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Studios Vie for Florence Pugh’s The Midnight Library in Major Cannes Market Sale

A multi-studio bidding fight could determine who buys domestic and select international rights for the roughly $70 million adaptation and shape its release strategy.

Overview

  • Late May reporting from Cannes says Paramount, Focus Features and Sony are actively negotiating to acquire domestic and some international distribution rights for the film.
  • Producer-financier Studiocanal is handling sales at the market and is expected to keep theatrical rights in a wide territory footprint that includes the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
  • The project is a screen adaptation of Matt Haig’s bestselling novel with screenplays by Laura Wade and Nick Payne, directed by Garth Davis and starring Florence Pugh, who also produces.
  • The film is being budgeted at about $70 million with pre-production planned for fall 2026 and principal photography penciled in for early 2027.
  • If a deal closes for domestic and selected international rights, it could rank among the biggest Cannes market distribution deals this year and affect how the remaining financing, marketing and release windows are negotiated.