Studiocanal is launching a new label, Studiocanal On Stage, as the Canal+ studio steps up efforts to extend its film and TV IP into theatre and live experiences.
The new banner will sit under Studiocanal’s global productions arm, led by executive vice president Ron Halpern, and is designed to systematically mine a catalogue of more than 9,400 titles from 60 countries across 100 years of film history.
The move follows a flurry of recent stage activity from the library. The Producers, adapted from the Studiocanal-owned film and co-financed by the company, has just transferred to London’s Garrick Theatre from the Menier Chocolate Factory and extended its West End run through September 2026 after strong reviews. Paddington The Musical, produced with Sonia Friedman Productions and Eliza Lumley Productions on behalf of Universal Music UK, begins previews at the Savoy Theatre ahead of a 30 November opening, drawing on the hit film franchise and the wider Paddington IP ecosystem.
Studiocanal On Stage will also encompass a slate of new adaptations and revivals in the UK and beyond. A Scottish tour of Restless Natives is set to roll out across the rest of the British Isles, Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre is staging Summer Holiday, and Chichester Festival Youth Theatre will premiere A Boy Called Christmas on 15 December. In development are stage versions of Kind Hearts and Coronets with Sonia Friedman Productions, The Belles of St Trinian’s and The Proud Valley, alongside further projects drawn from both recent films and deep catalogue.
The label formalises a strategy that has already seen titles such as The Graduate, Evil Dead, The Ladykillers, Billy Elliot and The Third Man make the jump from screen to stage. Studiocanal is also moving in the opposite direction, adapting theatre for cinema, with Danny Boyle currently shooting James Graham’s Ink and Anthony Maras in post-production on Pressure, based on David Haig’s play.
Paddington remains one of the group’s flagship IPs, spanning feature films, the Emmy- and Annie-winning The Adventures of Paddington TV series, The Paddington Experience in London and The Paddington Shop at Paddington station. Studiocanal says the family franchise has generated more than $700 million at the global box office across three films, with the character recently showcased at the Royal Variety Performance ahead of the musical’s West End launch.
Anna Marsh, CEO of Studiocanal and chief content officer of Canal+, said Studiocanal On Stage “strengthens our strategy to develop and extend our IP across multiple formats”, sitting alongside labels Studiocanal Stories and Sixth Dimension. She added that the company also plans to develop projects for L’Olympia in Paris, the Canal+-operated concert venue that hosted a record 290 shows in 2024, as the group uses live stages as another route to grow its stories and talent relationships.
