Hachette Livre and StudioCanal have partnered to launch a joint venture named "On Screen that will develop and scale book-to-screen adaptations. The partnership will combine the team that created the Paddington franchise with the publisher of Astérix.
The film and television adaptations will draw from Hachette Livre's catalogue, combining its intellectual property of the world’s third-largest mainstream publishing group with StudioCanal’s production and distribution capabilities.
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According to the partners, the venture was formed because book adaptations consistently outperform competitors on screen, both commercially and critically. They reportedly represent around 40% of the top 100 global box-office while accounting for less than 10% of total film production.
StudioCanal will act as the preferred studio partner, bringing its end-to-end capabilities across creative packaging, financing, production, and international distribution. This builds on its existing strategy in this space, further strengthened by the launch of StudioCanal Stories in 2024, a dedicated label focused on developing adaptations from literary IP.
Arnaud Lagardère, CEO of Hachette Livre, stated: "I am thrilled about this partnership with StudioCanal, which marks a new chapter in our ambition to build bridges from books to screen. By bringing in such complementary expertise, we are strengthening Hachette Livre's strategic goals and further supporting the work carried out by our talented teams across the Group. This alliance reinforces our commitment to storytelling in all its forms, ensuring our content resonates across every platform".
Maxime Saada, CEO of Canal+, added: "Great stories are at the heart of everything we do at Canal+ and StudioCanal. We are thus very happy to build this partnership with Hachette, one of the world's leading publishing companies with an outstanding catalogue. It marks an important step in our strategy to develop premium content from strong intellectual property. By working more closely upstream, we will be able to tell these stories in a different way and make them travel globally".
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