Cannes Film Festival 2025: These Films All Received The Longest Standing Ovations

Something that’s always guaranteed to make headlines at the Cannes Film Festival (besides the star-studded red carpets) is those seemingly never-ending standing ovations.

In what has become tradition to measure audience reception to a buzzy new film premiering at Cannes, each year we hear of the rapturous applause from the stars and cinema-lovers in attendance, which can range anywhere from between a couple minutes all the way to 22 minutes (an impressive record held by 2006’s Pan’s Labyrinth).

Since becoming a custom at the festival, pretty much every film gets a generous round of claps as a mark of respect, meaning it can be a little tricky to decipher exactly which ones actually going to live up to the hype.

If you’re looking for the latest applause dispatch from the French Riviera, here’s the top rankings so far…

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

What’s it about?Tom Cruise says farewell to agent Ethan Hunt for his (potentially) final performance in the sprawling action franchise

Length of standing ovation: Between five to seven-and-a-half minutes, according to differing reports

What the critics are saying?The Independent called the final instalment in the franchise a “massive Tom Cruise ego trip” that their critic nonetheless “absolutely adored”. The Guardian agreed that it was a “wildly entertaining adventure”.

Highest 2 Lowest

What’s it about?:Denzel Washington stars in Spike Lee’s neo-noir crime thriller about a music mogul who gets targeted by a ransom plot.

Length of standing ovation: Six minutes

What the critics are saying?The Independent said the film was “short on emotional depth”, while The Guardian argued Denzel was on “magnificent form”.

Eddington

What’s it about? Hereditary and Midsommar director Ari Aster is taking a hard turn away from the horror genre (at least in the traditional sense), with a new star-studded Western set in a small town in New Mexico during the Covid pandemic, touching on themes like misinformation and mob mentality.

Length of standing ovation: Between five and seven minutes (sparking an emotional response in its lead actor, Joaquin Phoenix).

What are the critics saying? Very mixed things. The Independent hailed it as a “brilliant skewering” of modern America in its four-star review, while Rolling Stone described it as the “perfect conspiracy thriller for a broken, brainwashed nation”. Less impressed was The Guardian, who called it “tedious” and a “disappointing dud”.

The Phoenician Scheme

What’s it about?Wes Anderson’s latest is an espionage black comedy following a strained father-daughter relationship as businessman Zsa-zsa Korda (played by Benicio del Toro) tries to safeguard his family business.

Length of standing ovation: Around seven minutes

What the critics are saying?Empire’s four-star review praised it as “textbook Wes Anderson without falling back on old tricks”, while The Telegraph went for the full five stars, calling it a “complete delight”.

Die, My Love

What’s it about?Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson pool their starpower in this psychological drama about a woman battling psychosis.

Length of standing ovation: Seven minutes

What the critics are saying? The Guardian awarded the film four stars while describing it as an “intensely sensual study of a woman in meltdown”, with NME predicting that it will be “in the running come awards season”.

Splitsville

What’s it about?Dakota Johnson stars in this rom-com exploring the concept of open relationships – and what happens in one when lines are crossed.

Length of standing ovation: Between six and eight minutes

What the critics are saying? According to IndieWire, this movie “hits all the right notes”, while The Hollywood Reporter called it a “winning indie comedy”

Pillion

What’s it about? We all had to do a double take when we read that Harry Potter star Harry Melling would be playing Alexander Skarsgård’s submissive in a kinky new biker romance, but it’s been making big waves at the festival.

Length of standing ovation: Seven minutes

What the critics are saying? The Guardian has praised the film as “sweet and extremely revealing”, while Vanity Fair called it “daring” and “honest”, while comparing it to last year’s Baby Girl.

The History Of Sound

What’s it about? Starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor in what some critics have compared to Brokeback Mountain (much to the Normal People star’s chagrin), the queer romance follows two young men during World War I who set out to record the voices and music of their American countrymen

Length of standing ovation: Between six and nine minutes, according to conflicting reports

What the critics are saying? Some critics have claimed the film is too muted, with The Independent describing it as “severely anticlimactic”, and The Standard writing that it “falls into monotony” in a two-star review.

Sentimental Value

What’s it about? Following up 2021’s critically-acclaimed The Worst Person In The World, Joachim Trier’s new film follows two sisters (portrayed by Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) in an exploration of family, memories and art

Length of standing ovation: Between 15 to 19 minutes

What the critics are saying? IndieWire has described the new film as “wise and ecstatically moving”, while Vanity Fair called it “gorgeous” and “gripping”.