Paper Tiger premiere Adam Driver, Miles Teller

Adam Driver, Miles Teller and director James Gray attended the world premiere of “Paper Tiger” at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, appearing on the red carpet outside the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. Festival de Cannes published a red-steps gallery from the screening that identified Driver, Gray and Teller with editor Scott Morris, producers Raffaella Leone and Anthony Katagas, and producer Rodrigo Teixeira. The film is part of Cannes’ main Competition lineup, according to the festival’s official selection pages. Trade reports and festival materials describe “Paper Tiger” as Gray’s latest return to Cannes and a New York-set crime drama built around two brothers and a Russian mafia scheme. ### Who was on the Cannes carpet for “Paper Tiger”? Festival de Cannes on May 16 published a captioned image from the “Paper Tiger” red steps naming Scott Morris, Raffaella Leone, Anthony Katagas, Adam Driver, James Gray, Miles Teller and Rodrigo Teixeira. That official festival gallery verifies the core group photographed together at the screening. (festival-cannes.com) Yahoo’s photo roundup from the premiere also described the event as the world premiere of Gray’s film and listed Driver, Gray and Teller among those attending at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. Reuters and AP images distributed through media galleries from Cannes separately showed members of the film team on the carpet that day. (festival-cannes.com) ### What exactly is “Paper Tiger”? “Paper Tiger” is listed by Festival de Cannes as a Competition title directed by James Gray. The festival synopsis says the story is set in Queens, New York, in 1986 and follows two very different brothers who join forces in a deal tied to the Russian mafia before the arrangement turns into a nightmare that threatens their family and their bond. (yahoo.com) IMDb and trade coverage identify the principal cast as Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller. Deadline reported in 2025 that Johansson and Teller joined Driver in the project, while later Cannes coverage from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter described the film as one of the better-known U.S. titles in this year’s festival competition. ### Why is this premiere part of the Cannes competition story? (festival-cannes.com) Festival de Cannes included “Paper Tiger” in its 2026 Official Selection for Competition, placing it in the race for the Palme d’Or. The festival’s selection pages list Gray among the directors competing this year, and a separate festival feature published on May 16 said the film marked his return to Cannes with a new feature “in contention for the Palme d’or.” (imdb.com) Gray’s Cannes history is part of the festival’s own framing. The festival article said “Paper Tiger” is his fifth film in Competition and tied the movie to his long-running focus on New York settings, particularly Brighton Beach and Queens. That is the context Cannes itself gave the premiere as the cast and producers arrived for the screening. (festival-cannes.com) ### Did the premiere draw an immediate reaction inside the theater? Deadline reported on May 16 that “Paper Tiger” received a 10-minute standing ovation at its world premiere at the Grand Théâtre Lumière. The Hollywood Reporter reported a shorter ovation, describing it as six minutes, underscoring that early reception reports varied by outlet. (festival-cannes.com) AwardsWatch published a review from Cannes on May 18, and other trade outlets moved reviews shortly after the screening. Those early notices put the premiere into the usual Cannes cycle: red carpet, first screening, immediate critical reaction and then competition judging over the following days. (deadline.com) ### What do distribution and release details look like so far? Variety reported on April 22 that Neon bought North American rights to “Paper Tiger” as the film joined the Cannes competition lineup. The Hollywood Reporter also said Neon had picked up North American rights. Neither of those reports, and none of the official Cannes materials reviewed here, gave a theatrical release date. (awardswatch.com) The festival’s official pages identify the movie as a 2026 Competition title but do not list a commercial release schedule. For now, the next fixed date in the film’s public rollout is Cannes itself, which the festival says runs from May 12 to May 23, 2026. (festival-cannes.com) (variety.com)