‘Eddington’ Cannes Premiere Gets Nearly Seven-Minute Ovation That Moves Joaquin Phoenix To Tears

Nada Aboul Kheir, Anthony D'Alessandro and Nancy Tartaglione

Fri, May 16, 2025 at 7:44 PM UTC

2 min read

Ari Aster's film "Eddington" received a nearly seven-minute ovation at its Cannes Film Festival premiere, with star Joaquin Phoenix visibly emotional during the applause.
The thriller/black comedy is set in May 2020 and stars Phoenix as small-town Sheriff Joe Cross in New Mexico, challenging Mayor Ted Garcia (played by Pedro Pascal) amid the Covid pandemic.
"Eddington" is Ari Aster's fourth feature film, financed and produced by A24, set to be released domestically on July 18, 2025.

Making his Cannes Film Festival Competition debut, Ari Aster unveiled Eddington this evening, with the psychological western lassoing a nearly seven-minute ovation that included scattered clapping during the credits.

Star Joaquin Phoenix was tearing up as the applause continued.

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“I don’t know what you think,” a beaming Aster joked to the crowd, drawing laughs. “Thank you for being here. I feel very privileged to be here. It’s a dream come true. Thank you so much for having me. And, I don’t know — sorry? I don’t know.”

He added: “This was a great experience. I love all these people around me.”

The thriller/black comedy is set in May 2020 and stars Phoenix, Pedro Pascal , Emma Stone, Austin Butler, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, Micheal Ward, Clifton Collins Jr. and Amélie Hoeferle.

Phoenix plays small-town Sheriff Joe Cross in the eponymous New Mexico town, where he challenges Mayor Ted Garcia (Pascal) as the Covid pandemic is creating high tension. There’s a backdrop of fake news and collective anxiety.

In his review , Deadline’s Damon Wise wrote, “Though all its parts don’t quite knit together, Eddington is what you might call a big swing, a film that’s more serious than it first seems, seeing Covid as the Big Bang that landed us right where we are now.”

Aster directed and produces Eddington alongside Lars Knudsen under their Square Peg Banner. This marks Aster’s fourth feature after the widely acclaimed Hereditary , Midsommar and Beau Is Afraid .

Eddington is financed and produced by A24. It releases the film domestically on July 18.

Erik Pedersen contributed to this report.

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