Organisers of the world's top film event on the French Riviera traditionally guard their selections jealously for the competition and the out-of-competition programme, but there has been fevered speculation over the line-up for months.
Sofia Coppola's "The Beguiled" is one film that industry insiders agree is likely to earn a spot at this year's Cannes.
The daughter of Francis Ford Coppola is a Cannes veteran who previously premiered "Marie Antoinette" (2006) and her last feature film "The Bling Ring" (2013) at the festival.
Her latest offering "The Beguiled", an American Civil War drama about a young soldier who seduces all the women around him, features an all-star cast including Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Colin Farrell and Elle Fanning.
Organisers have tapped Pedro Almodovar, Spain's most celebrated living movie director, to lead the jury at this year's festival, which will run from May 17 to 28.
The official selection of movies in competition will be announced at 0900 GMT on Thursday at a Paris hotel by festival director Thierry Fremaux and the president of the event, Pierre Lescure.
The organisers typically wade through some 1,800 films to winnow them down to shortlists.
It is a weary process for Fremaux, who told AFP last year that he and his selection committee "watch the movies right to the end".
Another favourite to earn a slot in the official competition -- also starring Kidman and Fanning -- is John Cameron Mitchell's sci-fi romance "How to Talk to Girls At Parties".
