The Longest Standing Ovations at Cannes 2024 - And Why It Matters

The overindulgent - but undoubtedly significant - tradition of the standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival has sparked polarizing feelings among filmmakers, critics and industry executives alike.

"I hate it because it reduces a movie to a single data point, but it's a very sticky data point," an executive at a major U.S. indie distributor told The Hollywood Reporter in May. "People remember, ‘That film got a 10-minute standing ovation in Cannes.' "

Despite the fact the procedure is often mocked, it inarguably has become a barometer of how films are perceived. There is no exact science as to how the standing ovation gets recorded, however, premieres are largely attended by industry professionals who time the applause with a stopwatch. Different critics have various rules and regulations for how they clock each respective audience.

For THR, the guidelines are to "start the clock the moment people jump to their feet - usually after the house lights come up - and stop when most people begin to sit down or when the film's director is given the mic since the crowd stops clapping to listen."

The Best Red Carpet Fashion From 2024 Cannes Film Festival

Filmmakers and actors can also have sway on how long their applause lasts. At this year's festival, Nicolas Cage reportedly encouraged the crowd to yell "The Surfer!" in unison to make the moment last. (The ovation ultimately clocked in at six minutes.)

While long standing ovations used to be reserved for only the most anticipated films of the year - Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth holds the longest record for 22 minutes in 2006 - the tradition is seemingly becoming much more commonplace. This year, the running winner remains the Coralie Fargeat-directed body horror film The Substance, which stars Demi Moore and received a 13-minute round of applause from the crowd.

Not everyone is vehemently against the practice. Many of those on the creative side can find value in what a long standing ovation means. Selena Gomez reportedly wept after her film Emilia Pérez was celebrated for 11 minutes this year, while David Kajganich, writer and producer of Luca Guadagnino's Bones and All - a movie that got 10 minutes at the 2022 Venice Film Festival - thinks standing ovations help gauge an emotional response to a film.

Us' Complete Guide to Summer's Biggest Blockbuster Movies

"When people stand for ovations at the end, they're partly standing for how they were made to feel by the film, but they're also standing for their excitement for the people involved," Kajganich told THR in 2022. "To me, it's more about the people than about the film."

Keep scrolling for all the longest standing ovations at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival so far:

‘The Substance'

Starring: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Ray Liotta

Synopsis: A fading celebrity (Moore) decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.

Standing Ovation: 13 minutes

‘Emilia Pérez' 

Starring: Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, Edgar Ramírez, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir, Karla Sofía Gascón

Synopsis: In this musical comedy, lawyer Rita (Saldaña) receives an unexpected offer to help a feared cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he's always dreamed of being.

Standing Ovation: 11 minutes

‘Horizon: An American Saga' 

Starring: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Jamie Campbell Bower, Sam Worthington, Jenna Malone, Ella Hunt

Synopsis: The Western epic, which Costner cowrote, directed and stars in, follows families, friends and foes as they discover the lure of the Old West through overlapping stories of American settlers and Indigenous people in the Civil War era.

Standing Ovation: 10 minutes

‘The Apprentice' 

Starring: Sebastian Stan, Jeremy Strong

Synopsis:  The biographical drama follows a young Donald Trump's (Stan) rise to power as a New York businessman in the 1980s under the influence of his attorney Roy Cohn (Strong).

Standing Ovation: 8 Minutes

 ‘Megalopolis' 

the longest standing ovations at cannes 2024 - and why it matters

Starring: Adam Driver, Aubrey Plaza, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito

Synopsis: Considered to be director Francis Ford Coppola's swan song, the science fiction drama – which he also wrote and produced - follows an architect wants to rebuild New York City as a utopia following a devastating disaster.

Standing Ovation: 7 minutes

‘Bird'

Starring: Barry Keoghan, Nykiya Adams, Jason Buda

Synopsis: Bailey (Adams) lives with her brother Hunter (Buda) and her father Bug (Keoghan), who raises them alone in a squat in northern Kent. When Bug doesn't have much time to devote to them, Bailey looks for attention and adventure elsewhere.

Standing Ovation: 7 minutes

‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' 

Starring: Anya-Taylor Joy, Chris Hemsworth

Synopsis: Expanding George Miller's franchise, Mad Max's fifth installment follows a young Furiosa (Joy) who falls into the hands of a great biker horde led by Dr. Dementus (Hemsworth). As they sweep through the Wasteland, they come across the Citadel, presided over by the Immortan Joe (Hulme). As the two tyrants fight for dominance, Furiosa soon finds herself in a nonstop battle to make her way home.

Standing Ovation: 6 minutes

‘Kinds of Kindness' 

Starring: Jesse Plemons, Joe Alwyn, Emma Stone, Margaret Qualley, Hunter Schafer, Willem Dafoe

Synopsis: The film follows three simultaneous and overlapping stories; a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

Standing Ovation: 6 minutes

‘The Surfer' 

Starring: Nicholas Cage, Charlotte Maggi, Julian McMahon, Finn Little

Synopsis: Cage plays a man who leaves the United States to return to his Australian hometown and ends up getting humiliated in front of his teenage son by a gang of surfers at his localized home break. For payback, he decides to remain at the beach and wage war against the gang.

Standing Ovation: 6 minutes

OTHER NEWS

4 hrs ago

The party's over for the Tartan Army

4 hrs ago

International Round-Up: Szoboszlai’s Hungary Defeat Robertson’s Scotland in Emotional Clash

4 hrs ago

Proactive measures kept prices in check after diesel subsidy rationalisation, Fuziah tells Dewan Rakyat

4 hrs ago

Tabung Haji has been proactively preparing pilgrims to cope with extreme heat

4 hrs ago

Muda looks to bounce back from sophomore slump

4 hrs ago

Leader of NATO member Poland visits China, expecting to talk to Xi about Ukraine

4 hrs ago

Landslides on Mt Kinabalu after continuous heavy rain

4 hrs ago

Sarawak deputy premier: Trade and tourism office to strengthen bilateral ties with Brunei

4 hrs ago

Street procession marks Hindu king anniversary

4 hrs ago

Top British judge hears Hong Kong protest case amid foreign judges row

4 hrs ago

F1 Spanish GP: Verstappen holds off Norris charge for seventh win of 2024

4 hrs ago

‘Erratic’ Charles Leclerc and Lance Stroll under spotlight after ‘road rage’ incidents

4 hrs ago

Work begins to preserve 16th Century Cornish cannon

4 hrs ago

506 unregistered taska detected as of May 31, says Nancy Shukri

4 hrs ago

Penang’s proposed 20pc tax redistribution faces setback

4 hrs ago

AirAsia X to kickstart flights to Africa, Nairobi their new destination

4 hrs ago

Opposition MPs walk out of Dewan Rakyat in protest over motion against Bersatu’s Wan Saiful

4 hrs ago

Penang confirms Mutiara Line LRT alignment connecting island to mainland

5 hrs ago

Immigration nabs 29 illegals in Rawang factory raid

5 hrs ago

MyNews turnaround taking hold, set to snap four-year loss — analysts

5 hrs ago

MAHB’s Mohamed Rastam could head to RHB

5 hrs ago

A Braves-Tigers trade that could win Alex Anthopoulos another award

5 hrs ago

The Pitch Deck: Where are the Malaysian ‘Magnificent Seven’?

5 hrs ago

A Brewers-Mets trade to get lasting revenge on Craig Counsell

5 hrs ago

Which Surprise Songs Did Taylor Swift Perform at London ‘Eras Tour' Shows?

5 hrs ago

USMNT's Christian Pulisic embraces leadership role at Copa America: Why it's perfect timing for USA

5 hrs ago

Cleveland Guardians at Baltimore Orioles odds, picks and predictions

5 hrs ago

Carlos Mendoza hints at possible return date for promising Mets rookie

5 hrs ago

Asia Mobiliti in tie-up with UK tech firm

5 hrs ago

Market momentum expected to continue beyond 2H2024 on investment inflows

5 hrs ago

Foreign funds snap two-week buying spree, offloading RM441m last week, says MIDF

5 hrs ago

Can Biden perform and can Trump be boring? Key questions ahead of high-stakes presidential debate

6 hrs ago

Tesla debuts in Penang with a Cybertruck showcase, to open a service centre there soon

6 hrs ago

Landslide at foothills of Mount Kinabalu

6 hrs ago

Court to decide on Nenggiri vacancy

6 hrs ago

Deputy transport minister tables two Bills to merge Mavcom and CAAM

6 hrs ago

Sabah Wildlife Dept hard-pressed to cope with increasing human-croc conflict

6 hrs ago

AirAsia X to launch flights to Africa, Nairobi is their first destination

6 hrs ago

Langkawi could be made ‘preferred Muslim destination’, says deputy minister

6 hrs ago

Opposition walks out over motion to refer Wan Saiful to privileges committee