Brad Pitt and George Clooney shared a joyful moment at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday night as their latest film, Wolfs, received a four-minute standing ovation. The two megastars embraced and danced, soaking in the applause from the crowd, though the reception was notably more subdued than one might expect given their star power.
The premiere, held at Venice's Sala Grande, was delayed by over 30 minutes as eager fans packed into the venue, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Hollywood icons. When Pitt and Clooney finally arrived, the atmosphere inside the theater was electric. The duo, both exuding charm, worked different sides of the red carpet, signing autographs and snapping selfies with fans before being escorted to their seats by security.
As the pair entered the theater, they greeted the excited audience with a hearty “Buonasera!” which was met with enthusiastic responses from the crowd. However, even as the film began, the chaos persisted, with some ticketless fans scrambling to find seats, leading to a few being removed during the screening's early scenes.
When the credits rolled on the crime comedy, Pitt and Clooney celebrated with a hug and danced to Sade's “Smooth Operator.” Clooney then turned to share a kiss with his wife, Amal, before he and Pitt descended from the balcony to greet the cheering audience.
The four-minute ovation, while respectable, was shorter than anticipated, possibly due to the late start and the overall unruly energy of the evening. Festival officials seemed eager to move the crowd out of the theater quickly.
Pitt's arrival in Venice came just two days after his ex-wife Angelina Jolie premiered her latest film, Maria, to an eight-minute standing ovation and early Oscar buzz. Neither Pitt nor Jolie commented on their ongoing divorce proceedings, and Pitt avoided questions during a press conference about court documents alleging “a history of physical abuse of Jolie” during their marriage. The hashtag #BradPittIsAnAbuser trended on social media platform X shortly after Wolfs premiered.
Wolfs, written and directed by Jon Watts—who was unable to attend the premiere due to testing positive for COVID—marks a reunion for Pitt and Clooney. The film, an Apple Original Films action-comedy, features the two actors as professional fixers who usually work alone but are forced to team up for a job. The cast also includes Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams, and Poorna Jagannathan. A sequel is already in development, with Watts and the two stars attached, according to an announcement from Apple earlier this month.
This project is the first time Pitt and Clooney have co-headlined a film since the Coen Brothers' 2008 black comedy Burn After Reading. They previously starred together in the Ocean's franchise from 2001 to 2007. Both actors are familiar faces at the Venice Film Festival; Clooney attended in 2009 for The Men Who Stare at Goats, while Pitt has previously premiered Fight Club in 1999 and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor in 2007 for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
In a recent GQ cover story, Pitt and Clooney reflected on their decades-long friendship and the changing landscape of Hollywood. Clooney remarked, “They haven't developed stars the way the studio system used to. We kind of were at the very end of that, where you could work at a studio and do three or four films, and there was some plan to it. And I don't think that's necessarily the case anymore. So it's harder for you to sell somebody something on the back of a star.”
Following its Venice premiere, Wolfs will have a limited theatrical release starting September 20, before debuting on Apple TV+ on September 27.
