiwetel Ejiofor and Cristin Milioti are in talks to star in The Backrooms, A24’s sci-fi horror flick based on the viral series of found-footage videos from Kane Parsons, Deadline can confirm.

Reps for the studio declined to comment. No word on the roles to be played by the duo, and their deals may not make in the end, as it’s still early days here. We were first to report on the project back in 2023, and while its plot remains a mystery, the ’90s-set original short watches as a young filmmaker’s fall into another dimension leaves him wandering through an unsettlingly yellow, empty and labyrinthine office space, which may or may not be home to otherworldly beings. The film’s title and setting draw inspiration from the imagery of a creepypasta (or internet urban legend) published to the website 4chan in 2019.

A prodigy of a filmmaker and VFX...

Jodie Foster, flashing a broad smile, embraced director Rebecca Zlotowski at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday night as “Vie Privée” scored an impressive eight-minute standing ovation. The crowd cheered wildly for Foster even as the actress kept gesturing towards Zlotowski, as if reminding the audience that this was the filmmaker’s moment to bask in the applause. “Vie Privée” is an off-beat mystery about a psychotherapist who becomes convinced that her patient’s suicide was actually a murder — think of it as “Only Murders in the Building” with a dose of ennui.

The crowd for the film was certainly star-studded, a sign of the esteem in which Foster is held. Gael García Bernal and Alejandro González Iñárritu posed for pictures before the screening, while Scarlett Johansson strode the red carpet with her husband, Colin Jost. Johansson was accompanied by June Squibb, the 95-year-old star of her feature directorial debut,...