With the Cannes Film Festival entering its last week, we've already seen an encouraging amount of its major offerings find homes. Without the menace of last year's dual strikes to impact the deals being done, we've seen some key buyers snap up exciting titles and take chances on a few speculative ones. Our entertainment lawyer Los Angeles in the know, Brandon Blake from Blake & Wang P.A., shares some of the key deals so far.
Pre-Festival Acquisitions and Distribution
Firstly, let's take a look at pictures that arrived at the festival with buyers in place. The Substance was taken, interestingly, by MUBI. A24 secured itself a stunning potential candidate in the Palme d'Or race with Parthenope, which it bought the week before its Cannes premiere. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl arrived with backing by A24 as well. Charming Ghost Cat Anzu arrived backed by GKIDS, while Metrograph Pictures took Good One.
Anora, meanwhile, has distribution with Neon in place, while Searchlight will be carrying Kinds of Kindness for the domestic market. With Emma Stone's recent Oscar win, it is sure to attract some more attention at the festival, too. Lesser-known distributor Oscilloscope took the rights for the surreal comedy Universal Language, while Magnolia Pictures will be responsible for Ernest Cole: Lost and Found. This documentary was actually picked up as a package deal at last year's Cannes, finally premiering this year. While they both showed out of competition, Bleecker Street will be handling distribution for Rumors, while Horizon: An American Saga will find a distribution home with Warner Bros. Pictures. Warner Bros. Pictures will also be handling distribution for George Miller's much-anticipated and well-regarded Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which is playing out of competition. The film has received much positive feedback to date, and will hopefully be a major player at the box office later this year, too.
In-Festival Acquisitions
As for films that have been acquired during the festival's run, one of the most notable will be All We Imagine as Light, the first Indian film in 3 decades to play in competition. Janus Films and Sideshow have given that a new home, and are reportedly planning a theatrical release. The Entertainment System is Down, the hot and much-anticipated title from previous Palme d'Or winner and Triangle of Sadness mastermind Ruben Östlund, has gone to A24 after a competitive bidding war, to say the least.
The Seed of the Sacred Fig, from beleaguered Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, will find its home with Neon and is still considered one of the Palme d'Or top contenders. Neon, meanwhile, also snapped up The Unknown, with a 2026 theatrical release planned, and Alpha. IFC Films will take home the adorable stop-animation Memoir of a Snail. Meanwhile, Tenzing takes the “trophy” for the first truly competitive deal out of this year's Cannes, with Apple eventually winning.
Those are the deals we know of (so far). With a fantastic lineup and a much easier buying climate for this year's edition of the festival, however, there is certain to be plenty more good news before the festival finally wraps later this week.
