For those keeping score, and we know Neon is, it’s four Palme d’Or victories for Neon, who bought “Anatomy of a Fall” out of last year’s Cannes Film Festival. The boutique shingle didn’t stop there, and also acquired “Robot Dreams” and “Perfect Days” as well. Netflix plunked down $11 million for “May December,” and the festival produced sales for other buzzy titles like “Jeanne du Barry” and “The Taste of Things.” All that, and with the specter of the writers strike hanging over it.
So what will sell big this year? Many of the titles in competition as part of this year’s Official Selection are up for grabs, even as Neon, A24, MUBI, and Searchlight are all arriving with at least one contender in the main race. We’ll be tracking everything that gets bought below throughout the festival and beyond.
Films Acquired Before the Festival
“The Substance”
Section: In Competition
Director: Coralie Fargaet
Buyer: MUBI
Date Acquired: May 8
Cast: Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid, Demi Moore
Buzz: Just one of four films playing for the Palme coming from a female director in 2024, “The Substance” is a body horror film from the director of “Revenge” with an elusive premise about a revolutionary new product designed to make a “younger, more beautiful, more perfect” you. “What could possibly go wrong,” the synopsis reads.
“Parthenope”
Section: In Competition
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Buyer: A24
Date Acquired: May 3
Cast: Gary Oldman
Buzz: A24 didn’t wait to jump into the Palme d’Or race, acquiring what will be Sorrentino’s seventh film in competition over a week before its festival premiere. The film stars Gary Oldman and was shot in Capri and Naples with Sorrentino’s “Hand of God” cinematographer Daria D’antonio.
Films Arriving with Distribution
“Anora”
Section: In Competition
Director: Sean Baker
Distributor: Neon
Cast: Mikey Madison, Ivy Wolk
Buzz: Described only as a story about a sex worker that’s also an adventure rom-com, Baker’s eighth feature was shot on 35mm and is his second to compete for the Palme after 2021’s “Red Rocket.”
“Kinds of Kindness”
Section: In Competition
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Cast: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, Hunter Schafer
Release Plans: June 21, 2024
Buzz: Fresh off winning Emma Stone her second Oscar, Lanthimos’ triptych anthology film, previously titled “AND,” is a welcome return for the director to a contemporary setting.
“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl”
Section: Un Certain Regard
Director: Rungano Nyoni
Distributor: A24
Cast: Henry B.J. Phiri
Buzz: Filmed in Zambia with the backing of A24, BAFTA winner Rungano Nyoni is returning to Cannes for just her second feature after she competed for the Golden Camera in 2017 for her debut “I Am Not a Witch.”
“Universal Language”
Section: Director’s Fortnight
Director: Matthew Rankin
Distributor: Oscilloscope
Buzz: The director of 2019’s “The Twentieth Century” returns with this surreal comedy of intertwining stories across Winnipeg, in which he directs, writes, and this time around even stars. Oscilloscope’s head of acquisitions Aaron Katz tells IndieWire the film is “weird and kooky,” and like an Iranian movie that was actually made in Canada, and thus an homage to Iranian cinema and its auteurs. It also reunites O-Scope with Rankin and pairs him with a producer who is a Cannes veteran and Xavier Dolan collaborator.
“Rumours”
Section: Out of Competition
Director: Guy Maddin, Galen Johnson, Evan Johnson
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Cate Blanchett
Buzz: Executive producer Ari Aster described Maddin’s “Rumours” — incredibly, the eccentric Canadian filmmaker’s first formal trip to Cannes — as “stoopid, hilarious, and wonderful.” Let’s just say it’s better suited for the Croisette than TIFF.
“Horizon: An American Saga”
Section: Out of Competition
Director: Kevin Costner
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast: Kevin Costner, Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington, Michael Angarano, Jena Malone, Dale Dickey
Release Plans: June 28, 2024
Buzz: It’s been 20 years since Costner was last in Cannes, and he’s returning with his long-gestating Western passion project. Only the first of the two films set for release this summer will screen at the festival.
“Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
Section: Out of Competition
Director: George Miller
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Plans: May 24, 2024
Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth
Buzz: We would’ve loved to see George Miller in competition with “Furiosa,” but we’re happy to see some vehicular carnage on the Croisette regardless. The early hype for the movie is ecstatic.
“Good One”
Section: Director’s Fortnight
Director: India Donaldson
Distributor: Metrograph Pictures
Cast: Lily Colias
Buzz: This family drama and coming-of-age story set amid a forest backpacking trip first premiered in competition at Sundance earlier this year. IndieWire had the exclusive first-look at the trailer released ahead of its Cannes debut.
“Ghost Cat Anzu”
Section: Director’s Fortnight
Director: Yôko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita
Distributor: GKIDS
Buzz: This Japanese anime first screened as a work-in-progress at last year’s Annecy Film Festival and tells the story of an 11-year-old girl sent to live with her grandfather, a monk who asks his ghost cat to watch over her.
