The prestigious Cannes Film Festival witnesses several features each year, but only a handful of them manage to create an impression and earn a standing ovation worthwhile of talking. While the debate about whether the length of standing ovations at the festival is directly proportionate to its quality or not is an ongoing debate, the length is nonetheless a part of popular tradition and to some degree provides a measurement of the film’s future success.
Furiosa, the prequel to the Oscar-winning Mad Max: Fury Road, recently received an incredible almost 8-minute long-standing ovation. But it might feel nothing when compared to Guillermo Del Toro’s 2006 epic, Pan’s Labyrinth.
Furiosa Gets More Than 7-Minutes Long Standing Ovation at Cannes
The Cannes Film Festival, held every year at Cannes in France, is among the most prestigious film festivals in the cinematic world. Every year, the festival without fail holds the screening of several movies from across the world. Yet, not all are successful, and some even fall victim to the audience’s bold responses.
George Miller‘s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, however, was among the lucky few who received an incredible response from the audience this year. A prequel to the Oscar-winning Mad Max: Fury Road, the movie is set some 18 years before the events of the 2015 flick.
Starring Anya Taylor-Joy in the titular role of Furiosa, first portrayed by Charlize Theron in Fury Road, the movie also stars Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke in major roles. Slated to release later this month worldwide, the movie had its world premiere at Cannes and received a whopping 7 minutes 50 seconds standing ovation (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Brief comments by George Miller after the Furiosa premiere. #Cannes24 pic.twitter.com/0EeGfQgRJq
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) May 15, 2024
As the lead stars of the movie went on to congratulate their director, the audience went on and on clapping and cheering for the Mad Max film. Miller later thanked everyone and stated, “we worked very hard on this film, and it’s been very interesting to see what you make of it.”
An incredible response to a movie like Furiosa, the reaction of the audience and nearly 8-minute-long standing ovation, has audiences buzzing about the prequel, and fans can hardly wait to see the film.
Furiosa’s 7+ Minute Long Standing Ovation is Nothing Compared to Pan’s Labyrinth
While comparing two movies, as different as Furiosa and Pan’s Labyrinth, would get us nowhere, the standing ovation received by each film will certainly highlight how incredible they were. While Furiosa’s nearly 8-minute-long standing ovation is praiseworthy, it falls short when compared to movies like Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis (12 minutes) and Matthew McConaughey’s Mud (18 minutes).
Yet, no movie can really compare to Guillermo Del Toro‘s Pan’s Labyrinth, which received a standing ovation of 22 minutes. The longest ever yet (via IndieWire), the dark fantasy flick subsequently went on to make $83 million worldwide against a budget of $19 million (via Box Office Mojo) and currently has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, 98% on Metacritic and is one of the best movies of Del Toro’s career.
A twisted and complicated fairytale, not made for children, the Spanish classic went on to be nominated for 6 Academy Awards, winning three of them. Still the longest-standing ovation of all time, Del Toro later expressed how difficult and surreal it was to witness and accept it (via GQ).
While Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga releases on May 24, Pan’s Labyrinth can be rented on Amazon Prime.
