Critics’ Week Opener ‘In Waves’ Is Netflix’s First Major 2026 Cannes Acquisition

Netflix has acquired global rights outside of France to In Waves, the feature debut from director Phuong Mai Nguyen and one of the buzziest animated titles at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Variety first reported the acquisition, which marks Netflix’s first significant Cannes pickup this year. The film premiered in Critics’ Week, where it became the section’s first-ever animated opening film and quickly emerged as one of the festival’s most talked-about animation titles.

Based on AJ Dungo’s graphic memoir of the same name, In Waves follows a Southern California teenager navigating first love, surfing culture, and devastating loss. Nguyen’s adaptation is said to retain the emotional tone and visual simplicity of Dungo’s original work while expanding it into a feature-length romantic drama.

The film stars Stephanie Hsu and Charles Melton and was produced by Silex Films and Panique!, the French studio behind the Oscar-nominated stop-motion feature Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. The project had already built strong buzz ahead of Cannes, having also been selected for the main feature competition at this summer’s Annecy Festival.

Netflix’s acquisition continues the company’s push into prestige animation and filmmaker-driven projects sourced from the international festival circuit. While the streamer does not compete in Cannes’ main lineup due to France’s theatrical release regulations, it remains an active buyer at the festival and its accompanying Marché du Film.