Before the line-up for the 2026 Venice Film Festival was revealed, there was much frenzied speculation about what might show up on it. Others, though, have chosen to premiere at rival autumn film festivals instead—the New York Film Festival (Behemoth! (Frankenstein and Bugonia were the only two films at Venice that ultimately got best-picture nods, though both received their fair share of negative reviews too.) Meanwhile, a film like Hamnet, which debuted at Telluride, clearly benefited from the intimacy that industry-insider-dominated setting provides—it immediately earned raves and cemented its place in the Oscar race. Criticism came later, but affected it less; had it premiered at Venice, it may well have proved more divisive from the off.