Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga gets six-minute standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival
Furiosa, Australian filmmaker George Miller’s epic follow-up to his Oscar-winning masterpiece Fury Road, received a thunderous seven-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival in France.
Miller and stars Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth were on hand to present the action thriller for its official world premiere at the world’s most prestigious film gathering, and seemed overwhelmed by the audience’s rapturous reception.
Videos posted from inside the Grand Palais Theatre showed the cast, which also included Tom Burke, Alyla Browne, gathered around Miller, hugging him.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Taylor-Joy, who was resplendent in a champagne-gold Dior gown, earlier walked the red carpet, taking selfies with fans and playfully sticking her tongue out at the camera. She also blew kisses at the camera inside the theatre during the ovation.
Miller had told the crowd, “We worked very hard on this film, and it’s been very interesting to see what you make of it. Thank you for having us.”
According to Variety, the Furiosa crew continued the celebrations at its afterparty, a relatively modest outdoor affair sponsored by Campari. Guests, which also included Cannes jury president Greta Gerwig, were served artichokes and white fish on crackers.
The fifth instalment in the Mad Max franchise, Furiosa held its Australian premiere in Sydney two weeks earlier, which was attended by Taylor-Joy, Hemsworth and its largely Australian cast and crew. Miller shot the film in his home country over several months in 2022 in Sydney and Broken Hill.
The movie is an origin story for Furiosa, the fierce warrior Charlize Theron portrayed in Fury Road. Taylor-Joy took over the role as a younger version of the character while Browne plays her as a child for the first hour of the 148-minute blockbuster.
The movie charts Furiosa’s journey from being kidnapped as a child to her vengeance mission against villain Dementus.
With a $US168 million production budget, Furiosa will need to make big money at the box office to be a commercial success but early reactions from the Cannes screening, Australian premiere and an event in Mexico suggest there will be enthusiasm for the film. Fury Road had a global gross of $US380 million.
Furiosa is out on May 23.
