CANNES (Hollywood Reporter) - It is a seller’s market at Cannes this year as a plethora of American buyers prepare to scour for possible gems.

There’s always plenty of exciting world-class cinema on view — but precious few commercial titles to buy. That’s because at this year’s festival, which begins Wednesday with the world premiere of "The Da Vinci Code," most of the must-see titles already have distributors.

The likely outcome of this screening frenzy is that distributors with full release slates will resist the temptation to overpay, while hungrier firms with something to prove will shell out the big bucks.

Going in, Columbia Pictures is launching Sofia Coppola’s revisionist take on "Marie-Antoinette," starring Kirsten Dunst in 18th century corsets; Sony Pictures Classics is introducing Cannes veteran Pedro Almodovar’s dramatic "Volver," starring Penelope Cruz in a role inspired by Anna Magnani; Paramount’s soon-to-be-renamed specialty division is debuting Mexican auteur Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s polyglot ensemble "Babel," starring Brad Pitt, and the Al Gore global warming documentary "An Inconvenient Truth"; Picturehouse will show Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish-language "Pan’s Labyrinth"; Lionsgate is unveiling William Friedkin’s creepy thriller "Bug," starring Ashley Judd, at the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar; Fox Searchlight has Richard Linklater’s controversial "Fast Food Nation" in competition, and Warner Independent Pictures will premiere Linklater’s animated adaptation of the Philip K. Dick sci-fi noir "A Scanner Darkly." Even the Ali G political comedy "Borat," which will be screened to a select group of Cannes buzz-builders, is a 20th Century Fox release.

The rapidly burgeoning ranks of U.S. distributors expect to see many films that they like but few that they can responsibly acquire, especially given stateside audiences’ current aversion to foreign-language fare.

"There’s 300 films, and we know a lot about 50 of them," one acquisitions executive said. "We prioritize 10. So there’s 250 films we don’t know anything about. Something always pops out of nowhere. That’s the one where you’re having a drink on a beach and you get a phone call, ’I’ve just heard about this and Harvey (Weinstein)’s all over it."’

Warner Independent acquisitions executive Paul Federbush says he has only two titles on his high-priority list.

"It’s an ideal scenario from the sales guy’s point of view, they’re rubbing their hands with glee," Miramax’s Daniel Battsek said. "That will lead to prices rising higher than they ought to. But there are always one or two surprise titles that are not on our list. You have to stay alert and ready."

Most eagerly anticipated is "Donnie Darko" director Richard Kelly’s 2008 Los Angeles dystopia "Southland Tales," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Seann William Scott and Sarah Michelle Gellar, because it boasts sci-fi genre elements. In an artier category is the English-language family drama "Red Road," directed by Oscar winner Andrea Arnold ("Wasp"), the first of three projects for Lars von Trier to be shot in Glasgow by different directors on a six-week schedule using the same nine cast members.

Respected Brit director Ken Loach’s "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is in the mix, though few have high commercial expectations for the turn-of-the-century Irish picture that stars Cillian Murphy. A new edit of "Hawk is Dying," which failed to sell at Sundance, is showing in Directors’ Fortnight but is unlikely to float any boats here, while fellow fortnighter M. Blash’s relationship drama "Lying," starring Chloe Sevigny, could generate some heat.

Four Australian pictures are the focus of considerable distributor interest: Directors’ Fortnight entry "Jindabyne," starring Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney; director Ray Lawrence’s long-awaited follow-up to "Lantana," which adapts one of the Raymond Carver short stories used in Robert Altman’s "Shortcuts" — about an ill-fated fishing trip — to the outback; the dark comedy "Suburban Mayhem"; and the high school suicide drama "2:37," from first-time director Murali Thalluri. And while it looks to be more experimental, buyers also are circling Rolf de Heer’s Northern Territory adventure "Ten Canoes."

Two nonfamily animated films from Scandinavia are in contention, including Norway’s anti-animal-abuse CGI satire "Free Jimmy," starring Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton, and Denmark’s "Princess," about a priest and a porn queen.

As for John Cameron Mitchell’s "Shortbus," only nonstudio-affiliated indies need apply. "It’s pansexual porn," said ThinkFilm distribution chief Mark Urman, who nonetheless is interested in the film.

Distributors are also likely to check out such market titles as Germany’s prize-winning hit "The Lives of Others" and Japan’s samurai flick from Hirokazu Koreeda, "Hana yori mo naho."

Also for sale at the market are screenings of works-in-progress, like veteran director Irwin Winkler’s "Home of the Brave," starring Samuel L. Jackson, 50 Cent and Jessica Biel as people recovering from long tours of duty in Iraq. Two big-budget Chinese films that were not ready for Cannes will screen footage in the market, including Zhang Yimou’s period romance "The City of Golden Armor," starring Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li, and "The Banquet," starring Ziyi Zhang.