At the Cannes Film Festival, critical acclaim takes a very specific form — not stars, not reviews, but how long the audience is willing to clap. The longer the standing ovation, the better the film… or at least, that’s how the legend goes. From 7 to 9 to even 15-minute applause sessions, Cannes has transformed curtain calls into a form of competitive theatre. But no film has yet matched the thunderous 22-minute standing ovation received by Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth in 2006.
The Film That Made Cannes Stand Still
In 2006, acclaimed Mexican director Guillermo del Toro brought his haunting fantasy El laberinto del fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth) to Cannes. Set against the grim backdrop of World War II Spain, the film followed a young girl’s journey through myth and magic as she tries to escape the brutality of her real world. The result? A cinematic masterpiece made on a modest $14 million budget that stopped Cannes in its tracks.
As the final credits rolled, the applause didn’t just linger — it escalated into a 22-minute emotional marathon. In a 2015 interview with GQ, del Toro recalled being overwhelmed: “The first three, four minutes, you’re bathed in a sort of realm of acceptance and joy. Ten minutes in, you don’t know what to do. You’re just smiling and nodding.” Fellow director Alfonso Cuarón, seated beside him, whispered advice that del Toro never forgot: “Allow yourself to be loved, man.” And love, he did — all the way until the Palais staff opened the doors and let the audience spill out.
The Legacy of Pan’s Labyrinth
The reception at Cannes wasn’t just symbolic. Pan’s Labyrinth went on to gross over $84 million globally and became a major success in the home entertainment market, pulling in $55 million in US DVD sales alone. It also swept awards season, earning three Academy Awards and universal critical acclaim. In 2010, Metacritic dubbed it “the best reviewed film of the decade,” and it now regularly appears on lists of the greatest films ever made.
The cast — Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, and Ariadna Gil — turned in unforgettable performances that brought the film’s mythic and tragic world to life. It was not just a film; it was an experience.
Applause as a Cannes Ritual
Standing ovations at Cannes have evolved into something of a ritual. Originally a genuine outpouring of appreciation, the practice has gradually turned into a spectacle of its own — part tradition, part peer pressure. There’s even an unspoken hierarchy now: a 5-minute ovation is decent, 10 is strong, anything above 15 is mythic.
Some critics view it as theatrical excess, others as groupthink in motion. As one festival-goer joked, “Do you really want to stop clapping before Christopher Nolan does?” In this unofficial game of cinematic endurance, no one wants to be the first to lower their hands.
Cannes 2025: A Slow Clap?
So far in 2025, the record stands at a relatively tame 9 minutes — a lukewarm reception by Cannes standards. Whether this year’s lineup simply isn’t delivering or the crowd is saving their stamina for a potential masterpiece remains to be seen.
But until something new takes its place, Pan’s Labyrinth reigns as the king of Cannes ovations. Twenty-two minutes of applause — not just for a film, but for the kind of storytelling that silences cynics, moves audiences to their feet, and turns clapping into cinematic history.
