Margaret Qualley Got A Cannes Standing Ovation (But Her Gorgeous Pink Dress Deserves All The Applause)

Margaret Qualley walking while smiling in button up white shirt in Honey Don't!
(Image credit: Focus Features)

The Cannes Film Festival is close to wrapping up after all the glitzy premieres by Hollywood’s finest, previewing upcoming 2025 movies, and there has been one gorgeous fashion moment after another. The latest comes from Margaret Qualley, who returned to the fest on Friday for the premiere of Honey Don’t! The movie received a 6.5-minute standing ovation, but so should her dress.

Qualley stepped out on the red carpet for one of 2025’s new LGBTQ+ movies with her cast, including Aubrey Plaza and Charlie Day, for the new Ethan Coen flick. Check out her stunning soft pink gown:

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 23: Margaret Qualley attends the "Honey Don't!" red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 23, 2025 in Cannes, France.

(Image credit: Gisela Schober/Getty Images)

The 30-year-old starlet opted for a sweet, romantic Chanel look for the premiere, per Who What Wear, and it’s breathtaking. I love how delicately pretty this dress is. While the gown is simple, with a matching pink bow at the top and a black bow, the material flowing from the top to the middle of her arms (almost like a shawl) just ties the look together so well.

Qualley wore her hair up, had these gold hanging earrings with roses on them as well, and a natural makeup look with rosy cheeks. I also adore that she wore flats that perfectly matched her dress, as they were the same pink color with a black accent in the front.

The occasion was a successful one, too, considering Honey Don’t! earned a 6.5-minute standing ovation (per Deadline) – which is the same length Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, reportedly got last Friday.

Honey Don’t follows Qualley as a private investigator named Honey Donahue, who starts tracking down evidence after a series of strange deaths plague her small town. In the movie, Chris Evans plays a reverend with culty behavior that the deaths seem to be tied to.

The movie is the second collaboration between husband/wife duo Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke, starring Qualley after 2023’s Drive-Away Dolls in what they are calling their “lesbian B-movie trilogy.” Our Drive-Away Dolls review gave the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars, touting Qualley for giving some of “the best work” of her career. I have to imagine there’s more where that came from in Honey Don’t.

Qualley returned to Cannes after premiering The Substance there with Demi Moore last year. It got a 13-minute standing ovation before it won the Best Screenplay. The horror movie received so much buzz that Qualley ended up at the 2025 Oscars as The Substance celebrated five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and one win, for Best Makeup & Hairstyling.

While some Cannes films premiere in hopes of finding distribution, the Honey Don’t release date has already been set by Focus Features for August 22, 2025.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.

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