The practice of using international film festivals to launch big-budget titles has fallen out of favor among Hollywood’s major studios. Because the reception at a festival for a new studio film can be unpredictable, execs see these high-profile premieres as coming with more risk than reward. Note that no major Hollywood films are premiering at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, perhaps a sign of times to come.
There are numerous recent examples of underwhelming festival premieres for major studio releases. The Cannes premieres of Pixar’s ELEMENTAL in 2023, 20th Century’s INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY also in 2023, and Warner Bros.’ HORIZON: AN AMERICAN SAGA – CHAPTER 1 in 2024 all fell flat with festival audiences and movie critics, marring the image of these movies before their debut with North American audiences. Another example was Warner Bros.’ JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX, whose 2024 launch at the Venice Film Festival was panned by critics, leading to a disastrous opening weekend one month later.
While some Hollywood movies have received a more positive reception at international festivals, such as Warner Bros.’ BEETLEJUICE at Venice in 2024, this is becoming increasingly rare. The ten highest-grossing movies of 2025 did not have a festival premiere, including auteur releases like Warner Bros.’ 2025 trio of SINNERS, WEAPONS, and ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER.
Studios are leaning into their own, home-grown marketing campaigns with titles such as A24’s MARTY SUPREME, starring Timothee Chalamet. This approach gives the studio’s marketing teams more control over the image it creates through staged appearances and planned-out social media campaigns.
