Buyers are looking for fully-packaged projects with recognisable cast that fit into neat genres, acknowledge UK sales agents as they head to Cannes after a year of market uncertainty.
“Buyers are looking for certainty,” says Louis Balsan, Anton’s executive vice president of international distribution and acquisitions, who is selling action thriller The Bookie And The Brusier, starring Vince Vaughn and Adrien Brody. “Of course quality, of course commerciality, but they want to know for sure the film is happening. In Berlin, we saw a few packages without a director for instance, and we saw the [negative] response of the market, or a script that wasn’t completely baked.
“They are looking for insurance on the fact it is going to happen and it’s going to happen the way you said it would, more than before.”
Sellers reported a muted American Film Market in November and a mixed-bag of results at the European Film Market in February. Some buyers, meanwhile, have privately been expressing concern about the small percentage of projects they have picked up in the last 18 months that have followed through into production. One sales agent said they are increasingly under pressure to put delivery dates into contracts with buyers, which can be difficult to guarantee.
Pulling packages together post SAG-AFTRA strike can prove challenging, as cast is ever-more in-demand. “It’s harder to solidify those packages, and get commitment from talent,” says Hugo Grumbar, Embankment partner and co-founder, who is launching pre-sales at the market on Handel biopic The King Of Covent Garden, starring Anthony Hopkins. “It’s probably a knock-on effect of strikes that seem to have a very long tail. It’s harder to get everyone to sign on a dotted line.”
Risk-taking from distributors in terms of genre and cast is unlikely, believe sellers.
“They want clear propositions, clear genres,” added Ella Field, executive vice-president of international sales at Signature Entertainment.
“The main thing is giving people what they know works, that they know how to sell to their audiences, but give them an elevated version of it,” Field continues. “Give them a twist on the genre, some element that is refreshing and exciting, but still within the confines of the genres that they know work and sell for them.”
“Buyer want safe bets, but if they want to capture the younger generation that goes to the cinema, they need to look and find the new generation of actors,” observes Balsan. “That’s the schizophrenia we are living in right now – not only buyers but the whole industry is being cautious and only placing bets on only established names, but at the same time says we need new faces, we need new voices. To combine these two – that’s the Holy Grail.”
Having cast to help secure a Pay-1 deal (first exclusive release window following a film’s theatrical and home entertainment release) is also of great significance.
“Theatrical distributors are a bit more advanced in jumping after the next generation than TV backers,” says Balsan. “And it’s understandable – [TV buyers] need to reassure advertisers. We’re still working in an industry where TV backers are a very important piece of the puzzle.”
Mister Smith Entertainment founder and CEO David Garrett feels buoyed by the types of projects that have been announced in the run-up to this Cannes market. “We’re all much more laser focused on trying to fathom what the market needs, what the audiences want. Consequently, there are a lot of quite interesting projects being brought to the market.”
Mister Smith’s slate includes horror thriller Dangerous Animals, from Australian horror auteur Sean Byrne.
There’s hope that, after the strong box office response to Cannes 2023 titles including Anatomy Of A Fall and The Zone Of Interest, broad arthouse and non-English language titles with commercial potential will be hoovered up by buyers.
“Cannes 2023 delivered a really strong number of independent arthouse films that turned into box office and awards tentpoles, and that has really boosted confidence within independent distribution,” says Fabien Westerhoff, CEO of London and Paris-based sales agent Film Constellation. His slate includes Critics’ Week closing night film, Animale, from French director Emma Benestan.
Territories on top
There’s optimism among sales agents that European buyers will be active at Cannes, however the jury remains out on North America and Latin America.
One sales agent noted, despite the war in Ukraine and the unofficial embargo on selling to the territory, “The most active and aggressive market is Russia – constantly.”
Asia is expected to have a stronger presence this year, with Japanese buyers anticipated to be making their Cannes comeback after a quiet post-Covid period. But just how hungry the Japanese buyers will be for content remains to be seen.
“Japanese buyers are always very cautious,” says Balsan. “Films released in Japan happen much later. The timeline in Japan is always more stretched,” he explains, owing to specificities of the local market, with plenty of local content and less interest in following in the trail of major US releases.
“If the market is back in Japan, it doesn’t mean buyers will start buying again,” he noted.
Balsan is feeling more optimistic about China. “We’ve seen a lot of activity during and after Berlin form China on the buying side. Let’s see – it could be a good sign.”
While Berlin was front-loaded for a lot of UK sales agents with meetings, with buyers in town for more condensed visits, the sense is at Cannes, buyers will be in town for the duration of the market. “The weather has a bit more to offer, compared to Berlin where you’d rather be in and out as quick as possible,” smiles Balsan, who also notes a closer link between the market and the festival at Cannes, compared to Berlin, keeping buyers in for longer.
Animation and documentary
Animation sales specialists GFM Animation are heading into Cannes “with the biggest slate we’ve had since we started back in 2016,” says chair of GFM Animation and its live-action sister company GFM Film Sales, Guy Collins. GFM Animation is leading with The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, the first ever fully-animated feature-length Looney Tunes film.
“We’re going in with good expectations, but realistic expectations,” he adds. “The price points at which it makes sense for distributors to risk their dollars is a crucial thing. With animation they’ve got more costs to deal with. They have to dub, and dub well, which probably means using big local talent to replicate the English-speaking voice actors. They’ve also got to advertise to two audiences – the kids, and the parents. We try to build that in and we try to be realistic about the prices we are asking.”
North America remains a tough territory to crack for indie animation. “Studios have their own [animated] content,” Collins comments. “There are a lot of good independent distributors in America, not too many of them are very active in animation. That’s a big challenge, but it’s a challenge we are taking on.”
He feels positive about Europe, Latin America and, while “Asia is tricky, there are some good things happening. Vietnam has become a very good territory for animation.”
“With docs, it’s interesting going into more of a theatrical market, there’s usually one or two films that really connect with buyers, and the rest isn’t largely for a theatrical audience,” says documentary expert Dogwoof’s head of sales, Cleo Veger. “It’s about finding those specific projects that really relate to what can be a theatrical doc. What we see in the US, the UK and internationally is docs haven’t been performing that well theatrically, so it’s trying to find something that can break through that.”
Cannes is specifically important for Dogwoof, as it’s a chance to check in with theatrical all-rights buyers. “Most of the theatrical all-rights buyers aren’t attending the doc specific markets, so Cannes, Berlin are still very important to us, that’s where we connect with those buyers.”
Europe remains the hungriest region for theatrical docs at Cannes. In Asia, art and fashion documentaries are proving popular, which could be good news for Dogwoof’s fashion designer documentary Thom Browne: The Man Who Fell To Earth.
Across the board, UK sales agents are exhibiting a sense of positivity rooted in realism headed into Cannes.
”To me, it feels like it’s going to be a very busy Cannes. I feel that from the pre-calls I’ve had with distributors,” notes Grumbar.
“Cannes is shaping up as a strong year in terms of packages,” adds Westerhoff, while Field is “cautiously optimistic” as she heads into the final few days of pre-market prep.
“If you have a film that knows its audience,” reflects Grumbar, ”that’s made for the right amount of money, not too much money, and you’re able to ask reasonable prices around the world for it, they’re very sellable.”
No comments yet