Which Movies at the Cannes Film Festival This Year Could Mimic Last Year’s ‘Anora’ Success?

Last year, Sean Baker‘s Anora went from a debut at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the coveted Palme d’Or, all the way to dominating the Academy Awards. That sort of Oscar success after winning the top prize at Cannes is rare, but it still has created a situation where everyone is looking to copy that blueprint. Distributors want to do what NEON did. Pundits want to accurately predict it. With the festival beginning next week, it felt like a good moment to look at some of the movies that could try to do this year what Anora accomplished last year.

Below are five films that I think, pre fest, have a chance to go from the south of France to Hollywood’s Biggest Night. Of course, this is just guesswork, since the titles won’t even screen until next week. Still, it whets the appetite for the festival, which is never a bad thing. I’ll be seeing Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning next week around the same time it screens in Cannes, so at the very least, Awards Radar will have that prompt coverage. In the meantime, ponder this list below…

Here now, in alphabetical order, are five festival titles with Anora-related aspirations:

Alpha – Julia Ducournau‘s latest body horror effort follows up the Palme d’Or winning Titane, so expectations are very high. Alpha could take the next logical step and get Ducournau her first Oscar nomination, especially as the Academy warms up more and more to artistic fright flicks. Consider this one a distinct possibility, not the least of which being because it’s also a NEON release.

Die, My Love – Lynne Ramsay has a hell of a one two punch lined up for Die, My Love. The film, purportedly a thriller, though some have speculated there’s dark comedy elements to it, stars Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. This is a real breakout potential title, especially if reviews are strong. Whomever picks it up, if the buzz backs it, will see awards in their eyes for sure, especially for Ramsay.

Eleanor the Great – Scarlett Johansson‘s directorial debut Eleanor the Great gets a bit of a caveat here in that it’s premiering in the Un Certain Regard section of the festival and is not eligible for the Palme. So, it can’t do the full Anora, as it were. Still, June Squibb could easily become an awards season darling, which will only help things. Plus, it’s also set at least partly in Coney Island, like Baker’s movie, so that’s just a fun through line to follow as well.

The Phoenician Scheme – The Academy seemed all set to really embrace Wes Anderson after The Grand Budapest Hotel. However, they’ve ignored his follow ups, so The Phoenician Scheme could be a bit of a Rosetta Stone moment. Will success mean Oscar is all in on Anderson? Will failure mean to stop predicting his work? It’s hard to say. Rumors have this one being a strong latest effort, so with some strong Cannes buzz, it could potentially make a big dent in the race. After all, voters just didn’t not go for Baker, until they did, and when they did, they really did.

Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier reunites with Renate Reinsve after the former scored an Oscar nomination and the latter nearly got into Best Actress last time around for The Worst Person in the World. Here, they have Sentimental Value, which may just vault them back into the Academy’s good graces. Watch out for this one, especially if it’s even close to the quality of their last effort.

Remember, this is just a small sampling of the festival’s titles. This doesn’t even take into account The Chronology of Water, The History of Sound, The Mastermind, or Nouvelle Vague, just to name a few others. Right now? All that’s left to do is wait, as the countdown to Cannes is in its final days. Sit tight for more…

Stay tuned to see which films can go from Cannes to the Oscar race!