Cannes buyers ask for more Korean films

A poster for Yeon Sang-ho’s “Colony” is displayed at the 2026 Cannes Film Market in Cannes, France. Xportsnews

Korean films remained in demand at the Cannes film market this year, even as buyers became more selective in a cooler market environment.

Major Korean distributors and sales companies were active in Cannes, France, where the 79th Cannes Film Festival opened on May 12. The film market ran alongside the festival through Wednesday.

CJ ENM, Plus M Entertainment, Showbox, NEW Contents Panda, Lotte Entertainment and Finecut operated booths at the market. Company officials said business got off to a slow start, but inquiries and meeting requests picked up midway through the event. They also said buyers adopted a conservative approach in making decisions.

A Lotte Entertainment official said demand for Korean genre films remained strong, though buyers had become more careful.

“Global interest in Korean genre films was still quite high,” the official said. “At this year’s Cannes, buyers were more focused on strong projects, but we felt that decision-making grew deliberate.”

Posters for Kim Mi-jo’s “The Journey to Gyeong-ju,” left, and July Jung’s “Dora" are displayed at the 2026 Cannes Film Market in Cannes, France. Xportsnews

Showbox cited buyer reaction to “Colony,” a new film by Yeon Sang-ho, as an example of continued demand for Korean genre films. A company official said buyers asked for more works like “Colony,” while Asian buyers favored tentpole action films and European buyers responded best to new films by well-known directors.

Since “Colony” saw strong demand from both Asia and Europe and sales had already been completed in most major territories, Showbox used the event to focus on other areas. Buyers also paid attention to the global popularity of cast members Jun Ji-hyun, Ji Chang-wook and Koo Kyo-hwan, who have sizable fan bases abroad.

That demand also highlighted a thinner supply of Korean films. Some international buyers said fewer Korean titles were available than in previous years and asked Korean companies to “make more films,” showing that interest remained strong despite the cautious tone.

NEW introduced “Six Lying College Students,” at the Cannes film market. The project was selected for the Korean Film Council’s 2025 mid-budget Korean film production support program. A NEW official said the film drew buyer attention for its strong plot, youthful focus and energy that could appeal to global audiences.

A poster for “Six Lying College Students,” based on the Japanese novel of the same title, is displayed at the 2026 Cannes Film Market in Cannes, France. Xportsnews

The film distributor also said buyers were making offers on certain projects earlier than before. Films by directors with proven commercial appeal and projects with clear genre identities and large scale were receiving rights offers even at the script or proposal stage.

A NEW official said overseas studios with major intellectual properties were also paying close attention to Korea. Some studios were offering high prices to Korean distributors for domestic releases and hosting market screenings, the official said, viewing Korea as a market with strong purchasing power and attractive for theatrical releases.

Posters for Yeon Sang-ho’s “Paradise Lost” and “Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub” hang at the 2026 Cannes Film Market in Cannes, France. Xportsnews

CJ ENM pursued global sales for four new titles: “Paradise Lost,” “Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub,” “Ode to My Father 2” and "The Gardeners.” Like “Colony,” “Paradise Lost” is a new film by Yeon that drew strong interest from European buyers. Asian buyers showed interest in familiar franchise titles like “Ode to My Father 2” and “Tazza: The Song of Beelzebub." “The Gardeners” also built anticipation through script and footage reveals, despite limited public information.

"Global buyers still view the high production quality, strong storytelling, variety of genres and strong direction of Korean films as a major competitive edge," a CJ ENM official said. "Inquiries regarding co-productions and remake rights also remained active."

This article from Xportsnews is adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.