The Cannes Film Festival and Cannes Market have announced official attendance figures for the 2026 event, reporting that around 40,000 industry professionals will participate in the market this year, with 16,000 film executives from more than 140 countries registered for the Marché du Film, which launches today, Tuesday 12 May, and runs until 20 May.
The United States, France, and the United Kingdom remain in the top three in terms of…
Attendance at the Cannes market, with Europe dominating as a region in terms of total attendance. But Asian unity is gaining strength. Japan, the country of honor for the 2026 Marché, saw an almost 50 percent increase in attendance this year, and now represents the fifth-largest group in the market.
The market broke down attendance numbers for 2026, saying there are a total of 600 exhibitors at the market this year, and 1,500 festival and market displays. About 1,700 buyers will wander the palace’s halls in search of bargains.
Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa also strengthened their presence in the most important meeting for the world’s film industry. Benin is showing for the first time at the Cannes International Village, and attendance in Latin America has been growing steadily for years, aided by Marché’s collaborations with Latin American audiovisual market Ventana Sur. The two groups jointly organize film markets in Argentina and Uruguay.
Alongside the market, the Marché du Film is also organizing an incredible 250 industry events over the next eight days, including 100 conference sessions discussing issues such as film financing, diversity and inclusion in the industry, the impact and use of AI technology, potential collaboration and the intersection with the online creator economy. A small sample of speakers and participants in this year’s sessions include Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group President Sanford Panitch, Focus Features President Nils Swinkels, META CEO Louise Holmes, OpenAI CEO Chad Nelson, and directors Darren Aronofsky, Xavier Janes, and Tariq Saleh.
