A version of this Cannes market story first appeared in the Cannes edition of TheWrap magazine.
To say that Cannes last year was a return to normalcy might have been a misnomer. Sure, COVID was manageable and people were able to come together in person without the mandatory testing of previous years, but the transition from nearly two years of isolation to travel was slow. “While last year was a pretty strong market, there were still remnants of COVID and certain non-traveling territories,” said Dylan Leiner, Sony Pictures Classics executive vice president of acquisitions and production.
For many traveling to France in May, this year’s festival may finally be the return to normalcy that people have been waiting for. “This may be one of the largest and most attended markets we’ve ever seen for Cannes,” said Jason Buckley, executive vice president of worldwide sales and distribution for Village Roadshow Entertainment Group, who also mentions how few apartments are available for rent in the expensive city of the French Riviera. “This market, overall, is going to be one of the biggest we’ve seen post-COVID.”
The Marché du Film, the Cannes market that takes place in the Palais des Festivals a couple of floors below the cinemas showing films from the official selection, estimates that it will attract 12,500 film professionals from 121 countries, show 4,000 films and will host more than 100 conferences. Films for sale there will range from arthouse titles on the Cannes lineup to genre films and unrealized projects seeking international funding to go from page to screen.
But optimism is cautious, many participants in this year’s market said. Although government mandates regarding COVID-19 are no longer in place, the economy, particularly in the US, is still picking up after several months of inflation. Media companies are closing deals, freezing hiring or slashing budgets in the still-shaky theatrical market. In such a challenging environment, it sounds amazing that anyone can be optimistic. However, people are.
“Cannes has always been a great market for big movies, big budget movies with great talent. So I hope it’s the same,” said Tamara Birkemoe, partner and CEO of Palisades Park Pictures. This, according to her, is despite a lower participation of films through the European Film Market in Berlin.
For many, excitement is fueled by a strong slate of titles showing at Cannes, including Martin Scorsese’s three-plus hour epic “Killers of the Flower Moon.” (for Apple) and the highly anticipated Disney sequel “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Among films seeking distribution, Leiner points to Ken Loach’s “The Old Oak.” as one to watch, particularly as it is rumored to be the iconic director’s last film, as well as Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days.” and “Anselm.” “You’re looking at a mix this year of the old guard, old legends and up-and-coming filmmakers,” Leiner said. “What makes Cannes exciting is the convergence of generations and talents.” Village Roadshow’s Buckley added: “Lots of quality titles are hitting the market.”
For Sony Classics, the mandate is theatrical first, with Leiner emphasizing that they will look for films that can play in theaters and generate large audience participation. But other studies, according to Buckley, are reassessing where movie theaters fit into the big picture. “Theater has changed, so appetites have changed,” she said. Interestingly, this year’s CinemaCon, the trade show hosted by the National Association of Theater Owners, is influencing how some studios view Cannes acquisitions. James Huntsman, owner of Blue Fox Entertainment, noted comments from several studio heads who reiterated that theatrical releases are paramount, along with Amazon and Apple investing in theater windows for their titles.
“Cinema will start to get back into the conversation not only for bigger movies, but for independent movies of all genres because there is a growing market for that audience,” he said.
But there are challenges to that, especially in foreign countries. “China still isn’t buying like it used to,” Birkemoe said. “You could account a large amount of money that left China two years ago. The drop in Chinese money, he said, is due to limitations on releases outside of China, as well as the country’s lack of a strong VOD model. For her, the market is experiencing a greater participation of Latin American and German buyers.
Each territory, Buckley said, has its own problems in today’s market. “Look at Southeast Asia, for example,” he said. “I went to the Hong Kong Film Mart in March, I spoke to many, many customers in each of the territories within the region, and it has changed for them because cinema has not come back yet. what do you do now if not Do they have theater in these regions? What’s going on to shake up those independent distributors? There will be a takeover force, there will still be a lot of activity, but the numbers could be a little less. It will close the circle again, but when entering this market, in particular, can be a little lighter.
Lisa Gutberlet, International Director of Blue Fox, supports that international purchasing power has changed in Cannes. “In the days when a company enters an international market where they buy 20 movies at a time, I’m not so sure that that’s the strategy for some of these international buyers anymore,” she said.
That being said, doubts notwithstanding, no one can deny the amount of quality on display at Cannes this year.
In recent years, both the works of Ruben Östlund triangle of sadness and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi drive my car have garnered Best Picture nominations (and decent profits) after generating heat at the festival, while 2019’s Parasite it became the first film in more than 60 years to win the Palme d’Or and the highest Oscar. “You never really know,” Leiner said.
“I don’t think that when ‘Triangle of Sadness‘ and ‘Drive My Car’ premiered at Cannes, anyone could have predicted that they would be nominated for Best Picture. But buyers in Cannes this year can always wait.
Umberto González contributed to this report.
