Paddington meets Astérix as Canal+ and Hachette forge book-to-screen alliance

Joint venture, 'ON SCREEN' set to bring makers of Paddington Astérix together for premium screen adaptation

French broadcaster Canal+ (CAN.L) and publishing ​giant Hachette Livre (ALHG.PA) are joining forces to leverage Hachette's extensive literary catalogue ​for premium screen adaptations, they said on Tuesday.

The new joint venture, ⁠named ON SCREEN, brings the maker of Paddington and the publisher of Astérix under ​a single roof dedicated to turning pages into pixels.

The venture will give Canal+ ​privileged access to the world's third-largest publishing group's catalogue of more than 100,000 titles, spanning fiction, children's and young adult books, and illustrated works published in a dozen languages.

Hachette owns ​the rights to Astérix, one of the world's best-selling comic book series with more ​than 370 million copies sold and its published authors include James Patterson, Stephenie Meyer and ‌Michael ⁠Connelly.

Canal+'s films business, StudioCanal, has meanwhile built Paddington into one of cinema's most beloved franchises, a model it now hopes to replicate at scale.

The market rationale is compelling: book adaptations represent around 40% of the top 100 global box ​office while accounting for ​less than 10% ⁠of total film production, the companies said.

"This opens a clear opportunity to rethink how literary IP is brought to ​screen, and to build a sustained pipeline of premium adaptations ​with global ⁠reach," they added.

StudioCanal has already laid the groundwork, having launched Stories, a dedicated literary adaptation label, in 2024.

Both companies were spun off from media conglomerate Vivendi (VIV.PA) in ⁠December ​2024, with Canal+ listed in London and Hachette ​on Euronext Growth Paris.

Despite their separation, France's Bolloré family (BOLI.PA) remains a major shareholder of both, holding around ​30% in each company.