With the 2025 Oscar season finally finished, people have now begun speculating about what award-worthy films may begin popping up for next year. Film festivals often give a preview of what may be receiving awards attention, and the Cannes Film Festival is one of the most prestigious. Last year, the Best Picture winner Anora took home the Palme d’Or at the festival, so the significance of Cannes has never been higher.

The festival season has technically already begun, with the Sundance Film Festival having taken place back in January and February. Films such as Twinless, Train Dreams, Lurker and The Ugly Stepsister all premiered at the festival. Last year, Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain premiered at the festival, which was nominated for two Oscars including a Best Supporting Actor win.

The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of films that could premiere at Cannes, with directors such as Wes Anderson, Yorgos Lanthimos, Kristen Stewart, Chloé Zhao and Ari Aster being among the possibilities. The confirmed list of films will not be released until mid-April. Here are some of the highlights.

Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is set to release later this year. It already has its distributor in A24, but the star power of a Safdie brother and the curiosity that comes with someone like The Rock taking a prestigious role is enough to put eyes on the film.

Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme is a likely candidate to premiere at Cannes. Anderson’s last two films, Asteroid City and The French Dispatch both premiered at the festival, and the film is of course jam-packed with stars. Benicio del Toro, Michael Cera, Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, Jeffery Wright, Scarlett Johansson, Rupert Friend and Benedict Cumberbatch fill out the ensemble.

Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague seems like an easy choice for the festival. The film was shot on location in France and is expected to be a love letter to the French New Wave. The film is also black-and-white and spoken in French, so it seems like a shoo-in for the French film festival.

Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest would be a crowd-pleaser pick that just makes sense. The director has premiered many of his films at the festival, and the return of Denzel Washington as a lead for a Spike Lee film. This is a highly anticipated film, and one that is likely to appear at Cannes.

Mission: Impossible-The Final Reckoning might fit the bill for the Hollywood blockbuster of the festival. Tom Cruise graced Cannes with Top Gun: Maverick back in 2022, and with the latest Mission: Impossible being marketed as final outing for Ethan Hunt, it would make for an exciting moment.

Finally, Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice is guaranteed a spot if it is completed in time. The director of Oldboy and Decision to Leave is currently in the postproduction phase for his dark comedy thriller. Many of his masterworks have been screened at the festival, so expect to see No Other Choice if it is finished by April.

The Cannes Film Festival will take place in Cannes, France from May 13-24, and actress Juliette Binoche will serve as the jury president.