Buyers and sellers in Cannes have reported a steady flow of business in a market that threatened to be upended before it began by Donald Trump’s nebulous pre-Cannes tariff threat.
It has been estimated that sellers brought 140 packages to the Croisette this year, and prices remain high on the bigger titles. Lionsgate is reportedly asking $25m for Germany for The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping, which begins production this summer.
A24 enjoyed a strong response to its pre-sales heavyweights: Edward Berger mystery The Riders starring Brad Pitt, and Kristoffer Borgli’s romance The Drama with Zendaya and Robert Pattinson in the leads.
But the big deal-making may be slowing down the rest of the market. “Buyers operating in that space can’t over-allocate,” said Sarah Lebutsch, SVP sales and distribution at Protagonist Pictures. “While they are waiting for an answer on the big stuff, they have to hold back from offering on some of the mid-sized stuff. The market is by no means done. It’s going to be very long again.”
Zygi Kamasa of True Brit noted a robust contingent of around 10 buzzy UK projects which contributed to a “very high energy” market, and has picked up Rapture and The Creep reboot. “Horror is a great theatrical piece of business,” he said.
Fabien Westerhoff of Global Constellation has been doing business on Directors’ Fortnight selection Lucky Lu in a “very engaged and focused market” and reported “good pre-sales on the bigger budget CG animation films”.
However Russian buyers, who in recent years have been active in the absence of Hollywood releases in their territory, have been making lower offers, sensing a thaw in official US-Russia relations.
“They are already expecting the studio films are coming back into the territory, so the need for independent films will probably go back to what it was before the war,” said Lebutsch.
Mubi’s $24m statement buy of North America and select territories on Lynne Ramsay’s Competition entry Die, My Love has been the headline-grabbing deal in Cannes just past the half-way stage, while a handful of other sales have closed on available festival selections, which on the whole have been well-received.
Sound Of Falling and Sirat are two of the more acclaimed films in Competition, although they have polarised critics and buyers. So far there has not been a standout buzzy selection.
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