French media giant Canal+ said fewer big films released in 2025 helped drag on sales for its studio arm, despite the success of blockbusters like Paddington In Peru and Bridget Jones.
The company, which launched its shares on the London Stock Exchange last year, reported group revenues of 3.1 billion euros (£2.7 billion) for the first half of 2025.
This was down 3.3% on the same period a year ago, driven by contracts coming to an end, including with Disney in France and the Uefa Champions League, it said.
For the group’s film and TV production business, which includes StudioCanal, revenues dipped by about 3% year on year.
This was mainly because of a smaller line-up of films sold internationally over the first half of 2025, compared with 2024, which included the releases of Back To Black and Wicked Little Letters.
But the impact of fewer releases was partly offset by the success of major films including Paddington In Peru, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, and We Live In Time.
Canal+ said there had been “record viewership” in cinema, series and live sports events across its regions over the period.
The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in December in one of the biggest new listings for the City in several years.
The decision for Paris-based Canal+ to list in London was hailed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves as a “vote of confidence” in the UK’s stock market.
The company had 25.7 million subscribers at the end of June – about 1.2% fewer than it had the same time last year.
It has been eyeing cost reductions across Europe which it hopes will boost profits.
Maxime Saada, chief executive of Canal+, said: “I am pleased with all we have accomplished at Canal+ since our listing.
“Our strategy of bringing our in-house content together with content from the world’s best studios, sports competitions and streaming platforms, and super-aggregating it all on our enhanced Canal+ app for the benefit of our customers, provides us with a unique value proposition.”
