By Leo Marchandon
July 28 (Reuters) - Canal+ said on Tuesday that a fourth live-action Paddington film was in development, as the French pay-TV group seeks to strengthen its content slate with one of StudioCanal's most successful international franchises.
Chief Executive Maxime Saada told Reuters that Canal+ would be the first broadcaster to air the film in France under an exclusive release window that allows it to show movies six months after their theatrical debut.
The arrangement was preserved under
a renewed agreement with France's cinema organisations that runs through 2032. Under France's media chronology rules, rival streaming platforms typically face a significantly longer wait before they can offer newly released films.
"As a result of these agreements, films from studios such as Universal, Warner and Paramount become available on Canal+ ahead of streaming platforms," Saada said.
France remains Canal+'s largest market, generating 1.77 billion euros ($2.04 billion) of revenue in the first half of 2026.
To retain its preferential release window, Canal+ is required to invest about 140 million euros annually in French cinema, Saada said. "We committed to spending an extra €50 million a year, approximately," Saada added, bringing to total investment to shy of a billion euro across five years.
The commitment forms part of Canal+'s broader content strategy. The group spent 2.25 billion euros on programming and production in the first half of 2026 and expects to spend around 4.5 billion euros this year, with roughly one-fifth allocated to films and television series.
(Reporting by Leo Marchandon in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Matt Scuffham)
