Canal Group To Invest At Least $500 Million In French Films Over Three Years Under New Agreement With Guilds

France’s Canal Group has signed a new agreement with French cinema guilds that calls for an investment of at least €480 million ($503 million) over three years and other measures.

In return, Canal+ and Cine+ OCS – a family of pay-TV networks — will retain its ability to broadcast films as early as six months after theatrical release. The agreement allows Canal to increase the number of linear film broadcasts and extend the non-linear broadcast period.

The renewable three-year deal, which had a rocky path, takes effect retroactively from January 1.

The Canal Group has committed to €150 million in 2025, €160 million in 2026 and €170 million in 2027. The total is down from over €600 over the previous three years.

Canal, a critical partner for the French film industry, is also boosting its commitment to smaller productions with a budget of less than €4 million, and will continue to promote and showcase all types of film from popular comedies and blockbusters to genre, animation and auteur projects.

“With this agreement, the CANAL+ group thus reinforces its essential role as the leading partner of French cinema and its ability to leverage its framework agreements with major American studios in the first window 6 months after their theatrical release. It also maintains its ability to offer the best of French and European cinema. Cinema is the primary motivation for CANAL+ subscriptions, and the group is proud to perpetuate its central role in the creative ecosystem and in preserving the French cultural exceptionalism.”