As the 2026 Cannes Film Festival gets underway this week, there will be one thing missing from the Croisette: Hollywood. This year’s lineup is heavy on indies and international films, as usual, but is missing any kind of major Hollywood presence that usually dots the festival. And there’s good reason for that.

Films like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” made splashy premieres at Cannes in the past, but mixed-to-negative critical reaction soured the public on these pricey blockbusters and, especially in the case of “Dial of Destiny,” kneecapped their box office potential well ahead of their public debuts.

That “Indiana Jones” sequel got shellacked by critics over a month before it hit theaters in 2023, giving potential moviegoers plenty of time to ponder whether to wait for Disney+ to catch up with the movie.

No studio wants that kind of risk, especially in this environment, and so Cannes 2026 is a decidedly non-blockbuster affair. There aren’t really any obvious candidates for films that could have debuted at Cannes this year — Steven Spielberg is keeping his UFO movie “Disclosure Day” under wraps, ditto spoiler-averse Christopher Nolan and “The Odyssey.”And “The Mandalorian and Grogu” would seem to be a candidate for the “Dial of Destiny” problem.

There are still big names attending this year’s Cannes, mind you — movies starring Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Javier Bardem and Rami Malek are set to debut. But there will likely be a decided lack of Hollywood flair this time around.

But is there a critical darling waiting in the wings? A potential Best Picture winner in the mix? Will Neon win the Palme d’Or again? Stay tuned to TheWrap throughout the entire festival for our comprehensive coverage.

Now, on to the rest as we tackle “The Devil Wears Prada 2” beating “Mortal Kombat II” at the box office, what’s next for Blake Lively, the blockbuster performance of “Apex” on Netflix and more in this week’s column.

Box Office: ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ Struts Past ‘Mortal Kombat II’ to Stay No. 1

Disney/20th Century’s “The Devil Wears Prada 2” is pulling away from Warner Bros./New Line’s “Mortal Kombat II” and is now set to stay No. 1 at the box office for a second weekend.

Buoyed by strong word-of-mouth among women, the legacy sequel starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway added $43 million domestically to drop just 44% from its opening weekend. Strong holds in the U.K., Italy, Brazil and Mexico among other overseas markets have also added $75.8 million this weekend internationally, bringing the film’s total to $144.8 million domestic and $433.2 million overseas.

“Mortal Kombat II” isn’t getting as strong day-to-day holds as “Prada 2” but is still off to a good start with a $40 million domestic/$63 million global opening. It’s the best opening for Warner since “Wuthering Heights” back in February and is a rebound for the studio after films like “The Bride!” and “They Will Kill You” faltered in recent months.

The question now is whether moviegoers beyond hardcore “Kombat” fans will show up, as the film opened with a B on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 65% critics and 90% audience.

Close behind “Mortal Kombat II” is Lionsgate/Universal’s “Michael,” which remains on pace to pass “Oppenheimer” and “Bohemian Rhapsody” for the all-time biopic record with a $36.5 million third weekend, bringing its total to $240 million domestic and $577 million worldwide. Domestically, the film has already passed “Bohemian Rhapsody” to become the highest domestic grossing music biopic ever.

The music biopic should pass $650 million by next weekend to become the second-highest grossing film of the year behind “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” which is reaching the end of its box office run and is trying to inch its way to the $1 billion mark with a $6.6 million sixth weekend and a $941 million global total.

Thanks to the combined contributions of “Prada,” “Kombat” and “Michael,” overall totals for the weekend reached $164.8 million, nearly double the $85 million for the same weekend last year. – Jeremy Fuster

The Spotlight

With Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni reaching a settlement in their 16-month legal battle, attention is now turning to what the two will do next — particularly Lively, who ahead of (and including) “It Ends With Us” was capable of steering hit movies all her own. Hollywood insiders who spoke with TheWrap’s Umberto Gonzales were split on whether she should lay low to let the attention die down or forge ahead, but the Lively/Baldoni feud isn’t quite over just yet as Lively is likely to seek damages following the settlement. Read the full story here.

New Releases

Video Game Rivalry on the Big Screen: The “Call of Duty” vs. “Battlefield” movie adaptations will bring one of the video game industry’s biggest rivalries to the big screen.

Buzzy Cannes Movies: What are the buzziest movies for sale at Cannes? Casey Loving and Umberto Gonzales have the list.

Movie Stars Over 50: “The Devil Wears Prada 2” shows the box office power of actresses over the age of 50, AARP CEO Myechia Minter-Jordan wrote in a guest column for TheWrap.

The Globes Exception: While the Oscars took a strong anti-AI stance in rules changes, the Golden Globes are leaving the door open for AI use in film and TV.

Physical Media Lives: The Blu-ray collector’s market is thriving thanks to various boutique labels, and Drew Taylor has a list of this year’s best discs so far.

Concession Stand

Our first look at “The Batman: Part II” reveals the long-awaited sequel takes place during winter. Snow Batman, engage.

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” filmmaker Benh Zeitlin is finally coming back out of the shadows with a new film starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley.

Paramount now has access to the music rights to make biopics for David Bowie, Cher and more.

20th Century is moving ahead with another “Planet of the Apes” movie, this time from “Fantastic Four: The First Steps” director Matt Shakman.

Scarlett Johansson + Ari Aster + A24 = Yes, please.

“Hocus Pocus 3” is happening.

Streaming Corner

• Seriously, “Apex” is huge. The Charlize Theron action thriller tallied 40.2 million views in its second week on Netflix after scoring 38.2 million views on Netflix during the week of April 20. That’s a negligible dropoff. We’ll see what the Week 3 numbers are when they come in this week, though expect the tearjerker Sally Field bestseller adaptation “Remarkably Bright Creatures” to come out on top thanks to some brilliant Mother’s Day weekend programming.

What I’m Watching

“Send Help” is now streaming on Hulu, which means it’s the perfect time to catch up on Sam Raimi’s delightful, hilarious and twisted plane crash movie starring Rachel McAdams as an overlooked employee and Dylan O’Brien as her jerk boss — the only two survivors stranded on an island. The original film is surprising and thrilling, but also wonderfully weird in that unmistakable Sam Raimi way. Also, McAdams delivers one of the best performances of the year as a wallflower who snaps into survival mode and upends her employee/employer dynamic.