Britney Spears Best-Seller ‘The Woman In Me’ Snapped Up By Universal

In a highly competitive auction, Universal Pictures has landed the rights to Britney Spears’ critically acclaimed #1 New York Times Bestseller The Woman in Me.

Acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu (Wicked, Crazy Rich Asians) is attached to develop to direct.

Marc Platt (Wicked, La La Land) will produce. Platt’s films, television shows and stage productions have earned a combined 46 Oscar® nominations, 58 Emmy nominations and 36 Tony nominations.

The Woman in Me reveals for the first time Spears’ incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history. Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms.

The Woman In Me has sold over 2.5 million copies in the United States alone. The combined sales figure includes hardcover, ebook, and audiobook formats. The audiobook, read by Academy Award-nominated actress Michelle Williams with an introduction by Britney Spears, is the fastest selling in Simon & Schuster’s history. It was the #1 most listened to audiobook on Spotify in 2023. The book was an instant #1 New York Times bestseller in hardcover, ebook, and audio. The book was Simon & Schuster’s biggest selling nonfiction hardcover in 2023. Globally, there is an estimated over 3 million copies in print. Published by Gallery Books on October 24, 2023, to universal acclaim including praise from Time (“Moving”), the Los Angeles Times (“Powerful”), The New York Times (“Radiant”), and Vogue (“Poignant”), the book is an international #1 bestseller, having held the top spot on the New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, The Toronto Star, the Sunday Times (London), and Spiegel (Germany) among others. It landed on more than twenty Best Books of 2023 lists including The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, Variety, Rolling Stone, and Financial Times.  The Woman In Me was named the Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Memoir of 2023. The Woman In Me was published by all of Simon & Schuster’s subsidiaries around the world and was a #1 bestseller in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Rights to the book have been sold in 37 territories to date. 

Universal Pictures has a record of success with musical biopics detailing the backstories of significant artists. 2015’s Straight Outta Compton traced the roots of the seminal rap group N.W.A. and their rise to fame. The film grossed more than $200 million and was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Original Screenplay.  In 2002, Universal released 8 Mile, which starred Eminem and contained autobiographical elements from his life as he attempted to launch a career in hip hop.  The movie made nearly $250 million globally and the song “Lose Yourself” won an Academy Award® for Best Original Song. The Studio currently is developing the definitive biopic of artist, mogul and icon of gangsta rap, Snoop Dogg in addition to an Untitled Prince music inspired film in development produced by Ryan Coogler’s Proximity Media. The studio recently wrapped production on an Untitled Pharrell Williams & Michel Gondry Project inspired by Atlantis Apartments, Pharrell Williams’ childhood neighborhood.  

Sign Up