Film Production
Mipcom Cannes 2022 launches new co-production market alongside exhibition
Mumbai: RX France, formerly Reed Midem, on Tuesday confirmed a robust first raft of stand bookings for Mipcom Cannes 2022, whilst announcing plans to launch a new international c0-production market alongside the exhibition in the Palais des Festivals dedicated to accelerating international co-production and development business in Cannes.
Billed as ‘the mother of all entertainment content markets’, the 38th Mipcom Cannes takes place 17-20 October in the Palais des Festivals. Mipjunior returns to its pre-market weekend schedule 15-16 October at the JW Marriott Cannes.
To date, more than 200+ exhibitors from 30 countries have already booked stand space for the October entertainment content market, with the majority of returning exhibitors back to their pre-pandemic booth sizes or larger, bolstered by the re-opening of major outdoor stands on the Croisette beach and surrounding the Palais des Festivals. The robust demand for exhibit space affirms a strong content sales and acquisitions climate supported by an overwhelming sentiment by buyers and sellers to return to in-person international business meetings.
Also new for 2022 is ‘The Seaview Producers Hub’, an inaugural 1000 SQM (10,673 sq. ft.) networking lounge and event space, set against the backdrop of Cannes’ iconic sea view and introduced to reflect the increased focus at the market for exploring early-stage development and co-production partnerships.
RX France Entertainment division director Lucy Smith said, “2022 is undoubtedly the comeback year for Mipcom Cannes. A healthy set of confirmations four months out from the market, with more being added daily, demonstrates the huge appetite for the return of a full strength Mipcom. And, unhampered by last year’s travel restrictions, to meet increased demand we have a supersized edition planned for this October in Cannes. More to come over the coming months.”
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
