Brad Pitt and George Clooney hugged and danced Sunday night at the Venice Film Festival as the two megastars’ latest film, “Wolfs,” received a polite four-minute standing ovation.

The premiere itself was delayed by over 30 minutes as fans crowded into Venice’s Sala Grande to catch a glimpse of Pitt and Clooney. When the duo finally entered, the sound—and general atmosphere—in the theater could only be described as carnal. Both actors walked to opposite ends of the carpet, signing autographs and taking selfies before being ushered to their seats by security.

As the two stars entered the cinema, they greeted the enthusiastic audience with a roaring “Buonasera!”, prompting some fans to shout back in the hope of being noticed. Even as the film began to play, the chaos continued, with those without tickets scrambling to find empty seats. Some were thrown out during the film’s first scenes as latecomers entered.

As the crime scene credits rolled, Pitt and Clooney embraced before breaking out into Sade’s “Smooth Operator.” Clooney then turned to his wife Amal and the two shared a sweet kiss. He and Pitt then walked down the stairs from the theater balcony where they were seated to greet cheering fans.

The four-minute standing ovation may not have lasted as long as you might expect given Pitt and Clooney’s star status, but it seemed like the festival organizers were doing everything they could to get the audience out of the venue, given the premiere’s late start time and irrepressible energy.

Pitt touched down in Venice just two days after his ex Angelina Jolie debuted her latest film, “Maria,” there to an eight-minute standing ovation and Oscar buzz. Neither mentioned their long-awaited divorce, and Pitt was not asked at a news conference Sunday about court documents alleging “a history of physical abuse from Jolie” in their marriage. (The hashtag #BradPittIsAnAbuser trended on the social media platform X shortly after “Wolfs” premiered.)

Written and directed by “Spider-Man” director Jon Watts (who missed the premiere after testing positive for COVID), the Apple Original Films action-comedy stars Pitt and Clooney as two professional fixers who prefer to work alone but are forced to come together after they’re hired for the same job. “Wolfs” also stars Amy Ryan, Austin Abrams and Poorna Jagannathan. A sequel to the film is already in development with Watts and the two stars attached, Apple announced earlier this month.

“Wolfs” marks the first time Pitt and Clooney have co-starred in a film together since the Coen Brothers’ 2008 dark comedy “Burn After Reading.” Before that, the two co-starred in the “Ocean’s” franchise from 2001 to 2007. Both actors have visited the Lido before, with Clooney visiting in 2009 for Grant Heslov’s “The Men Who Stare at Goats” and Pitt premiering David Fincher’s “Fight Club” in 1999 and winning the Volpi Cup for Best Actor in 2007 for Andrew Dominik’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”

In a recent cover story for GQ, Pitt and Clooney discussed their enduring friendship and the state of Hollywood today. “They didn’t develop stars the way the studio system used to,” Clooney said. “We were really at the end of that era, where you could work for a studio and make three or four movies, and there was a plan. And I don’t think that’s necessarily the case anymore. So it’s harder to sell someone on the back of a star.”

Following its Venice premiere, “Wolfs” will hit theaters for a limited time starting September 20, before premiering on Apple TV+ on September 27.