Cannes Can(t)

Examining the performance of Cannes 23, looking at the lineup of Cannes 24, and delving into the exclusionary and hypocritical nature of the fest

Last year’s Cannes Competition produced a whopping five Oscar nominated films, while the Out of Competition section added three more to that list and special screenings providing a ninth.

Six more Cannes films (including one from 2022) were Oscar shortlisted but not nominated.

Going even further 18 countries picked Cannes world premieres as their international Oscar entry. three of which were nominated, and eight of which were shortlisted, representing a majority of both.

ID two characters face away from each other against a mountain backdrop. A still from Oscar winner Anatomy of a Fall

I lead with this to show what Cannes can do as arguably the top international film festival in the world. But also to begin to explore the divide that exists between being in competition or out of competition vs any other section.

On the higher end of the spectrum, 19 of 21 of the competition entries have secured U.S. distribution. However only seven of the 20 Un Certain Regard titles have secured the same. Dropping from 90% with distribution down to 35%. Other official sections are even worse with Midnight having 20% with distribution, or simply one of five titles. one of six from the Cannes Classic doc premieres is the bottom of the list. Doing better though are Premier which has 4/7 and special screenings with 8/10 securing U.S. distribution. In the unofficial selections 63% of director’s fortnight, 36% of critics’ week, and 22% of ACID have U.S. Distribution. Avgd across the total lineup that is a meager 57%.

Looking at performance the disparities are even higher. Five competition entries did over $2 Mil in North American theatrical release

Asteroid City (Focus) $28,153,025 NA and $25 Mil+ Int

The Zone of Interest (A24) $8,659,464 NA and $40 Mil+ Int

Anatomy of a Fall (Neon) $5,076,369 NA and $30 Mil+ Int

Perfect Days (Neon) $3,742,163 NA and $20 Mil+ Int

The Taste of Things (IFC) $2,654,510 NA and $5 Mil+ Int

Additionally May December was acquired by Netflix for $11 Million for North America, but also did $5 Mil+ Int theatrically

Cannes competition requires theatrical distribution in France and France has a holdback requirement on streaming. Under a recent rule change, films going directly to streamers in France are not eligible for any awards (this includes other competitive sections and special prizes such as CDO). This has meant that streamers not embracing traditional theatrical have not put their films forward for programming consideration, it’s also meant a reduced streamer interest in acquisitions since by nature a worldwide deal is almost impossible. Still Netflix an Apple both acquired films. Netflix took Lost in the Night and Apple took doc Bread and Butter. Noticeably absent were Amazon, Paramount+/MTV, Peacock, Hulu, Disney+, & HBO/Max.

The Old Oak, Four Daughters (Kino Lorber) and About Dry Grasses (Sideshow / Janus) grossed over $100K each in NA and seven figures worldwide. The American entry. Notably Four Daughters was the highest grossing of the five Oscar nominated docs this year. Asphalt City (Roadside Attractions and Vertical) had a disastrous $220K domestically and less than $1 Mil ww. Monster (Well Go USA), Fallen Leaves (Mubi) and La Chimera (Neon) all did between $400K and $1 Mil and NA with significantly better international performance. All of the other Competition titles have yet to release or grossed under $50K in North America

What about other programming sections. How to Have Sex is the only Un Certain Regard title to gross over $100K in North America. It still failed to pass $200K via Mubi despite being in English and showing at both TIFF and Sundance. Midnight entry Hypnotic did $4,5 Mil domestically via Ketchup Entertainment and $16 Mil WW but the Robert Rodriguez film that screened as a Work-In-Progress at SXSW cost $65 Million to make. EEK! Zero of the premiere section films have grossed over $100K in NA and Special Screenings has the Wim Wenders doc Anselm (Sideshow/Janus) that did $500K in NA and a similar gross for the long Pedro Almodóvar short Strange Way of Life via Sony Picture Classics. As for Cannes Classics, I would be impressed if any of you could name one of the cinema-centric docs from last year’s lineup. Viva Varda! has had significant fest exposure but that’s it.

In the unofficial sections of Directors’ Fortnight, Critics’ Week and ACID a whopping one film passed the $100K mark in NA and that was the American English language entry The Sweet East (Utopia). It’s managed $331K in NA. That’s one of 39.

Out of Competition had a variety of Studio content but Killers of the Flower Moon and Indiana Jones 5 were both theatrical disasters and two of the biggest flops of the year. Though the former did bring prestige to its streamer Apple. Elemental was slow to start but ultimately was a small success for Disney.

ID People pose below the steps, on the red carpet of Cannes as photographers and audiences look on

NOW ON TO 2024’s CANNES LINEUP

86% of Cannes competition titles are directed by fest alums. So when Thierry Frémaux, tthe head of the fest says “It’s about the movies and whether they deserve or not, in aesthetic or artistic terms, to be there. There is no ideology guiding the selection committee.” You can say that that is complete BS. Cannes is an insular alumni dominated institution. The lineup are nepo cinematic babies if you would. 98%+ are world premieres. The only two titles that are not are both international premieres. With the Cannes requirement of French theatrical for their main competition the films that lack worldwide distribution are locked into a territory by territory piecemeal sales approach. As mentioned above this takes out many streamers but also becomes less desirable for the indie divisions of studios such as SPC, Focus, and Searchlight. It doesn’t prevent acquisitions but there’s a reason they have all been less active at Cannes the last few years, and instead have turned their attention to the marche du film market.

France is the name of the programming game. 62% of features across both official and unofficial selections are French productions or co-productions. just under 1/3 of the total features are solely from France. The % of home grown films is significantly higher than Berlinale, Venice, or Toronto, none of which even reach 1/3 of the feature lineup being nation based productions or co-productions. It’s more in line with the American favoritism of Sundance, which represented 71%. of their features this, year.

Speaking of, this year’s lineup is disproportionately American at 19% of feature films being a USA production or technically co-pro (since officially an American co-production is not possible short of documentary). Of those titles though, three are TV/Streamer docs, two more are studio releases and three more are studio releases.

As for female directors, only 14% of the competition lineup is female directed. From the Out of Competition section it’s ZERO, though it jumps to 10% if the midnight section is included. In fact none of the official selection sections pass 1/3 female directed. Only ACID is majority Female directed, while Directors’ Fortnight exceeds 1/3 but still fails to reach parity.

But no one is less represented then those who are disabled. There are no films from directors who are visibly disabled. NONE. This should not be a shock to anyone though as Cannes and the Marche Du Film are the absolute worst of the premiere fests when it comes to accessibility inclusion. Of course, just a few years ago they kicked a pregnant woman off the red carpet because she wasn’t wearing heels, so it’s not like we should expect a whole lot from them. FWD-DOC spoke to much of the problems in 2022 for which there have barely been any improvements. And for disabled people like me to get accommodations we must first apply, pay the badge fees and only then begin the process to address our needs. That means committing to attend without knowing what can and will be available to us. The info currently available is from 2023 and woefully incomplete. Furthermore, the fest requires governmental proof of our disabilities which for many is not possible to obtain and/or a horrible intrusion of privacy. The email and phone # for accessibility needs are general hospitality ones, No defined contact option exists. Multiple screening and event spaces remain inaccessible to wheelchair users like me, or require such a convoluted process to access that they might as well be. Never-mind getting any info on things like Audio-Description.

As for the rest of the international lineup, there are no features from Central America nor Mexico. None from Israel though there is a French film shot in Israel, and Africa and Eastern Europe are both horribly lacking in presence.

In terms of sales agents, over 10% of the feature lineup is repped by MK2. French sales agents MK2. When combined with fellow French sales companies Pyramide and Charades we exceed 20% of the entire feature lineup. Just three companies, all from France.

Below for paying subscribers is an updated grid with fest acquisition and box office info for this year’s Sundance, Berlinale, SXSW, and Cannes Film Festivals