Yorgos Lanthimos never stops surprising us. The Greek filmmaker who long ago outgrew the confines of European cinema now adds another striking chapter to his career—this time at the most commercial and dazzling television event on the planet.
At Super Bowl 2026, Lanthimos directs George Clooney in a commercial that feels less like a 30-second spot and more like a condensed cinematic experience, proving that his unmistakable signature can thrive anywhere without losing its identity.
The Super Bowl is more than a football final—it’s a global cultural spectacle where advertising becomes entertainment in its own right. This year adds another milestone, as one of Greece’s most acclaimed directors, Yorgos Lanthimos, makes his Super Bowl debut with George Clooney in the starring role.
It takes only seconds to recognize the aesthetic fingerprint. Lanthimos once again manages to transport his peculiar and highly personal cinematic universe into a large-scale commercial production without diluting his style.
From Dogtooth, which put the Greek Weird Wave on the global map, to international successes like The Favourite and Poor Things, and collaborations with actors such as Emma Stone, Colin Farrell, Olivia Colman, and Willem Dafoe, Lanthimos has firmly established himself among today’s top-tier filmmakers. Directing a Super Bowl commercial feels less like a detour and more like a natural continuation of that trajectory.
For George Clooney—one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars—the Grubhub campaign marks his first appearance in a Super Bowl ad. That this moment arrives under Lanthimos’ direction is no coincidence.
Clooney himself said he was “thrilled” upon learning that the Greek director would take the helm, calling him one of his favorite filmmakers. The collaboration therefore feels more like a creative partnership than a purely commercial arrangement.
The ad unfolds inside a lavish castle setting, featuring a refined dinner scene infused with theatricality and subtle irony—hallmarks of Lanthimos’ cinematic DNA. According to Clooney, the production process mirrored a film shoot in every respect.
The actor ultimately describes the result as “a two-minute Yorgos Lanthimos film compressed into thirty seconds.” And that is precisely what makes the spot stand out: it does not try to look like advertising, but like cinema.
