After a slow opening week that left many sellers staring at their phones, the Cannes film market has found something of a second wind in its final days, with a wave of high-profile acquisitions injecting some much-needed energy into a market that had been cautious and defensive.
The recent rally was headlined by two deals that were quietly trickling down the Croisette. Netflix has moved on for an animated feature In wavesWhile Warner Bros. Emerging brand Clockworks has entered into exclusive negotiations for Park Chan-wook’s upcoming western Revenge Bandits from Rattlecreek – The project that has been flagged Hollywood Reporter As one of the most sought after packages on the market before the first offer even comes out.
Netflix has acquired global streaming rights outside of France In wavesWhich opened Critics Week in Cannes. The hand-drawn French animated film, directed by French-Vietnamese director Phuong My Nguyen, is an adaptation of the graphic novel by AJ Dungo, and is a love story set in Los Angeles between AJ, a shy, skateboarding, art-loving teen, and Christine, a surfer girl. Will Sharp and Stephanie Hsu voice the English version. Charades take over sales.
Bandits from Rattlecreekthe next film from the Cannes 2026 jury, President’s Park, is set to star Matthew McConaughey, Austin Butler, Pedro Pascal, and Tang Wei, and has been a long-time passion project for the film. Big boy and The decision to leave exit.
The Park acquisition, if it closes, would mark an important early statement of intent for Clockworks, the Warner Bros. division. Which was newly minted and which is still establishing its identity.
These deals come on the heels of A24’s big purchase of Cannes, which resulted in it acquiring the global rights to the crowd-pleasing Jordan Firstman film Kid Club for $17 million, following a bidding war of the kind that Cannes once reliably produced, but has found difficult to replicate in recent years. UTA and Charades handled sales.
Amazon also added more heat to the market, as it rose Black pumpinglast THR Hotlist title. Package, from fresh Director Mimi Cave, stars Jonathan Bailey and Natalie Portman in a psychological thriller set in the world of competitive cycling. Amazon has acquired the majority of international rights. CAA Media Finance and Anton co-represent global rights.
But the strong finish to the Cannes market highlighted the relative calm that preceded it – Cannes needed a last-minute sprint to be classified as a win.
