The red carpet at Cannes felt a little threadbare this year, didn’t it? Not from lack of sparkle, mind you, but from a conspicuous absence. We’re talking about the actual Hollywood studios and the A-listers that used to pack the Croisette. The Cannes Film Festival, once the darling of the cinematic world, is suddenly looking more like a ghost town for the major players. Reports are swirling about fewer parties, fewer yachts, and a distinct chill in the air, suggesting a major shift in how Hollywood engages with — or rather, disengages from — the French Riviera. Netflix is still playing its usual game of red carpet non-compliance, but the real story is the mass exodus of studios like Disney, Universal, and Amazon MGM. They simply weren’t there.
And who’s filling that void? Not aspiring filmmakers, but a veritable tidal wave of social media influencers in evening wear, apparently taking up all the sidewalk real estate. It’s a telling sign. The established guard is checking out, leaving the stage to the new digital royalty, who are more interested in likes than legacy awards.
Hollywood’s retreat from Cannes is more than just a celebrity scheduling conflict; it’s a symptom of deeper industry changes. For decades, Cannes Lions, the advertising counterpart, has morphed and absorbed trends. Born from a desire to showcase the artistry of cinema advertising in the 1950s, it then got co-opted by TV and outdoor advertising, and eventually steamrolled by ad tech, Big Tech platforms, and more recently, the burgeoning retail media networks. Now, with Hollywood studios opting out of the film festival, it begs the question: is the entire Cannes apparatus, once a beacon of cultural and commercial convergence, losing its luster because the core participants are finding better — or at least different — venues for their ambitions?
Lost In Space (and Ad Revenue)
Speaking of things losing luster, let’s talk about SpaceX. Yes, Elon Musk’s rocket company is preparing for its IPO, and the $1.75 trillion valuation target is the headline. But for those of us who actually care about who’s making money in the ad world, the real gold is buried in the S-1 filing. Hidden within the documents, thanks to Brian Wieser of Madison and Wall, is the long-awaited, previously opaque ad revenue picture for X, formerly Twitter, which Musk folded into SpaceX earlier this year. Remember when Twitter was pulling in $4.7 billion annually from ads and growing? Those were the days. The S-1 filing, however, paints a starkly different, and frankly, embarrassing, picture for X.
The S-1 shows that X’s ad revenue dropped from $2.3 billion in 2023 to $1.7 billion in 2024, ticking up to $1.8 billion last year.
This isn’t just a minor stumble; it’s a significant nosedive. Wieser’s analysis points out that ad revenue has actually declined year-over-year, with X blaming platform overhauls. But the numbers don’t lie: X now accounts for a mere 1% of social ad spending, a colossal drop from Twitter’s former 10% market share. It’s a brutal fall from grace, especially considering the company’s desperate attempts to spin its rebound narratives. And the kicker? This ad revenue implosion is apparently “unimportant” to SpaceX’s valuation. Right. Because a company that relies on advertising to survive is totally fine bleeding ad dollars.
Publishers: From Pageviews to Pyres
Meanwhile, over in the land of digital publishing, the cracks are showing in spectacular fashion. Brian Morrissey over at The Rebooting is calling it the end of the pageview era, and the evidence is piling up. Companies that once rode the wave of massive traffic – Business Insider, BuzzFeed, Vox Media – are now in various states of upheaval. Why? Because they were too dependent on the whims of Big Tech platforms, those unreliable distribution chokepoints that, let’s be honest, never really had publishers’ best interests at heart. Business Insider’s CEO is out. BuzzFeed, after a public offering that went nowhere, got gobbled up by Byron Allen. And James Murdoch cherry-picked the valuable bits of Vox, leaving the open-web portfolio to fend for itself under a new, less glamorous banner. It’s less about building a plane while flying it, and more about “constructing a new platform as the one you’re standing on is engulfed in flames.” That’s a vivid, if grim, assessment. The race is on to navigate the AI-driven content discovery future while their existing businesses are literally burning.
Some publishers, however, saw this coming. Those who focused on strong brands and diverse revenue streams – the ones who weren’t blinded by the siren song of endless pageviews – are the ones positioned to survive. They’re the ones who weren’t entirely at the mercy of the “Google Zero” problem. It’s a tough lesson, but one that the industry is finally, painfully, learning.
Quick Hits and Hype
Oh, and OpenAI? They’re dipping their toes into ads with a pilot program, even rolling out visual upgrades for ChatGPT ads. Because what the world needs is more ads, especially from an AI company that’s still figuring out how to make actual money outside of developer subscriptions. Meta’s also settling a lawsuit over social platforms’ alleged impact on school districts. Apparently, causing massive resource drains for educational institutions is now just a cost of doing business. Who would have thought?
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is X’s current ad revenue?
According to SpaceX’s S-1 filing, X’s ad revenue was $1.7 billion in 2024, a decrease from $2.3 billion in 2023, and it ticked up to $1.8 billion last year. The company claims this is due to an overhaul of its ad platform.
Why are Hollywood studios not attending Cannes anymore?
Major Hollywood studios like Disney, Universal, and Amazon MGM were notable no-shows at the recent Cannes Film Festival. This signifies a broader shift in how these studios engage with traditional film festivals and promotional events, prioritizing different avenues for content release and marketing.
What is happening to digital publishers like BuzzFeed and Vox Media?
These publishers are undergoing significant changes, including leadership shifts and acquisitions. They are struggling to find sustainable growth models in the current media landscape, which is marked by a decline in pageview-driven revenue and the rise of AI-driven content discovery. BuzzFeed was acquired by Byron Allen, and Vox Media saw James Murdoch purchase half of its business, cherry-picking specific assets.
