StudioCanal, Hachette Livre strike partnership for book-to-screen adaptations

French pay TV operator Canal+’s in-house production and distribution arm StudioCanal and Lagardère-owned publishing group Hachette Livre have agreed a strategic partnership to adapt literary IP together.

Maxime Saada

The two have set up a joint venture named On Screen to develop and scale film and television adaptations from Hachette Livre’s extensive catalogue of over 100,000 titles.

The company covers all segments of the mainstream publishing market, including general fiction, non-fiction, paperbacks, illustrated books, travel guides and children’s and young-adult books.

StudioCanal will act as the preferred studio partner for the projects, across creative packaging, financing, production and international distribution.

It follows the launch of StudioCanal Stories in 2024, a dedicated label focused on developing adaptations from literary IP.

In series, StudioCanal adaptations have included HG Wells’ War of the Worlds, produced by Urban Myth Films, and Jo Bloom’s Ridley Road, which was turned into a TV series by Red Production Company.

One of StudioCanal’s biggest hits is the Paddington franchise, based on Michael Bond’s children’s books.

Maxime Saada, CEO of Canal+ Group, said the deal “marks an important step in our strategy to develop premium content from strong intellectual property.”

Saada added: “By working more closely upstream, we will be able to tell these stories in a different way and make them travel globally.”