Films With Jon Hamm, Angelina Jolie, Shaun the Sheep

The Cannes Film Market is gearing up for one of its most unpredictable editions in years, as buyers navigate a landscape shaped by risk aversion, political turbulence (thank you, Mr. Trump), and the lingering aftershocks of a sluggish Berlin. February’s European Film Market was brimming with promising projects, but few big deals materialized, leaving distributors cautious as they head to the Marché du Film, which runs May 13-21.

“The market has become less predictable,” says Simon Williams of Ashland Hill Media Finance, whose sales outfit Palisades Park Pictures is shopping sci-fi actioners Eyes in the Trees with Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, as well as Skyline: Warpath with Scott Adkins and Iko Uwais, at this year’s market. “It’s become so you can’t just rely on one market to launch a project. You take it to Berlin and get a few sales, then Cannes and get a few more; you have to do a lot more work to get the finances in place to get the green light.”

With presales becoming harder to secure and Trump’s 100 percent tariffs on movies “made in foreign lands” adding another layer of uncertainty, the indie film world is bracing for a challenging Cannes as the details of Trump’s plan remain frustratingly sparse. Even for those who are skeptical that any semblance of a plan will actually come to fruition, the worry is that even the threat of tariffs is enough to keep already risk-averse financiers away.

But recent indie triumphs at the Oscars like Anora and The Brutalist, Emilia Pérez and The Substance, Conclave and A Real Pain — half of which debuted at Cannes and crossover commercial successes all — show the opportunity available for those who can make the numbers work.

“It seems like there continues to be, and I hope I don’t eat my words on this, an appetite for high concept, breakthrough, cool ideas and interesting new directors,” says Alison Hironaka, head of film and TV at Caviar, which has Zac Efron and Phoebe Dynevor project Famous in this year’s market. Gonzo films like Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance proved to be winners at the box office, earning nearly $60 million in international ticket sales.

“You can still make these studio-releasable movies for a global, wide audience, and you can build them more easily within in the independent sector,” says Guy Danella, the newly appointed head of production and acquisition at XYZ Films, whose Cannes slate includes The Edge of Normal, the English-language debut of Spanish director Carlota Pereda (Piggy), starring Chloë Grace Moretz. “There’s a real thirst on the talent side, with actors who are available and just holding out for something great. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a massive studio film for them to say yes.”

That’s evidenced by the projects heading to the Marché this year. The Hollywood Reporter’s list of the market’s hottest titles boast impressive above-the-line names like Sydney Sweeney, Jesse Plemons, Gal Gadot, Jeremy Allen White and Angelina Jolie, signing up for indie projects both massive — Lionsgate’s $150 million-plus Hunger Games prequel — and more modest, including Colman Domingo’s directorial debut, and a new Werner Herzog film. How buyers respond on the Croisette will be an indication of the long-term health of a disrupted industry.