Tokyo's TIFFCOM Market Sells Out Its Exhibition Space Before Opening Week
TIFFCOM, the film and TV market in Tokyo, has sold out its exhibition space ahead of its 23rd edition, which runs from 28 to 30 October at the Hamamatsucho-kan Building. Managing director Ikeda Kaori said the space sold out early in 2026, according to Variety.
A market is a trade event where producers, sales agents and buyers meet to find partners and sell projects before they reach cinemas or screens. Ikeda, who is in her third year as managing director, said TIFFCOM now works as a place to find partners at the very start of a project, when the story is still being developed. She linked that shift to a rise in Japanese producers taking part.
The numbers back up that growth. The 2025 edition drew more than 4,600 industry professionals from 46 countries and regions, and attendance rose 13% on the year before, according to the same report. This year the market also moved beyond Tokyo for the first time, expanding to the Cannes Film Market, where more than 700 people registered for its pitches, panels and related programmes.
Several of the market's side programmes have changed shape. The Tokyo IP Market, which brings rights holders together with buyers of film, TV and merchandise, has grown to 10 participating IP holders this year. "IP" stands for intellectual property, the characters, stories and worlds that a studio can adapt into films, series and products. The 2026 edition has added new categories, including toys. The pitch session also now works differently: each company gives a focused presentation on its flagship property rather than a broad overview.
The Tokyo Gap-Financing Market, which helps projects secure the money that fills the gap between a budget and what has already been pledged, has 24 live-action and animation projects this year. It has also teamed up with Frontières, a Canadian outfit that specialises in genre films such as horror and thrillers. Two projects developed through the gap-financing scheme are screening at the 2026 Tokyo International Film Festival. One of its earlier participants, "The Violinist", which was in the 2023 programme, won the top prize at the Annecy animation festival this year.
Two big Japanese broadcasters will also make presentations. TBS will present its partnership with Legendary Entertainment and the worldwide rollout of "Sasuke", which is known overseas as "Ninja Warrior". Nippon TV will discuss its global strategy, including a drama it is co-producing with South Korea.
Exhibitor registration and advance visitor registration have both closed, according to the TIFFCOM website. Walk-in visitor registration opens on 27 October, the day this story was published, so anyone without a pre-booked pass can sign up for entry from that date.
What makes this year's market stand out is how far it has spread. A Tokyo event now runs a pitch session in Cannes, and its partners range from Canadian genre specialists to Japanese broadcasters with overseas hits in mind. For anyone following Japanese films and shows, the next few days in Tokyo will show which of these projects find buyers.
