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Canal+ has reached a five-year deal with French cinema organizations which will see the pay-TV powerhouse invest nearly €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in French and European films between 2028 and 2032.
Canal+ Chairman and
CEO Maxime Saada announced the deal in a post on X, describing the agreement as “historic,” reaffirming Canal+’s position as the leading partner of the French and European film industries.
“French cinema, the most dynamic in Europe and among the world’s leading film industries, deserves to be supported, financed and championed,” Saada wrote, adding that Canal+, which has backed the sector for more than 40 years, would continue to do so “with pride.”
It’s an improvement from the latest three-year agreement which saw Canal+ committing to investing €480 million from 2025 to 2027. The amount also integrates obligations tied to OCS, a formerly rival pay TV group which Canal+ bought in 2023. OSC previously had a pact with French orgs to invest least €60 million on French and European film between 2021 and 2023.
Saada also said Canal+ would continue to offer subscribers films six months after their theatrical release, indicating that the agreement preserves the banner’s place in France’s media chronology.
The agreement follows months of negotiations over Canal+‘s future investment obligations under France’s media chronology, which links broadcasters’ financial commitments to the timing of their access to theatrical releases. The talks unfolded as Netflix and Prime Video have appealed the country’s Council of State to challenge the longstanding financing and release-window system which forces them to wait 17 months to access newly released films. Streamers are arguing that their investment levels should entitle them to earlier access to films. Saada, meanwhile, has been lobbying to obtain an even more favorable window for Canal+ Group, pointing that Disney+ seized a 9-month window with a €35 million investment in theatrical movies.
Negotiations for this pact unfolded during tense times between Canal+ Group and the French film industry, especially at the Cannes Film Festival, during which a petition criticizing the growing influence of Vincent Bolloré, the banner’s biggest shareholder, over French media and accusing him of having a fascist agenda. Saada hit back during a luncheon with French producers at Cannes, telling the crowd Canal+ would no longer be working with signatories. His remarks prompted accusations of blacklisting from industry groups and leading thousands more film professionals to add their names to the open letter, notably Javier Bardem and Mark Ruffalo.
Saada then clarified his statements during an annual general in late May and said Canal+ “wouldn’t be hunting down” technicians or refusing to finance films because individuals had signed the petition. He nevertheless revealed filmmakers’ relationship with Canal+ would become a factor in the company’s assessment of projects, saying the broadcaster would consider whether people behind a film had “actively caused harm” to the company.
Canal+ Group was at Cannes with six movies – notably Quentin Dupieux’s “Full Phil” starring Kristen Stewart and Woody Harrelson, and Jeanne Herry’s “Garance” starring Adèle Exarchopoulos — and will next be attending the Venice Film Festival with several films, including the opening night movie, Danny Boyle’s “Ink” starring Guy Pearce and Jack O’Connell.
