One of the distinctive aspects of a walk down the Croisette in Cannes is the giant movie ads and billboards erected throughout the city, many affixed to the sides of classy hotels for the 2 week run of the festival. Posters for Hollywood studio flicks dominate, according to the Hollywood Reporter, with ads this year for such non-Cannes fare as "Herbie: Fully Loaded" and "War of the Worlds."

U.S. studios again are using the eye-catching setting of the Festival de Cannes and accompanying Marche du Film as a launching pad for big-budget summer rollouts. Industry early birds strolling down the Croisette before the festival's opening Wednesday could be forgiven for thinking they're in their own back yard.

"Everywhere you look, there's a poster for a studio picture. The studios have certainly upped the ante this year," one industry observer said.