A Standing Ovation Epidemic Breaks Out in Venice

I'm sorry Venice, I wasn't aware of your game. You see, I was used to Cannes being the film festival pace car when it came to standing ovations. The magical place where headlines about 7-minute ovations magically transformed into 10-minute ovations. And perhaps seeing those updated headlines, mere 9-minute ovations got upgraded to 11-minute ovations. To which the 10-minute ovations (which were 7-minute ovations) got upgraded to 11-minute ovations too! This, in turn, led the 9-minute-turned-11-minute ovations to jump to 13!

But all of that was 2024. As we know with Hollywood, the numbers must always go up – even if they're not actually going up.

Right now there's a battle brewing between The Testament Of Ann Lee and The Smashing Machine in Venice. First, to level-set...

Cate Blanchett, who is without question one of the greatest actresses of all time, continues to underperform when it comes to applause. She was seen at Cannes last year getting a mere 4-minute ovation for her role in Rumours. This year at Venice:

Cate Blanchett Beams as Jim Jarmusch’s Family Tale ‘Father Mother Sister Brother’ Scores 5-Minute Venice Ovation

‘Father Mother Sister Brother,’ Jim Jarmusch‘s family drama starring Cate Blanchett earned a five-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival.

VarietyEllise Shafer

An improvement yes, but wait until you see where we end up here.

Next, I'm not saying George Clooney got some sympathy claps for showing up sick as a dog in Venice, but well:

Adam Sandler and George Clooney Make Venice Swoon With 8.5-Minute Standing Ovation for Hollywood Bromance ‘Jay Kelly’

“Jay Kelly,” a comedic drama starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday.

VarietyRamin Setoodeh

Jude Law-as-Vladimir Putin? Now we're starting to cook with fire...

Jude Law Commands Venice as Putin in ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin,’ Earning 10-Minute Ovation

“The Wizard of the Kremlin,” starring Jude Law as Vladimir Putin, earned a 10-minute standing ovation at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

VarietyAlex Ritman

But wait, while 10-minutes seems strong, I mean, Megalopolis got 10-minutes at Cannes last year (or 7-minutes, depending on what you read). So let's upgrade that:

Paul Dano/Jude Law-Starrer ‘The Wizard Of The Kremlin’ Demands Nearly 12-Minute Ovation – Venice Film Festival

Olivier Assayas returned to the Venice Film Festival competition today with ‘The Wizard of the Kremlin’, receiving an 11-minute, 42-second ovation.

DeadlineMelanie Goodfellow

That's better. I mean" nearly" sounds a lot like 11-minutes, but we're in a good range now. That could have "won" Cannes last year – at least until The Substance went from 9 to 11 to... 13...

13 you say?

Jacob Elordi Moved to Tears as ‘Frankenstein’ Earns 13-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival

Jacob Elordi was moved to tears at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival. The actor received a standing ovation for the world premiere of his upcoming movie ‘Frankenstein’. The applause lasted for 13 minutes, which is the longest of this year’s festival.

PEOPLERaven Brunner

Elordi was last seen at Cannes getting a 4-minute ovation for Oh, Canada. 4-minutes! How embarrassing (though a bit better than the original 3-minute report, sheesh). Wait, no, he actually skipped that premiere because he was filming... you guessed it. And now, no one's star seems to be rising faster...

Guillermo Del Toro and Jacob Elordi Break Down in Tears as ‘Frankenstein’ Wows Venice Film Festival With 14-Minute Standing Ovation

The ’Frankenstein’ auteur was joined on the Lido by his stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Christoph Waltz, Mia Goth and others for Saturday’s red carpet world premiere.

The Hollywood ReporterChris Gardner

14! Elordi in tears! Del Toro has done it again! Though we still have a ways to go to the mythical 22-minute ovation that Pan’s Labyrinth got at Cannes in 2006. With inflation, that's like 45 minutes in 2025 ovation time. Still, we can get more out of Elordi and Frankenstein, right? Right.

Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ Receives Monster 15-Minute Ovation – Venice Film Festival

Playing to a very enthusiastic crowd at Venice International Film Festival, Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ was greeted by a 15-minute ovation.

DeadlineNancy Tartaglione

It's alive!!! 15!

But wait. Can you smell...

Dwayne Johnson’s ‘The Smashing Machine’ Delivers TKO at Venice World Premiere, 15-Minute Ovation

Benny Safdie’s A24 film casts Johnson as legendary mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr, who was in attendance at the Venice premiere, as was star Emily Blunt.

The Hollywood ReporterChris Gardner

Yes, The Rock also scored 15-minutes. At least until...

Amanda Seyfried Weeps as ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ Shakes Up Venice With 15-Minute Ovation

“The Testament of Ann Lee,” Amanda Seyfried’s new movie in which she plays the founder of the Shakers, earned a 15-minute ovation at Venice.

VarietyEllise Shafer

THREE movies with 15-minute ovations? This cannot stand, because no one should stand and clap for that long. Instead, they should stand for...

Amanda Seyfried Gets Emotional As ‘The Testament Of Ann Lee’ Shakes Up Venice With 15 1/2-Minute Ovation

The Testament of Ann Lee had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival where the movie starring Amanda Seyfried received a 15 1/2-minute ovation.

DeadlineNada Aboul Kheir

15-and-a-half minutes! We have a winner.

Hold up. Who is that on the top rope...

Dwayne Johnson A Smash In Venice As ‘The Smashing Machine’ Gets 15 1/2-Minute Ovation

Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt and Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine got a 15 1/12-minute ovation after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

DeadlineNancy Tartaglione

15-and-a-half ALSO! What a comeback to a very precise measurement of time. Just one second less and The Smashing Machine gets taken down by The Testament of Ann Lee. Phew. Close one.

Ovation Inflation

What is going on at Cannes and *who* is counting?

SpyglassM.G. Siegler

Ovation Inflation Revisited

A lot of noise and breathless headlines mean... not much.

SpyglassM.G. Siegler