28/07/2026 - The mainstay of film financing in France has committed to investing €980 million over five years from 2028

Hostilities appear to have subsided between the Canal+ group and the French film industry following the sharply reduced investment agreement signed in 2025 (read the article) and the acute tensions that flared during the most recent Cannes Film Festival amid ideological disagreements.

Whereas the 2025 agreement was limited to three years, with average annual commitments of €160 million compared with €220 million previously, the Canal+ group (which includes Ciné+ OCS) has this time concluded a five-year agreement with French film industry organisations (l’ARP, AnimFrance, DIRE, SDI, SPI, SRF and UPC are among the first signatories), starting in 2028, worth a total of €980 million (an average of €196 million per year) in support of French and European cinema.

Confirming Canal+'s preferential position in the media chronology, with the ability to broadcast films six months after their theatrical release, the agreement offers structural guarantees intended to ensure the balanced development of film production. Canal+ will notably strengthen its support for new voices and new forms of storytelling, debut features and emerging talent, films reflecting diversity, animated films, so-called mid-range films (essential to the renewal of French cinema and its economic balance), and the most ambitious works aimed at a broad audience. The agreement also includes several qualitative commitments designed to enhance the visibility of these works and support the diversity of cinematographies.

It should also be noted that the agreement contains a clause allowing for a downward revision in the event of an adverse change to the media chronology, particularly if the release window for one or more SVOD platforms is brought forward to less than 15 months after a film's theatrical release. It is worth recalling that it was the signing of a deal with Disney+ in early 2025 that rankled Canal+ (news), and talks are currently under way with Prime Video (the deadline has just been extended to 31 December 2026) on an agreement providing for €90 million in investment by the streamer in European productions and original French-language works over the 2026–2028 period (rising to €110 million should at least one film be released less than 12 months after its theatrical release, a "bonus" that now appears incompatible with the agreement signed with Canal+).

(Translated from French)