‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is Now Eligible to Compete For the Palme d’Or

I’m not ready to add Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” to my Cannes competition predictions, but the scenario of competing for the Palme d’Or became a tad more realistic yesterday.

Paramount announced that they will be giving “Killers Of The Flower Moon” a theatrical release in France on October 18th. This would be a full-fledged rollout with no imminent availability on Apple TV soon after.

Scorsese has a huge following in France, and many were irked that “The Irishman” was not released in French theaters. But Apple isn’t Netflix and they’re actually trying to make an effort to maintain the theatrical experience.

Confirmation of the French theatrical release has now led to speculation as to whether or not “Killers Of The Flower Moon” will indeed play in Cannes Competition, vying for the Palme d’Or. Scorsese won the Palme for “Taxi Driver” in 1976, but hasn’t competed at Cannes since 1986.

We all know about that country’s strict theatrical window rules. There have been objections, especially from Netflix, to French regulations, which not only enforce a strict, four-month exclusive theatrical window, but also forces streamers to wait 17 months before their films can be made available on their platforms.

Under Cannes rules, which correlates with French laws, only films guaranteed a theatrical release in France can compete for the Palme — this is the main reason why Netflix has not brought a single film of theirs at the festival since 2017.

Okay, so we have that problem solved, but the question still remains as to whether Scorsese actually wants to be in competition. Surely, Apple would want a competition slot, winning an award at Cannes would automatically bring more legitimacy to the streamer.

‘Killers’ also cost $200 million to make. It could end up being the most expensive movie to ever be in Cannes competition. That would just be very odd as there usually isn’t much of a precedent.

Then again, knowing Coppola’s penchant for Cannes competition, it would probably be wise to assume the $120 million “Megalopolis” would also be aiming for a comp slot in 2024.