A standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival is one of the few things that every filmmaker dreams of. The prestigious annual affair at the Croisette is something that is so reserved in the world of cinema. The sound of applause at the end of the movie means the film will become an instant hit among true cinema lovers. But sometimes even brilliant films fail to impress the Cannes audience and even get booed for no fault of their own. Some of them get their due credit later and emerge as a classic that was ahead of its time.

There are several such examples, and here are five of them that the Cannes audience initially got wrong.

Taxi Driver is one of the most celebrated movies in the history of cinema and a top gem in Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro’s filmography. Despite the film ending up with a Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival for its artistic brilliance, the initial response to the movie was negative, attributed largely to its graphic representation of violence.

If this can happen to Martin Scorsese, then David Lynch is definitely not off the table.

David Lynch's movies are always a wild swing, and while he enjoys pushing the boundaries of cinema with his films, some of them turn out to be a bit confusing for many. The Twin Peaks prequel is one such example. It left viewers unsure of what to think, and when they did make up their minds, the movie was met with a Haunting 10 straight minutes of boos.

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Interestingly, there is another director who likes to challenge the audience with his movies.

While Quentin Tarantino’s neo-noir classic Pulp Fiction did not receive much praise from Cannes audiences when the movie premiered, it was not booed either until that point. But when the movie defeated Krzysztof Kieślowski's Three Colors: Red to win the Palme d'Or, several attendees objected and began to ridicule the movie.

While Tarantino got this reaction simply because of the comparison with another movie, the next entry managed to do it on its own merits.

Although Lars von Trier was undoubtedly aware that his picture Antichrist would elicit significant reactions, it is possible that he was unaware that the movie would be jeered both during and after the showing at Cannes. The movie, powered by the phenomenal performance of Willem Dafoe, was later hailed for its deeply visceral and philosophically challenging narrative.

The next is a wildly misunderstood movie by the Cannes audience, and it was proven almost instantly.

Terrence Malick's epic The Tree of Life continued the practice of Palme d'Or winners being jeered. The majority of the crowd loved the movie, but a small but fervent minority objected to its grandeur and booed it when it ended. However, it has now won a permanent place in the genre of artistic cinema over time due to its serene and soothing beauty.

These classics remind us how subjective cinema can be. Even champions of cinema who claim to be the most educated when it comes to the sensibilities of the art of storytelling can be wrong sometimes. While cinema itself is not bound by time or society, our understanding is, and therefore, many films do not get the credit they deserve on their release but end up as cult classics later on. Let us hope the Cannes 2026 lineup does not suffer the same fate.

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Which movie from the list surprised you the most? Do let us know.