ELVIS has left the building — and is heading to the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival!
By world premiering ELVIS as an Official Selection out of competition, WB is catapulting Baz Lurhmann’s music bio-drama into the early Oscar conversation about 2023 best picture & directing noms. With their Croisette kick-off, Austin Butler as Elvis (pictured) and Tom Hanks as Colonel Tom Parker, who, after discovering Presley managed his career for 20+ years, will be on track for key acting noms next year.
A Cannes premiere costs at least $1M, but it’s worth every penny for the right films. WB wouldn’t be launching ELVIS at Cannes if it didn’t expect critics to embrace it and the Festival buzz to make it a must-see movie for award voters. Its theatrical release — 6/22 abroad & 6/24 domestic — will benefit from the Cannes media spotlight.
Lurhmann’s success at Cannes goes back to his first film, STRICTLY BALLROOM, which premiered in 1992 to a 15-minute standing ovation. His MOULIN ROUGE, starring Nicole Kidman & Ewan McGregor, was a 2001 Palme d’Or nominee. In 2013, Lurhmann’s THE GREAT GATSBY, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, opened the 66th Cannes Film Festival.