Studiocanal Nears ‘Paddington’ Animated Deal as It Finalizes ‘The Midnight Library’ Presales at Cannes

Studiocanal said it has moved close to additional distribution agreements following a busy Cannes period, with the French studio reporting that its animated slate and international sales work advanced on multiple fronts. The developments include a report that Studiocanal has reached an arrangement near a new deal tied to Paddington for animated production, and it also closed presales for The Midnight Library, a title starring Florence Pugh.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Studiocanal’s Cannes market push featured a deal with Paramount for The Midnight Library described as worth more than $30 million. The report frames the transaction as part of Studiocanal’s broader Cannes activity, where distributors and buyers negotiate overseas terms during the film festival’s market windows.

The same report says Studiocanal also completed additional territory closings tied to The Midnight Library during its festival schedule. The specific territories were not detailed in the published summary, but the reporting indicates that multiple markets were secured as part of the presales process.

For The Midnight Library, the film’s market positioning at Cannes centers on international interest in a star-led project and on distribution leverage for buyers seeking completed rights packages ahead of release planning. Presales typically require agreements on regional distribution, with terms negotiated before final production and post-production milestones.

The Hollywood Reporter also connected the Cannes momentum to Studiocanal’s broader slate, noting that the studio’s Paddington-related animated project was nearing deal closure. Paddington is a long-running family brand, and animation deals at major European festivals often involve multiple stages of rights allocation, including production arrangements and territory distribution.

Studiocanal’s reported Cannes activity highlights the operational pace of European film financing and sales during peak festival weeks, when companies attempt to lock in currency-sensitive commitments and align release schedules across regions. Market contracts negotiated in that window can affect budget timelines for production partners and downstream marketing planning for distributors.

Further details on the finalized terms for the Paddington animation deal and the precise structure of the territory agreements for The Midnight Library were not included in the published summary, leaving some points to be confirmed in later filings or announcements by the companies involved. In the meantime, the reported Paramount transaction and the presales closings provide a snapshot of how Studiocanal’s Cannes efforts translated into concrete international rights momentum.

As the festival market moves toward post-Cannes negotiations and contracting finalization, buyers and sellers typically proceed to documentation and delivery obligations once business terms are agreed. The next steps for projects like The Midnight Library would generally include contract execution, production planning alignment, and release coordination across the territories already covered by the presales package.