Independent film market expects big deals from Berlin – The Hollywood Reporter

With coronavirus lockdowns, movie theater closures, and double whammy of writers and actors, it’s been a tough few years for independent films. But the end of the strike last November led to a recovery in the independent market. After a strong showing at Sundance, buyers and sellers are looking to Berlin’s European Film Market for proof that this recovery has legs.

The early signs are promising, with a flood of new projects across all budgets and genres. CAA Media Finance alone has six films ready to sell and about 20 large packages, including sci-fi films. After burning With Dave Bautista and Samuel L. Jackson attached, and traded to Black Bear; Drama A beautiful, big, bold journey from After Yang And Pachinko Directed by Kogonada, featuring Colin Farrell and Post-Barbie Margot Robbie, co-directed by 30West and Neon International, and Michelle Yeoh’s action thriller the mom Together with AGC International.

For the more dedicated buyer, FilmNation held the Berlinale Opening Ceremony Little things like thispost tournamentOppenheimer cillian murphy, treasure With Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry (to be released by Bleecker Street in the US), the comedy directed by Pamela Adlon luscious Starring Ilana Glazer, Michelle Buteau, and Hasan Minhaj, Neon’s US release is as family-friendly as Charades. Hyper galaxiesNew anime from my producer One Piece Movie: Red Featuring the voice work of Adam Devine and Elsie Fisher; Sold alongside Mike Leigh’s new film, Hard factsstarring him Secrets and lies and actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste, which Bleecker Street previously purchased for the U.S. and Cornerstone markets internationally; and WME Independent naturalan offbeat action thriller starring Bob Odenkirk, written by him no one Screenwriter Derek Kolstad.

“There are a lot of projects,” says Christoph Daniel of German distributor DCM. “It’s as if the end of the strike really opened things up, and a lot of films that were banned or postponed are starting to come out again.”

“What’s great is that you have a lot of these ‘studio’-sized projects in Berlin, movies that are over $20 million and under $100 million that international distributors really want and need,” noted one American seller.

With fewer studio films expected this year — cost-cutting and post-strike production schedules have shrunk the release slate — larger independent projects are hoping to fill the gap.

“We know there will be a decline (in studio releases) and we want to be there with films that can benefit from that,” one European buyer noted.

Heading to Park City, both buyers and sellers weren’t sure what to expect. The films available were smaller in scale and star power, but most were pleasantly surprised by how well they sold.

Although the prices were lower than the record-breaking deals of years past, there were notable offers like Netflix’s $17 million deal for thrillers. It’s what’s on the inside, my old ass $15 million deal for Amazon MGM, $10 million for Searchlight Real pain. The market, the first post-strike, was seen as a return to a more sustainable style of deal-making, with more affordable deals spread across a wider range of films. Focus, Sony Pictures Classics, Magnolia, IFC, and Neon each took on at least one project, with the majority closing after festival-goers left the mountain.

“Alongside the big studio and broadcast deals, you had Verticals, A24s, Neons and Bleecker Streets being bought up again, which is a good sign,” notes one US sales agent. “The smaller deals, $2 million to $4 million, are what keep this business going.”

The doc market also proved resilient beyond a quieter 2022 and 2023, two years in which many studios and non-fiction arms saw reorganizations and staff cuts. There was a huge deal from Netflix for Will & Harper, a road trip movie about Will Ferrell and his trans friend Harper Steele (described by multiple sources as “record-breaking” though no number has been reported yet). Elsewhere, Christopher Reeve’s doc has reached Warner Bros., which has been bidding for the film against streamers in a competitive mode that the studio was excited about. Superman DC crossover and coupling capabilities. (James Gunn Superman: Legacy It is dated 2025.)

Given the number and quality of projects in Berlin, the EFM should far outpace Park City in the number and volume of deals concluded. After three years in which uncertainty and dread were the prevailing sentiments among indie filmmakers, Berlin promises a return to the sunnier cliché of “cautious optimism.”