Studiocanal Launches Literary Adaptations Label

Studiocanal is pushing further into TV and film adaptations of literary IP.

The Canal+-owned company has launched Studiocanal Stories, two years after it launched a division dedicated to literary adaptations. Management will be announced “very soon.”

Details on the new unit were scant, but Studiocanal pointed to data that shows 42% of the top 100 U.S box office hits in 2023 were literary adaptations, and that in France TV and film adaptations of literary works had increased almost 30% between 2015 and 2021.

Studiocanal is no stranger to the adaptations business, of course, with two upcoming Cannes Official Competition selections — Gilles Lellouche’s Beating Hearts and Michel Hazanavicius The Most Precious of Cargoes both based on literature.

Further back it has adapted several major literary IPs as series, including the BBC series War of the Worlds and Ridley RoadHarlan Coben novel The Stranger and films including Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy and A Boy Called Christmas. Most notably, the development Paddington film franchise can be traced back to books on the iconic bear character.

Studiocanal is currently working on the likes Miffywhich is based on preschool books from Dick Bruna; TV series Playing Nicebased on JP Delaney’s book; and feature How to Stop Timewhich was originally from author Matt Haig.

On the International front, the likes of Universal International Studios, Banijay and All3Media have all been pushing heavily into literary adaptations over recent weeks, with agents reporting a hot market for buzzy novels.