D-Intel
Market Coverage

American Film Market 2025

November 2025 10 articles

Deal tracking and analysis from AFM 2025 in Las Vegas. The American Film Market is the premier event for independent film licensing.

Coverage Timeline

August 12, 2026

Analysis
analysis

Locarno Pro Passes 2,000 Accreditations for the First Time: 2,140 Delegates, 1,463 Meetings, and Why Mid Summer Is Becoming Central

Locarno Pro closed its largest edition to date, registering 2,140 industry delegates from nearly 100 countries, up 10% on 2025. The growth of a mid August industry programme is a small statistic that says something real about how the market calendar is rebalancing.

· D-Intel Analysis Desk

August 5, 2026

Analysis
analysis

Locarno Opens Its 79th Edition: The Mid Summer Market That Sells Discovery Rather Than Scale

The 79th Locarno Film Festival runs August 5 to 15, with the Locarno Pro industry programme alongside it. Locarno does not compete with Cannes or Toronto on deal size, and that is precisely what makes its industry programme useful to a specific kind of seller.

· D-Intel Analysis Desk

July 29, 2026

Analysis
analysis

Venice 2026 Sets the Autumn Board: Boyle Opens, McDonagh and Lee Chang-dong in Competition, and What the Slate Tells Buyers

The 83rd Venice Film Festival unveiled a competition slate led by Danny Boyle's Ink, Martin McDonagh's Wild Horse Nine and Lee Chang-dong's Possible Love. For buyers planning the autumn, the lineup is the first hard read on what will be available, and at what altitude, through Toronto and into the fourth quarter.

· D-Intel Analysis Desk

May 6, 2026

Weekly Report
weekly

Week in Distribution: 2026-04-30 to 2026-05-06

Final pre-Marché week of the Cannes 2026 cycle delivered the highest pre-festival deal volume yet (13 transactions). Performance-based licensing appeared structurally for the first time (Mubi hybrid MG-plus-revenue-share); MENA buyers entered the pre-Marché conversation (Front Row pan-MENA pickup); Japan Country of Honour activity intensified; complete U.S. specialty buyer field (A24, Neon, Mubi, Janus/Sideshow, SPC, Searchlight) now confirmed active.

· Deal Desk

May 4, 2026

Analysis
analysis

MENA 2026 Buying Patterns: Beyond the Saudi Vision 2030 Noise to How Front Row, Empire, and MAD Solutions Actually Buy

Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 entertainment investment narrative dominates the headlines. The actual MENA distribution flow runs through a different set of operators — Front Row in Dubai, Empire in Beirut, MAD Solutions in Cairo, Image Nation in Abu Dhabi, plus the Cercamon sales agency. Here's how MENA distribution actually works in 2026 and what the Cannes Marché will see.

· D-Intel Analysis Desk

April 30, 2026

Analysis
analysis

Performance-Based Licensing: Early 2026 Data on Streamers Shifting from Minimum Guarantees to Revenue Share

The pre-Marché 2026 deal flow is showing the first structural data on a shift that has been promised for years: streamers moving from upfront minimum guarantee licensing to back-end revenue-share structures. Here's what the early 2026 data shows, what's driving the shift, and what indie sellers and rights holders should plan for as performance-based deals scale.

· D-Intel Analysis Desk

April 14, 2026

analysis

Cannes Is Now a Confirmation Venue, Not a Discovery Venue

Two Cannes 2026 titles — Kiyoshi Kurosawa's 'The Samurai and the Prisoner' and Maxence Voiseux's 'Gabin' — locked U.S. and international deals weeks before the festival opened. The pattern is no longer an exception.

· D-Intel Analysis Desk

April 11, 2026

analysis

Cannes Marché du Film 2026 Forecast: Japan Country of Honour, Investors Circle Fourth Edition, and the 'Prices Are Crazy' Reset

The 2026 Marché du Film (May 12-20) runs alongside Cannes with Japan as Country of Honour, the fourth edition of the Cannes Investors Circle, and European distributors bracing for another round of what they've called 'crazy' pricing. Forecast for buyers, sellers, and rights holders.

· D-Intel Analysis Desk

March 24, 2026

analysis

Netflix Closes Multi-Territory Deal for Sci-Fi Thriller

Netflix has acquired rights across 190 territories for 'Meridian,' a high-concept sci-fi thriller from a breakout European production team, in a deal worth an estimated $18M.

· Deal Desk

March 15, 2026

analysis

Wild Bunch International Secures Asian Distribution for Drama

Wild Bunch International has closed deals for Denis Villeneuve-produced drama 'Still River' across key Asian territories including Japan, South Korea, and China, in agreements collectively valued at $4.2M.

· Deal Desk