South Korean entertainment powerhouses are making waves in Cannes, France, as the 79th Cannes International Film Festival kicks off!
The Cannes Film Market, a bustling hub for global investment and distribution companies, is running concurrently with the festival, which began on May 12th (local time).
With the market set to conclude on the 20th, just three days before the festival’s closing, excitement for Korean films is absolutely soaring!
Big names like CJ ENM, Plus M Entertainment, Showbox, NEW Contents Panda, Lotte Entertainment, and Finecut have set up their booths, showcasing the best of Korean cinema.
These companies shared that international buyers are incredibly keen on Korean films. While the market started a bit slow, it quickly picked up pace, with a flood of inquiries and meeting requests pouring in by mid-market!
Interestingly, the Cannes Film Market also gave the impression of a more conservative and cautious overall market atmosphere.
A Lotte Entertainment insider revealed, “Global interest in Korean genre films is still incredibly high!” They added, “While this year’s Cannes saw an even greater focus on quality projects, we definitely felt a more cautious market atmosphere when it came to making final decisions.”
Showbox highlighted the fantastic reactions from international buyers to their film, ‘Gunche’.
An official shared, “Buyers were practically begging for more films like ‘Gunche’!” They noted that buyer preferences varied by region: “Asian buyers leaned towards action-thriller tentpoles, while European buyers showed strong interest in upcoming projects from acclaimed directors.”
Since ‘Gunche’ perfectly hit the mark for both Asian and European markets, sales were already complete in most major regions. So, the team focused on securing additional sales in the remaining territories!
Word on the street is that the star power of actors with huge international fanbases, like Jun Ji Hyun, Ji Chang Wook, and Koo Kyo Hwan, drew significant attention!
International buyers also showed their unwavering passion for Korean cinema, even asking, “Please make more films!” as they noticed fewer Korean titles compared to previous years.
NEW unveiled their exciting new project, ‘Six Lying University Students’ (working title), at the Cannes Film Market.
This project, chosen as a ‘2025 Mid-Budget Korean Film Production Support Project’ by the Korean Film Council, truly stole the show! A NEW representative shared, “It’s a highly anticipated film, praised for its solid concept, that grabbed buyers’ attention with its fresh, trendy themes and vibrant energy, ready to captivate global audiences!”
Global buyers are so eager that they’re even making offers to secure rights at the script or planning stage for new projects by directors with proven hits, or for films boasting established genres and massive scale!
A NEW official explained, “International studios with major IPs are actively pursuing Korean distributors who need domestic releases, even offering higher prices and hosting exclusive footage screenings. They clearly see Korea as a market with strong purchasing power and immense appeal!”
CJ ENM also made a splash, focusing global sales on four exciting new projects: ‘Paradise Lost’, ‘Tazza: The Song of Belzebub’, ‘Ode to My Father 2’, and ‘The Gardeners’!
Just like ‘Gunche’, ‘Paradise Lost’ is another highly anticipated new film from director Yeon Sang Ho, drawing significant interest from European buyers. Meanwhile, ‘Ode to My Father 2’ and ‘Tazza: The Song of Belzebub’ captivated Asian buyers as popular franchise titles.
Even with limited information released about ‘The Gardeners’, word is that anticipation for its future script and video reveals is already sky-high!
A CJ ENM official perfectly summed up the market vibe: “International buyers consistently praise Korean films for their exceptional quality, powerful storytelling, diverse genres, and directorial talent that truly shines on the global stage. Plus, inquiries for co-production and remake rights were buzzing!”
It’s clear that the intense global interest in Korean content is showing no signs of slowing down!
