Cannes Film Festival Likely to Be Cancelled Due to Coronavirus

Cannes Film Festival is likely to be canceled due to coronavirus. This information comes courtesy of an insider report from Le Point. Their source stresses that the event will likely be scrapped due to coronavirus concerns. However, complicating matters is the fact that this report comes a month before event organizers will make their formal announcement on April 15th. Le Point's title of the piece directly translates to "Cannes Festival is not going to take place." As stated above, it might be a good idea to wait until the full program is announced next month, but things aren't looking great.

The insider said, "it will be difficult, if not impossible to select films from China, Iran, etc knowing that the actors can't move around."

Adding to those concerns is the speculation that "showing the films in a large room will no longer be authorized." This week has been full of different closures from conventions, sporting events, and theaters. But, Thierry Fremaux isn't trying to hear all that negativity and told Le Point that being calm is key.

"Let's say that those who are worried are worried because they look at the month of May with the eyes of March 12," began Fremaux. "But the festival is in two months, and by then, we expect that the situation will be different and that the epidemic, we hope, will have subsided!"

Many more on the Internet believe that the result will be largely the same as the response has gotten in other countries. The National Association of Theatre Owners wasted little time this week in canceling CinemaCon.

"It is with great regret we are announcing the cancellation of CinemaCon 2020," NATO's John Fithian and Mitch Neuhauser said a statement. "Each spring, motion picture exhibitors, distributors, and industry partners from around the world meet in Las Vegas to share information and celebrate the moviegoing experience. This year, due to the travel ban from the European Union, the unique travel difficulties in many other areas of the world and other challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic, a significant portion of the worldwide motion picture community is not able to attend CinemaCon."

"While local outbreaks vary widely in severity, the global circumstances make it impossible for us to mount the show that our attendees have come to expect. After consultation with our attendees, trade show exhibitors, sponsors, and studio presenters, NATO has decided therefore to cancel CinemaCon 2020. We look forward to continuing the 10-year tradition of presenting the largest movie theater convention in the world and joining our attendees in future celebrations of the moviegoing experience."

Do you believe the festival will go on as planned? Let us know in the comments!

Photo via: VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images