“Prices are crazy”: European distributors discuss Cannes deal-making

Ahead of Cannes, Screen International  brought together four of Europe’s leading distribution executives for an in-depth conversation about the realities of acquiring and releasing films in 2025. Taking part are Vue Lumière’s Eve Gabereau (UK and Ireland), Alamode Film’s Tobias Lehmann (Germany and Austria), Cherry Pickers’ Huub Roelvink (Benelux) and Pyramide Films’ Anne-Cécile Rolland (France). Over the course of the following discussion, the execs take the temperature of the theatrical business this year, discuss their approach to deal-making at Cannes, as well as asking prices for films and moving into production.

How has 2025 been for you so far? What is your market like?

Anne-Cécile Rolland: There’s a phenomenon of concentration in the French exhibition system. A lot of films are coming out every week, between 14 to 16. Whereas 10 years ago each one was able to find its audience, now it’s very difficult. The audience is very much focusing on a few films, so only two or three each week will find their audience.

The French box office has not been so great in the first three months of this year compared to last year, which was very strong with titles like A Little Something Extra, The Count Of Monte-Cristo and Beating Hearts.

Huub Roelvink: There’s a strong divide in our territory. The arthouse market is in a good place with bigger audiences than last year. But the commercial market is struggling — there is not enough commercial product in the market because of the pandemic slump in production and the actors and writers strikes.

The Cineville Pass is very important for us. It has almost 100,000 members who pay a monthly fee to see films. It helps bring audiences to the smaller and edgier films. For Sean Price Williams’ The Sweet East, which we bought in Cannes two years ago, 66% of its turnover came from Cineville. That is significant because in a lot of markets, a winner-takes-all trend has emerged since the pandemic: films either succeed or fail completely. People have become so picky. They have a lot of other things to do in their free time now, so they’ll go to the big hits only and everything else gets left behind.

Tobias Lehmann: I’m jealous you have Cineville. We also release films in Austria where they have the Nonstop pass — it’s the same model and has a huge impact. Cineville launched in Germany last autumn, but there are several different models working against each other, so it will take time until we also have a proper working system.

The year started well for us. We released The Seed Of The Sacred Fig on December 26. Thanks to the Oscar campaign [it was Germany’s nominated Oscar submission], it played on and on. It’s still in the cinemas. We’ve reached more than 200,000 admissions so far.

The arthouse market in Germany is also quite stable. It did a little better in 2024 than the year before. But we have the same problem as you in the Netherlands — in the last couple of years only a few titles have done well. The films that are performing well are doing much better numbers than they used to before the pandemic. In the past, you would get some audience at least — it was not a total failure. Now, if a film doesn’t perform, it’s 10,000 admissions and out. That means you have problems with the home entertainment release because nobody knows about the film.

Eve Gabereau: This year is an exciting year for us as we are building a new distribution division within a market-leading cinema chain. We are expanding into representing films and talent across all rights and potentially multiple territories, including the ones where we have cinemas and teams: Germany, Italy, Denmark, Poland, Lithuania and the Netherlands.

The big challenge in the UK is making an impact with your film and keeping it playing in cinemas. The success of films like Flow, which resonated across both independent and mainstream circuits, is positive for the industry and so great to see.

What about audiences — who is coming out for your films?

Roelvink: The older audience is our bread and butter. For some films, like Anselm for example, the average was way above 70. From a business perspective, this is not bad news. There are rising numbers of people getting older, they have time, they have money. Between 35 and 55, people aren’t going to the cinema so much — they are busy with their careers, have children, move out of the city. Of course, it’s also important to make sure the younger audience gets used to going to the cinema. Cineville plays a vital role because it mainly focuses on getting a younger age group into the habit of going.

Lehmann: We always try to reach young audiences, and most of the time we are failing except in the big cities. So much of our marketing is focused on TikTok and social media to get a young audience. But the truth is that our reliable audience is still the older audience, and luckily, they are back after the pandemic.

Gabereau: There is rightfully an industrywide focus on getting younger audiences into the cinema, as they are the future and it is essential for our business to keep integrating cinemagoing into people’s mindsets and entertainment choices. For that, the cinema experience must deliver a great experience — and the films themselves too, especially in terms of talkability. Beyond Minecraft! The older audience who often have more time and resources are back in the cinema — for the right film, in the right place and at the right time. Timing and balance of what’s on release are key.

Rolland In France, we are lucky to have a cinephile audience that traditionally goes to see the movies we distribute, but no-one is getting any younger. We must always strive to renew our target audience. Marketing strategy has never been more important. Offering first films also allows the works to travel to younger audiences, with themes that resonate more with their concerns.

We released Agathe Riedinger’s Cannes Competition film Wild Diamond last year, which is about fame, social media and reality TV but is clearly an arthouse title with a strong director and a strong cast. The challenge was to bring the two audiences together. We worked with a more classical approach and with a different agency that works with influencers. We have to be creative and adapt to this new audience. There’s still a long but exciting way to go.

What are your thoughts about Cannes this year?

Gabereau: We would like to pick up a couple of films out of Cannes, to keep building up our slate of new films. We’re looking at some to see if we can do deals before the festival. That comes with risk, but it’s exciting because then you are part of the launch there. You can do some early press and be with the talent too, which is particularly relevant for us if there is a British angle.

In general, we are looking to buy at A-list festivals, but that’s not to say there aren’t great films out there to be found in other ways. The Cannes Competition is where everyone starts, isn’t it? But often films are already sold. If not, they are kept for their premiere to create a big impact — like Emilia Pérez last year. Let’s see what’s big and surprising this year. That’s exciting about what we do and being part of world premieres.

I like to look across the other strands too. They are full of great stories and talent from around the world. I’m still trying to get a feel for what Cannes Premiere is, what the programme represents and where the films sit in the market. There is always something great in Un Certain Regard and Directors’ Fortnight. I’ve acquired films from all the sections in the past and you never know what’s going to pop out and be a festival and distribution hit. Aftersun came out of Critics’ Week and went on to amazing critical and commercial success.

Roelvink: A very large portion of the Competition is sold in advance in our territory. We pre-bought two films this year, Romería in Competition and Amrum in Cannes Premiere, before they were selected. It’s nice to have something in your bag before you arrive. I’m now going to wait and see what’s still on the market when we get there.

Traditionally we’ve always shopped more in Directors’ Fortnight and Un Certain Regard because that’s where films are available, and usually the selection is good. For us, Un Certain Regard has become more interesting, and Directors’ Fortnight a bit less so. The quality in both is generally good, but Directors’ Fortnight tends to have purer festival films that feel a bit small for home audiences. We’re also looking for new projects at Cannes.

Lehmann: We haven’t pre-bought anything. It doesn’t make sense — the films are all finished, and the risk would be too high. Cannes is by far the most important market for us. All the sales agents have kept their films for Cannes, which is a problem for festivals like Berlin. It is why the quality in Cannes is also always outstanding.

We try to buy films from the Competition as we feel a bit safer to release them. In Germany, people are more interested in the topic of the film, not if it’s the new film from a well-known director. The Competition has a good mix this year. Films from Un Certain Regard are always a bit tricky. And I agree, Directors’ Fortnight has changed its profile in recent years.

Rolland:  Cannes has a lot of films, but they’ve been very clever in how they find the right place for each film in the different sections. The official selection, whether it’s Competition, Un Certain Regard, Specials or Cannes Premiere, is always very competitive. Directors’ Fortnight looks more open than it was last year. Over the past few years, Critics’ Week has been a place to discover new talents from all over the world, using the full grammar of cinema: documentary, animation, drama.

Cannes Premiere also has titles that have been very successful in France: The Night Of The 12th, As Bestas, The Marching Band, Misericordia and Jim’s Story. There’s still some films open in all the different sections. Some of the films are good, but because of how the market has shifted over the last few years, we know it will be hard to make its place in the sun.

What about the prices that you are being asked to pay at festivals like Cannes?

Rolland: Crazy as usual. The right offer, meaning recoupable, is sometimes far behind what is expected or from the bidding fever that will follow. Cannes is an important part in the life of the film, but the journey is long until the release day. Unfortunately, some titles don’t perform as much as they were supposed to, or some will overperform. It has always been a risky business, and it still is.

Lehmann: The prices are definitely too high. The problem is that everyone wants to have the two to three films that really stick out. In Germany, independent distributors like us are also up against big companies like Studiocanal, Constantin and Leonine, which have much more money and resources. They also want films like The Zone Of Interest, which was bought by Leonine in the end — a completely untypical film for them.

Roelvink: If you look back at the successes, like The Zone Of Interest, it was very, very expensive. But it was worthwhile because it was a massive success. It’s a matter of supply and demand. If somebody is willing to pay the price, who am I to say the prices need to come down?

You’ve got to be careful. We’ve dodged a couple of bullets in the past. We offered quite a big amount on Parthenope for example, but didn’t get it. It was a very shiny package. But it didn’t deliver in the end [at the box office].

Lehmann: We made the same mistake on Parthenope. We got it, but it hasn’t worked at all. But most of the time, when we fight for a film that we love and we overpay, it works out in the end.

Gabereau: The top-tier films go to those who can afford to outbid each other and be crazy at Cannes. That high level is probably not as risky as the middle tier though, which can be the hardest area. You’ve got to really think about what you’re going to do to help those middle-­sized film campaigns stand out and find their way to audiences. Then there are the smaller films, where you’re not competing as much and they usually have a strong niche and may even be easier to make sense of as an acquisition and in terms of marketing within their scale. They are the ones that can surpass expectations.

How important is a theatrical release in terms of revenues for the films you acquire?

Lehmann: A successful release in the cinema is, of course, the key. Good numbers in the cinema normally means good numbers in home entertainment. But I think the times will get tougher in home entertainment. We were able to sell SVoD licences, especially to Amazon, but they don’t want to have arthouse fare anymore. It is pretty clear they are no longer interested. We notice, too, that the TVoD market is getting a little bit slower because the German television stations offer all their films and programmes for free on their VoD platforms. The older audience is very much used to these stations and use them for free instead of paying.

Gabereau:  Theatrical releasing is where we will put all our energy — it is the cornerstone of Vue Lumière’s strategy. It is where the press campaign is focused and where the talent involvement is most prominent. It’s about getting people in the door, watching on the big screen, and building up excitement and box office revenues to also later inform TVoD and SVoD — which are an important part of our bottom line.

Rolland:  As a distributor, we strongly believe in theatrical releases. It’s very important for us. It was maybe easier 10 or 15 years ago if you had a film that was not performing very well theatrically. At least you had TV deals or DVD that could help make up for it. Now, they are only a small percentage of total revenues. DVD and VoD sales have been very low, and it’s very difficult to sell it to TV.

Roelvink: We focus on theatrical. Around 70% of our turnover comes from theatrical. We keep an exclusive theatrical window of around four months in general. We have such good arthouse theatres in the Netherlands, people just want to go to them.

Will you look to get into production to help board projects earlier?

Rolland: One of the next moves will be co-­producing and getting involved at that stage. It is key to get access to some projects. Other French distributors are also investing in co-­production. A24 is a great example of a distributor that has been producing a lot and with great talent.

Roelvink: It is something I am considering, but not actively pursuing. It’s one of those things that might happen when the opportunity arises.

Lehmann: We produced in the past and now we’re trying to focus more on producing as another way to get the right projects in this competitive market. Köln 75 [which premiered at the Berlinale] is the first film we are attached to as a co-­producer. I think we will continue doing this also with international films.

However, producing is stressful. Our daily business of distribution is demanding, but producing is difficult. Although it is a good idea because the distributor is always needed in the financing of the film, so we’re in a good position to help. And for the producers, it’s getting more complicated — they don’t get money from TV anymore. Funding is getting more and more difficult. It is a good option [for us] to produce maybe one or two films a year.

Gabereau: Joining up all the different elements of the film value chain, if it’s possible, is essential. Vue has already announced a UK production partnership and we’re working on others to be developed where and when it makes sense. We are definitely open to co-­productions as we grow.

We can help. If there’s a guarantee of distribution, it can help producers with their finance plans and we can board a project early as executive producer and later distributor and exhibitor. Ideally, being part of the greater film package helps unlock support for the financiers and the producers. At that level, it’s more of a strategic partnership that allows us to have the rights in advance too. But acting as an active producer like, say, Studiocanal or Haut et Court who both do that so well, is not in our core plans for now.

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