Cannes Film Festival 2026: “no free appearance”, the truth about the star business turns heads

The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival officially opened on the Croisette on Tuesday May 12, 2026. That day, French actress Eye Haïdara presented the opening ceremony live on France 2. Shortly before, many celebrities had already walked the legendary red carpet of the event. Like for example the director Peter Jackson, who received an honorary Palme d’Or to salute his entire career.

Without much surprise, the celebrities who made the first climb of the steps of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival wore their most beautiful outfits. As well as some jewels, each more sparkling than the other. But behind this glamorous image of the event hides a highly prolific business. As revealed Paris Match by interviewing a specialist in the sector.

Tanguy Rebours de Chollet on the Cannes Film Festival: “The era of influencers or starlets is over”

“Luxury houses negotiate much more than a simple jewelry loan. Photo visibility, interviews, Instagram content, backstage videos, presence at dinners. Sometimes even certain camera angles. Or obligations on social networks“, underlined this man who preferred to remain anonymous. For his part, founder of the PR agency T2C Press and Consulting, Tanguy Rebours de Chollet, also testified about this famous business.

“There are no longer any free appearances in Cannes, with a few exceptions. It’s all business. On the other hand, the era of influencers or starlets is over“, he revealed. Concretely, the value of an appearance on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival is measured in media value (Media Impact Value or Miv, editor’s note). In 2025, a total Miv of 1.1 billion dollars with 170,000 content placements was generated during the event.

Publicists take a 20% commission

In detail, each placement made during the Cannes Film Festival, whether an article, a post or a photo, represents an average media value of $6,400. This communication strategy mainly benefits fashion and jewelry brands. For example, Chopard, the official partner of the Cannes Film Festival since 1998, generated $27.7 million from Miv last year. For its part, Dior posted $25.9 million in Miv in 2025 thanks to its investments on the Croisette.

According to Paris Matchthe young rising stars of cinema are today “jeweled” for 8,000 euros, publicist’s commission included. Always existing in Hollywood, the profession of image agent (publicist, editor’s note) really emerged in France and in Europe about 10 years ago. Today, these people responsible for supporting artists, from promotion to appearance strategy, while serving as an interface with brandstake a 20% commission.