Booth Battle: Paramount Brings Its Iconic Arch to Cannes as Eye-Catching Mipcom Stands Reflect Market Realities

This week, step out of the Le Palais des Festivals in Cannes, where Mipcom is underway, and you can do it twice. Between the conference center and the French Riviera stands an exact replica (at 90 percent scale) of Paramount Studios' iconic Bronson Gate. The model arch, cleverly affixed with concealed aluminum, […]

Come out of Le Palais des Festivals in Cannes this week, where Mipcom is in action, and you can do it twice. Because between the convention center and the French Riviera is an exact replica (90% scale) of Paramount Studios' Bronson Gate.

The model vault, cleverly concealed by aluminum and wood scaffolding, is at the entrance to the studio's 6,000-square-foot exhibit tent at the International Content Market. "[We've] had a lot of comments, a lot of what looks like selfies — people taking pictures in front of the gate," says Lisa Lasarenko, Paramount's vice president of marketing and creative services, who oversaw the production. "Because Cannes is a bit Hollywood." Related Story Review 'The Housewife': Naomi Watts A watchable but weak true story of hidden Nazism in suburban Queens Review 'The Ancestors': An exquisite Eanna Hardwicke is a whimsical elegy for a lost generation.

On either side, the gate is flanked by trompe l'oeil replica prints of Paramount Studios soundstages, flanked by posters of some of the big-ticket titles the company is selling at this year's market, which runs Oct. 12-15, including "Angry Birds 3," "NCEIS New York" and "NCEIS Deppled." Popular in Variety

Paramount isn't the only standout booth at this year's confab, organized by RX France. The newly expanded Banijay Entertainment, which occupies the prime location directly opposite the Palace on the Croisette, is back with the same two-story wooden base that first debuted in 2022.

Designed by architect Nicola Spinetto and built by Romain Larue of Orati, this eco-friendly structure - which looks like a cottage and is called the Banijay House - includes meeting rooms, a reception area and several terraces. Between Mipcoms it is flat packed and stored in storage just outside of Cannes. "We don't use it for any other market," says Andrew Dickens, Banijay's EVP of communications and marketing.

Meanwhile, overlooking the Riviera behind the palace is the Fremantle pavilion, which this year is themed around one of its biggest titles - 'Baywatch'. Built like a beach house, the exhibit booth is decorated with classic red fenders, surfboards, and even a lifeguard hut on the patio. (Fremantle's 'Baywatch' emblazoned red duffel bags, previously available at the booth's front desk, have become so popular they're limited to customers only).

At the opposite end of the strip outside the palace, toy brands Mattel, Hasbro and Pokemon occupy three adjacent booths. Mattel has opted for a simpler design look — a red tent with a large brand logo and a few matching cushions scattered on patio chairs outside — while Pokemon next door has gone for a "more is more" approach, with a booth covered in images of its many creatures, plus a small hedge trimmed into the shape of a Pokeball by the door.

Although the pavilions inside the palace aren't quite as eye-catching (both Sony and Disney are in appointment-only booths on the third floor), the country pavilions have added some pizzazz to their exhibition spaces: the Singapore pavilion is covered in dozens of orchids, while China brings much-needed nature to the convention center. A full-sized humanoid robot with artificial intelligence in its reception. Billed as "your 24/7 productivity partner," Agibot A3 chats with participants in French, English, and Cantonese.

While exhibitor booths are designed to attract attention, they also tell a story about the state of the industry. Five years ago, as Variety noted in its 2021 market report, the first post-Covid Mipcom was "a low-key affair," with few non-European attendees (it was generally estimated that there were only around 4,500 attendees that year, compared to 12,000 before the pandemic) and modest booths. While the confab returned over the next few years (albeit dethroning its spring counterpart MipTV along the way), the streaming wars saw studios largely hoard content for their global platforms, meaning there was little need to attract international buyers, which reduced the need for screening space.

Although the industry has moved back to licensing, it is consolidation that is now affecting the landscape – and the effects are reverberating on the market floor. As part of the Banijay and All3Media merger that closed in July, the new joint entity inherited the All3Media site, renamed Banijay Terrace and used for overflow. But Dickens is clear that this will be "for one year only" - thus leaving a void that Mipcom will have to fill in 2027.

It remains to be seen whether Warner Bros. Discovery, which is in its usual beachside location at the Ciro this year, will have to share tent space next year with its new sister brand Paramount, following its recent acquisition by Skydance, or whether those brands will be allowed to exhibit independently.

In the meantime, what does Lasarenko plan to do with the Paramount replica vault? "We're keeping it," he says. "And find ways to use it."