The 78th Cannes Film Festival wraps up this weekend, with a handful of festival favorites emerging with the glow of critical acclaim. This year’s festival generated an active acquisitions market, in contrast to the declining acquisition market at other major festivals in recent years.
On the other hand, a poor response at Cannes may have dampened the prospects of a few high-profile upcoming releases. THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME and EDDINGTON had already secured global distributions deals, so their objective at Cannes was to burnish their reputation and create buzz in the weeks leading up to their theatrical releases.
Unfortunately, Wes Anderson’s THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME, which will be distributed by Fox Searchlight and released wide on June 5th, received only a middling response from festivalgoers, with reports that some even booed the movie after its premiere screening. Ari Aster’s EDDINGTON also received a mixed reaction, despite an all-star cast that includes Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler.
These films run the risk that they will suffer a similar fate to INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, which was received poorly at its Cannes 2023 premiere and went on to a disappointing box office in its subsequent theatrical release.
On a positive note, several crowd-pleasing films came out of the festival with lucrative distribution deals. The festival’s top prize went to IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT, making this the sixth year in a row that distributor NEON has been attached to the Palme d’Or winner. NEON has also secured distribution rights to SENTIMENTAL VALUE, another festival favorite from filmmaker Joachim Trier and winner of this year’s Grand Prize.
MUBI also made a big splash with a $24 million acquisition of Lin Ramsey’s DIE MY LOVE. The romantic drama starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson was very well-received at Cannes, with particular praise for Jennifer Lawrence’s performance. The deal included a commitment for a 45-day domestic theatrical run at a minimum of 1,500 theatre locations.
