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$1 million gowns, $200 million yachts, and $45,000 penthouses: Unbelievable facts show just how glamorous - and expensive - the Cannes Film Festival is
$1 million gowns, $200 million yachts, and $45,000 penthouses: Unbelievable facts show just how glamorous - and expensive - the Cannes Film Festival is
With a reputation for glamour and glitz, the prestigious film festival attracts some of Hollywood's most notable players for 12 days every May. According to Alissa Wilkinson of Vox, Cannes creates its exclusive status by showing a limited number of films, offering awards by well-known juries, and maintaining the world's largest film market.
It's also an industry-only festival, meaning there aren't tickets for the general public, which only adds to Cannes' allure. Credentials are granted to those in the film industry after they apply and get accepted, Vox said.
Among Cannes' staples are star-studded red carpet moments, lavish events, and high-end budgets. At Cannes, you can't celebrate a new film or film deal without dropping a bit of money - think parties on $200 million yachts, $1 million outfits, and more than $2 million in security for the stars.
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Here's a look at the money behind one of the biggest events for Hollywood's elite from three different perspectives: hosting an event; attending as a celebrity; and promoting a film as a production house.
Any movie — indie or studio — typically pays at least $500,000 to $1 million in expenses at the festival.
That includes billboards for movies, which can cost anywhere from $100,000 to more than $108,000, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Also included in that total is a reported average of $100,000 per person for travel and lodging.
Hotel Barrière Le Majestic is one luxury hotel where stars stay. The hotel's most expensive suites, the Christian Dior Suite and Suite Majestic, ring in at $33,561 and $44,749 a night, respectively.
Designed by Christian Dior's interior decorator, the Christian Dior suite features two suites, a panoramic terrace, lounge, and dining room.
The 4,843-square-foot Suite Majestic penthouse boasts a 1,614-square-foot terrace with views of the Palais des Festivals, Lérins islands and the Estérel mountain range. Exclusive amenities include a home cinema, dressing room, personal dining room, fitness center, counter-current pool, and a dedicated butler.
Hotel Barrière Le Majestic also hosts opening and closing events for the festival. It spends at least $347,000 on festival-related costs — $315,000 of which is on food alone.
The hotel previously told Business Insider that it estimates that among its food and beverage expenses for the 12-day extravaganza are 770 pounds of foie gras ($38,500), 110 pounds of caviar ($132,000), and two tons of lobster ($48,000).
And then, of course, there's the alcohol — the hotel estimates that it'll go through some 18,500 bottles of wine and Champagne over the course of the festival.
But those aren't Cannes' only events — there's a lot happening after hours, too.
Beach party venues — including drinks, food, laser lights, photographer, and music — average $150,000, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Tickets for the Amfar Cinema Against Aids charity benefit reportedly cost around $64,360 a piece, according to Mirror.
The Amfar benefit takes place in the ritzy Hotel du Cap.
The auction is known to raise millions of dollars every year. In 2018, Deadline reported that a Pierce Brosnan painting went for $1.2 million and a 1964 S3 Bentley Convertible went for $750,000.
There are also plenty of parties on yachts worth as much as $400 million, according to The Telegraph.
Billionaire producer Bill Geffen's 452-foot yacht is known as being the central point of the festival, Celia Walden wrote for The Telegraph in 2015.
Some people also hire small yachts for lodging during the festival, paying around $128,000 to $386,000.
Equally as lavish is red carpet fashion, where a single red carpet look can cost up to $1 million.
Influencer Camila Coehlo attended the opening ceremony of the 71st Annual Cannes Film Festival in a custom Ralph & Russo Haute Couture gown. Her complete look, including jewelry, was worth around $1 million.
And then there's the cost of security, which can, by some reports, exceed $2 million per movie.
It cost more than $2,500,000 for security to promote The Expendables 3 with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson and Harrison Ford in 2014.
The Palme d'Or, the festival's most coveted prize, costs $27,000 to make.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the trophy features a block of crystal covered in 24-karat gold.
