Images via various distributors
The Cannes Film Festival is not only the most glamorous red carpet of global cinema, but it is also one of the biggest film launch pads. While France’s strict theatrical window laws mean that Netflix’s in-house original films often have to bypass the festival’s main competition, the streaming giant has long used the Croisette as its personal hunting ground to buy the best indie films and international awards contenders, and 2026 is no different.
Before we look at what Netflix has bought this year, let’s take a look at some of the streamer’s biggest historical Cannes pickups.
Netflix’s biggest and most high-profile acquisition undoubtedly came in 2024 when it plunked down a whopping $12 million for the US and UK rights to Jacques Audiard’s genre-bending crime musical. Emilia PerezA big gamble that paid off in awards season (mostly, anyway, but that’s Not a story that needs retelling). Exactly a year ago, in 2023, Netflix made big waves by scoring $11 million on the North American rights to Todd Haynes’ critically acclaimed drama. may december.
All of Netflix’s Previous Cannes Pickups
Let’s take a look at all the movies that Netflix has acquired from Cannes:
2016
2016 was the year Netflix first hoisted its flag as an aggressive buyer on the Croisette, selling huge swathes of international indie cinema and market packages.
- divine – secured by netflix worldwide rights For Houda Benyamina’s acclaimed French thriller, which won the Camera d’Or for Best Directorial Debut.
- Aquarius – a dreamer took away the rights Kleber to North America, UK, Asia, Australia and Latin America for Mendonça Filho’s gripping Brazilian drama.
- wheelman – Cannes Bazaar, packed into Netflix Pre-purchased worldwide rights For this action-thriller starring Frank Grillo.
- our day will come (Danish play)
- big shot (Lebanese feature debut)
- trip to greenland (French comedy) – Deleted.
- mercenary / mercenary (French sports drama) – This has since been removed.
- Raman Raghav 2.0 (Indian thriller)
2017
2017 was also a year of controversies. netflix original okja And meyrowitz stories Premiere in competition (which later resulted in a ban). oops), and Netflix shifted its strategy entirely to acquisitions, targeting the festival’s two most acclaimed features.
- bubble – Netflix dropped A staggering $20 million for the acquisition. Worldwide rights to a stop-motion animated Michael Jackson biopic told from the perspective of his pet chimpanzee. Taika Waititi was attached to co-direct, but due to scheduling conflicts (and beyond) leaving neverland Documentary), Waititi exited the project in 2019, and Netflix later released the film without producing it.
2018
- happy as lazaro – Netflix swoops in to buy North American and Latin American rights Alice Rohrwacher’s charming Italian story, which ultimately won the festival’s Best Screenplay Award.
- Girl – The streamer acquired North and Latin American rights to Lucas Dhont’s heart-touching Belgian drama, which took home the Camera d’Or.
2019
Netflix scored one of its most significant wins at Cannes in 2019, purchasing two films that will prove to be massive critical darlings for the streamer.
- atlantic -Netflix acquired worldwide rights (except certain territories) to Mati Diop’s feature debut. The Senegalese supernatural romantic drama made history when Diop became the first black woman to compete for the Palme d’Or and ultimately took home the Grand Prix (second place).
- i lost my body -Further expanding its prestige animation footprint, Netflix has acquired global rights to Jeremy Clapin’s quirky, handsome French animated film, which won the top prize at Critics’ Week and received an Oscar nomination.
2020 and 2021
Despite in-person festivals being canceled in 2020 and delayed into 2021, Netflix remained active in the market.
- DNA (ADN) (2020) – gotta get english language rights (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ) and select other territories for Maven’s French drama, which was an official selection of the canceled 2020 festival.
- Citadel (Bac Nord) (2021) – gotta get global streaming rights For Cédric Jiménez’s gritty French police action thriller.
2022
- pain hustlers – In one of the biggest Cannes market deals in history, Netflix dropped a A staggering $50 million For global rights to David Yates’ pharmaceutical crime comedy starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans.
- Stranger – Un Certain Regard section, after its premiere on Netflix acquired worldwide rights (Outside Australia) Thomas M. Wright’s incredibly tense psychological thriller starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris.
2023
- may december – one in Huge deal of 11 million dollarsNetflix acquired North American rights to Todd Haynes’ dark, campy drama starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore. The film became a major player in awards season and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
2024
Image Credit: Netflix
- Emilia Perez – In a massive $12 million deal, Netflix acquired US and UK rights to Jacques Audiard’s daring Mexican cartel musical. The film became the talk of the festival and became a major Oscar vehicle for the streamer.
- monsanto – At a packed Cannes market, Netflix bought the rights to this upcoming legal thriller directed by John Lee Hancock and starring Glen Powell (later replaced by Jonathan Bailey), Laura Dern and Anthony Mackie.
2025
- Nouvelle Vague – Netflix acquired US rights to Richard Linklater’s French-language drama. Starring Zoey Deutch, the film serves as a love letter to the French New Wave, detailing the chaotic production behind Jean-Luc Godard’s cinematic masterpiece, Breathless.
2026 netflix cannes pickup
Now, with the conclusion of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Netflix is back again. From a record-breaking Spanish acquisition to a star-studded eco-satire, here’s our roundup of Netflix’s biggest 2026 Cannes acquisitions so far:
La Bola Negra (The Black Ball)
- Director: javier calvo and javier ambrosi (los jevis)
- Mould: Penelope Cruz, Glenn Close, Miguel Bernardo, Guitarricadelafuente
- Netflix Rights: United States of America
- Reported deal: $4 million – $5 million
Courtesy of Movistar Plus
If there’s any true success at Cannes this year, it’s this la bola negra. Earning a heart-pounding 20-minute standing ovation – coming incredibly close to the festival’s all-time record set by Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006 – the Palme d’Or frontrunner sparked a massive bidding war. Netflix successfully takes on rivals like A24, Neon and Mubi secure american rights In what is being called a record-breaking domestic deal for a non-English-language title.
The Spanish-language film tells the intertwined stories of three men from three different eras (1932, 1937 and 2017) whose lives are intertwined with sexuality, pain, and one of the last unfinished works of the famous Spanish poet Federico García Lorca. Netflix is reportedly planning a major awards campaign along the lines of Emilia Perez with a multi-week theatrical window.
to give up
- Director: Romain Gavras
- Mould: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Evans, Salma Hayek Pinault, Vincent Cassel, John Malkovich, Charli XCX, Ambika Maude, and Jonathan “Young Lean” Leandro
- Netflix Rights: United States of America
Netflix has snapped up (and confirmed) the US rights to this wildly entertaining eco-satire, the English-language debut from director Romain Gavras. Boasting possibly the most star-studded cast of the entire festival, Sacrifice follows Joan (Anya Taylor-Joy), a spirited individual inspired by a volcanic prophecy who takes it upon herself to save the world from a fiery reckoning.
Joan and her militia of mysterious disciples hijack a glamorous charity gala, and take three high-profile hostages: a desperate movie star named Mike Tyler (Chris Evans), the richest man in the world, and a girl who is absolutely unlucky. As they are forced on an epic, hilarious journey through wilderness and fire, Mike faces the ultimate question: What is he willing to sacrifice for humanity? While international buyers will allow the film the theatrical corridors overseas, Netflix is reportedly eyeing a stateside release in the late summer/fall.
gentle monster
Netflix is leaning heavily into its Oscar game this year, closing a deal for this buzzy Cannes competition title. The news on the Croisette is that Netflix sees this film as a major Best Actress vehicle for Léa Seydoux, who notably sings onscreen for the first time in her career.
Directed by Austrian filmmaker Marie Kreutzer (Courses), Gentle Monster is inspired by a tragic true article from the German newspaper Die Zeit. Seydoux plays an experimental pianist who relocates to the countryside with her family, but must face a nightmare: the realization that her husband (Laurence Roop) is living a second life online as a pedophile pornographer.
in waves
- Director: Phuong Mai Nguyen
- Voice Cast: Stephanie Hsu, Will Sharp
- Netflix Rights: Global (except France)
- Reported deal: middle-seven points
In Netflix’s first big deal at the 2026 festival, the streamer swooped in to win a highly competitive bidding war for this gorgeous animated romance. in wavesWhich started critics’ week off to rave reviews, is the adaptation of AJ Dungo’s acclaimed 2019 graphic memoir.
Set in Los Angeles, the coming-of-age story follows AJ, a shy teen who loves drawing and skateboarding, and Kristen, a passionate surfer. The two fall deeply in love and plan a vibrant future together, until Kristen suddenly falls ill. With a stellar voice cast led by Oscar nominee Stephanie Hsu and BAFTA winner Will Sharp, this tearjerker is set to become another crown jewel in Netflix’s ever-growing indie animation library.
