Marché du Film – Festival de Cannes

The Marché du Film 2026 ran from 12 to 20 May at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, alongside the festival, which closed on 23 May.

The organiser reported 16,000 registered market participants from more than 140 countries, out of 40,000 professionals at the festival as a whole. There were 1,700 buyers, 600 exhibiting companies and 1,500 festival and market screenings, plus 250 industry events.

The United States, France and the United Kingdom sent the most people. Japan was Country of Honour, and its attendance rose by nearly half, making it the fifth largest delegation.

For exhibitors, the figure that matters is the screenings. With 1,500 of them in nine days, it is the biggest single chance in the year to see independent titles before distributors set release plans. Most of the business is still between sales agents and distributors, so it pays most for programmers who buy direct.

You register through the Marché's registration page, which as of October 2026 says "See you in 2027" and has not yet opened 2027 sales. You need a current professional activity in the film industry to qualify; it is not open to the public.

For reference, the 2026 Marché badge cost €459 at early bird (2 February to 5 March), €529 at normal rate (6 March to 27 April) and €629 late, excluding VAT, plus a compulsory €20 eco-contribution. An online-only badge through Cinando was €189–219. The standard badge covers the 1,500 market screenings, the exhibition floors and the Festival screenings a Festival badge gives.

Cannes hotels run a shared booking platform, listed on the practical information page, which also names companies reported for fake accommodation offers. The exhibitor list is on the same site.

The Marché du Film runs alongside the Festival de Cannes and is organised by it. The organiser describes it as the world's largest film market: 16,000 professionals from 140 countries, 4,000 films and projects, around 1,500 market screenings and 250 industry events.

It is where international titles are bought and sold territory by territory. That makes it primarily a market for sales agents and distributors, not for cinema operators. What happens there does shape what reaches screens later in the year, though.

Independent exhibitors who also acquire films, arthouse circuit programmers, and festival programmers use the Marché to see titles early and meet sellers.

Registration, market screenings and stands are booked through the Marché's own site. 2027 badge prices were not published as of 26 September 2026. The Marché also co-runs Ventana Sur, the Latin American market.