Cannes promotional stunts, once a feature of the festival, go missing

CANNES, France (AP) — You can get nostalgic about almost anything at the Cannes Film Festival, even Jerry Seinfeld on a zip line in a bumblebee costume.

For many years, Cannes has played host not just to an endless stream of artistically ambitious movies, but also to some of Hollywood's most extreme promotional gambits. With so many films packed into the 12-day festival, and with much of the world watching, there are high stakes to standing out in Cannes.

But in recent years, the Cannes marketing stunt has turned into an endangered species. Hopes that Tom Cruise might revive a dormant tradition passed with the relatively sedate premiere Wednesday of “Mission: Impossible — Final Reckoning.”

Would Cruise parachute into the Palais? Could he ride an airplane wing to the premiere? Nothing so elaborate came to pass. Cruise and company walked the red carpet while serenaded by an orchestra playing the “Mission: Impossible” theme.

Along the Croisette this year, there's a noticeable lack of the kind of grand advertisements Hollywood has often trotted out for the festival. Paramount Pictures has a “Mission: Impossible” installation outside the Carlton Hotel, but — as has been true for several years — Hollywood rarely still seeks to make big marketing splashes in Cannes.

Even though Apple Studios' upcoming Formula One action drama “F1,” distributed by Warner Bros., might seem like a natural fit, with the Monaco Grand Prix just days away, “F1” — at least so far — has made no pit stop in Cannes.

Things could change. Cannes runs until May 24. Someone might yet arrive by parasail over the Mediterranean, as T.J. Miller did in 2017 for “The Emoji Movie,” or do ninja kicks with a troupe of giant pandas, as Jack Black did in 2008 for “Kung Fu Panda.”

But for years, the circus-like quality of Cannes has been in decline. That's owed partly to budgetary constraints and shifting marketing priorities for major studios. For Cruise and “Final Reckoning,” Cannes was just one stop on a worldwide tour.

Plus, some of those who were most devoted to bringing Hollywood entertainment to Cannes are no longer regulars here. While head of DreamWorks Animation, Jeffrey Katzenberg made sure his films left a mark in Cannes, whether with models wearing “Trolls” wigs or Seinfeld's “Bee Movie” zip line.

Is the absence of such things anything to lament? Probably not, but they did add to the crazy-things-will-happen nature of Cannes, giving the festival the feel of big tent extravaganza. It could be counted as one small, superficial way that movies aren't quite the carnivalesque show they once were.

For now, though, we can say we'll always have when Sacha Baron Cohen, for “The Dictator,” rode a camel down the Croisette. Ah, the memories.

This story has been corrected to report “F1” is from Apple Studios, not Universal.

Jake Coyle has covered the Cannes Film Festival since 2012. He's seeing approximately 40 films at this year's festival and reporting on what stands out.

For more coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, visit https://apnews.com/hub/cannes-film-festival.

FILE - Actor Sacha Baron Cohen poses with a a camel during a photo call for The Dictator at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Joel Ryan, File)

FILE - Actor Jack Black, centre, and Tatsuya Yamaguchi, left, participate in a stunt on the Carlton beach pier for the film "Kung Fu Panda" during the 61st Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

FILE - Actor T. J. Miller poses with characters during the photo call for the film The Emoji Movie, at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 16, 2017. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - American comedian Jerry Seinfeld, dressed as a bee, glides through the air connected to a wire during a publicity stunt for the film "Bee Movie," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Thursday, May 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Tom Cruise, center, poses with the Greg Tarzan Davis, from left, Keleigh Sperry, Linda Bruckheimer, Jennifer Connelly, festival director Thierry Fremaux, and Jon Hamm after French Alpha Jets Patrouille de France fly over the red carpet at the premiere of the film 'Top Gun: Maverick' at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)

FILE - French Alpha Jets Patrouille de France fly over the premiere of the film 'Top Gun: Maverick' at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 18, 2022, File. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)

FILE - Dolph Lundgren, from second left, Jason Statham, and Harrison Ford ride atop an armored vehicle during a photo call for The Expendables 3 at the 67th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Sunday, May 18, 2014. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Actor T. J. Miller poses with characters during the photo call for the film The Emoji Movie, at the 70th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 16, 2017. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Actor Sacha Baron Cohen, center, poses as he arrives for a photo call for The Dictator at the 65th international film festival, in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)

FILE - American comedian Jerry Seinfeld glides through the air connected to a wire during a publicity stunt for the film "Bee Movie," at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France, on Thursday, May 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

FILE - Actors Jack Black, right, and Tatsuya Yamaguchi participate in a stunt on the Carlton beach pier for the film "Kung Fu Panda" during the 61st Cannes International Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, May 14, 2008. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.

Four apartment buildings were damaged in the bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. Power company DTEK said two of its energy facilities suffered significant damage. The company said that 10 substations that distribute electricity in the Odesa region were damaged in December alone.

Russia has this year escalated its long-range attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. In recent months, as Russia’s invasion of its neighbor approaches its four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified its targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.

From January to November this year, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier this month. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.

Russia’s sustained drone and missile attacks have taken place against backdrop of renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his Florida resort on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with the heads of European governments supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.

The ongoing attacks, meantime, are inflaming tensions.

The overnight Odesa strikes “are further evidence of the enemy’s terror tactics, which deliberately target civilian infrastructure,” Kiper, the regional head, said.

Moscow has alleged that Ukraine attempted to attack Russian President Vladimir Putin’s residence in northwestern Russia with 91 long-range drones late Sunday and early Monday. Ukrainian officials deny the claim and say it’s a ruse to derail progress in the peace negotiations.

Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed Wednesday that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions.

At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.

It was not possible to independently verify the reports.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, on Wednesday called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from the peace talks.

“No one should accept unfounded claims from the aggressor who has indiscriminately targeted Ukraine’s infrastructure and civilians since the start of the war,” Kallas posted on X.

Zelenskyy said Wednesday that Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States. The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase American weapons, munitions and equipment.

Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has so far received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December alone, he said on social media.

Ukraine’s air force said Wednesday that Russia fired 127 drones at the country during the night, with 101 of them intercepted by air defenses.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said that 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.

The Ukrainian attack started a fire at an oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, but it was quickly put out, local authorities said.

This story has corrected the day of the alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian president’s residence to late Sunday and early Monday.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)