Canal+ is set to launch a cinema-focused channel, Canal+ Box Office, in September. Revealing the plan at a press conference dedicated to its film strategy, Canal+ Box-Office will be the pay-TV operator’s tenth movie service.

Ahead of the César’s award ceremony on February 24th, to be shown live on Canal+, the operator has reasserted that cinema was “the key value” of its bouquet, and a driver for subscriptions.  The group currently has 4,500 films available in linear and on demand.

Canal+ Chairman and CEO Maxime Saada explained the main point of his strategy was to offer a first TV window to French films six months after their theatrical release, thanks to a January 2022 agreement with the film industry.

Accordingly, the group has agreed to invest €190 million annually until 2024 and says it is prepared to continue investing in the five subsequent years at a level of more than €1 billion.

Following the recent acquisition of the OCS channels, which should be closed during 2023, Canal+ could raise its annual investment to €230 million.

Beyond French cinema, Canal+ has also signed deals with the five biggest US majors: Sony Pictures Entertainment, NBCUniversal Global Distribution, Walt Disney Pictures, Warner Bros Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

The third pillar of Canal+ movie strategy is production and distribution subsidiary Studiocanal, whose library comprises 8,000 titles. Its managing director Anna Marsh has explained her ambition to develop franchises in both French and English languages.

Other projects currently in development are a biopic of Joséphine Baker and French thriller Smiling Hacker, inspired by the life of Algerian hacker Hamza Bendelladj.

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Tags: box office, Canal Plus, france, movies