Every Cannes Palme d'Or Winner Since 1990, Ranked
Updated May 27, 2023 with the 2023 Palme d'Or winner, Anatomy of a Fall.
A best picture Oscar may be film's peak honor, but a Cannes Palme d'Or win isn't far behind. Though it didn't adopt its current name (which translates to "Golden Palm" in English) on a permanent basis until 1975, the top award at the globe's most prestigious film festival has been handed out in nearly every year since 1946, with occasional interruptions (most recently in 2020, when the festival was canceled during the COVID pandemic).
Is the latest Palme d'Or winner a favorite with critics as well? Not every Palme d'Or recipient is, as Cannes juries (typically composed of actors and directors, and different every year) don't always have the same tastes as reviewers. In the gallery on this page, we rank all of the Cannes winners since 1990. They are arranged from worst to best by Metascore, which reflects the consensus of professional critics for each film.
2003 winner
Set in Portland but based (loosely) on Columbine, Gus Van Sant's school shooting drama was the Good Will Hunting director's first film to screen in competition at Cannes—and his first win. Some critics found the film exploitative and distant, but many liked it—and that was more than could be said for many of the Cannes entries that year, when yellow Metascores were common outside of a few highlights like Clint Eastwood's Mystic River.
“There’s much to argue with, but this unconventional, oddly beautiful film resonates in unexpected ways.” —David Ansen, Newsweek
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