Recent articles
July 15, 2026
Chris Meledandri, George Lucas, Jodie Foster and Sigourney Weaver Receive France’s Prestigious Legion of Honor
French President Emmanuel Macron honored five major figures in international cinema at a ceremony held at the Élysée Palace in Paris on July 15: Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri, the p...
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July 10, 2026
France Televisions Unveils Slate Led by ‘La Haine’ Stage Adaptation, #MeToo Film ‘Triple Peine,’ Robust Presidential Election Coverage: ‘Public Service Belongs to No Camp’
Mathieu Kassovitz’s landmark 1995 film “La Haine” is heading to television in a new form, with French broadcaster France Télévisions set to air the stage adaptation “La Haine, sur scène – Jusqu’ici...
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July 10, 2026
French Box Office Surges Nearly 20% in First Half of 2026 as Local Films and Hollywood Hits Drive Recovery
France’s theatrical market delivered a strong first half of 2026, grossing an estimated €680 million ($776 million) from nearly 92 million admissions, a 19.7% year-on increase, driven by a broad mi...
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July 10, 2026
Cathy Payne to Lead Banijay’s Combined Distribution Arm Following All3Media Merger as Louise Pedersen Steps Down
Banijay Entertainment has named Cathy Payne to lead its combined global distribution business following the completion of its $8 billion merger with All3Media, while All3Media International CEO Lou...
variety.com
July 10, 2026
Richard Gere-Produced Dalai Lama Documentary ‘Wisdom of Happiness’ Lands at Music Box Films (EXCLUSIVE)
Music Box Films has acquired North American home entertainment rights to “Wisdom of Happiness,” the Richard Gere executive-produced documentary in which the Dalai Lama reflects on compassion, inner...
variety.com
July 9, 2026
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar Mocks Film Industry in Campaign Spot, Vows to Defund Anti-Israel Movies
Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar has escalated his campaign against the country’s film industry with a new Likud primary spot that mocks Israeli filmmakers as anti-Israel profiteers and vows to ...
variety.com
July 8, 2026
Vincent Bolloré Avoids Multi-Billion Vivendi Buyout After Paris Court Ruling
Paris’s Court of Appeal handed Vincent Bolloré a major legal victory on Wednesday, ruling that the French billionaire and his holding company Bolloré SE did not control Vivendi at the time of the m...
variety.com
July 8, 2026
Mubi Acquires ‘Making Marie Antoinette,’ Eleanor Coppola’s Behind-the-Scenes Doc About Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-Winning Film
Mubi has acquired worldwide rights for “Making Marie Antoinette,” a behind-the-scenes look at Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-winning film “Marie Antoinette.” The documentary, which marks the 20th anniversar...
variety.com
July 6, 2026
Netflix France Chief Pauline Dauvin Slams Expanded Investment Obligations: ‘These New Rules Go Too Far’
Netflix France’s VP of content Pauline Dauvin has warned that France’s newly expanded investment obligations for streamers risk turning cultural diversity into a “checklist,” arguing that rules des...
variety.com
July 3, 2026
Unifrance Reelects Gilles Pélisson as President as French Film and TV Promotion Org Expands Global Ambitions
Gilles Pélisson has been unanimously reelected as president of Unifrance for a second three-year term, extending his mandate at the helm of the French film and TV promotion body. The former TF1 Gro...
variety.com
July 3, 2026
Wes Anderson, Bill Murray Tease Western Project at Cinema Paradiso Event at Paris’ Louvre
Wes Anderson and Bill Murray teased a Western project during a surprise onstage reunion in Paris, with Anderson saying he and Murray have “for many years” talked about making one — potentially with...
variety.com
July 2, 2026
Studiocanal Unveils Teaser for ‘Les Miserables,’ Fred Cavayé’s Sweeping Take on Victor Hugo’s Classic Novel Starring Vincent Lindon and Tahar Rahim
Studiocanal has unveiled the teaser for “Les Misérables,” Fred Cavayé’s anticipated adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic novel, offering a first look at a sweeping take on one of France’s most ...
variety.com
July 2, 2026
Variety Toasts French Cinema With Post-Cannes Summer Dinner at Paris’ Laperouse With Thierry Fremaux, Guillaume Canet, Pierre-Antoine Capton, Rebecca Zlotowski and Anamaria Vartolomei
Variety gathered leading figures from the French film industry for its fourth dinner at Lapérouse in Paris, a post-Cannes and summer celebration bringing together Cannes Film Festival director Thie...
variety.com
July 1, 2026
How Pathé’s ‘De Gaulle’ Fought Its Way Back at the French Box Office With a Push from YouTuber Inoxtag That Lured Younger Crowds
Antonin Baudry’s “De Gaulle: Résistance,” Pathé’s ambitious two-part historical epic about the making of Charles de Gaulle as a resistance leader, has fought its way back into a leading position at...
variety.com
June 30, 2026
Netflix Calls for Cap on French Content Investment Rules, Warning Current System Is ‘Unsustainable’
Netflix is calling for a cap on the mandatory investments it is required to make in French content as it pursues its lobbying push to gain earlier access to newly released movies. The U.S. streamin...
variety.com
June 26, 2026
Mexican Animator Luis de la Rosa Dies in Train Accident While Attending Annecy Animation Festival
Luis de la Rosa, a 34-year-old Mexican animator and illustrator whose credits included “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” has died after being hit by a train while attending the Annecy Animatio...
variety.com
June 26, 2026
Luxury Powerhouse The Independents Acquires Stake in French Production Group Phantasm Behind James Gray’s ‘Paper Tiger’ and The Weeknd Music Video
The Independents, whose portfolio includes the Meta Gala organizer Prodject, has acquired a majority stake in Phantasm Group, the hip Paris-based collective whose film banner Vixens backed James Gr...
variety.com
June 26, 2026
Studio TF1 Makes Major Animation Play With ‘Yes Chef,’ $25 Million Family Feature About an Animal Pastry Competition (EXCLUSIVE)
Studio TF1 is making one of its most significant investments in animated features in recent memory, boarding “Yes Chef,” an original $25 million family comedy set inside the high-pressure, fur-flyi...
variety.com
June 25, 2026
Prime Video France Unveils New Creator-Led Format ‘Mascarade,’ Joel Dicker Adaptation ‘Animal Sauvage’ Starring Noémie Merlant; Audrey Diwan’s ‘Paris 18’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Prime Video France is doubling down on homegrown originals across scripted, film and unscripted — and is pushing further into new event formats with “Mascarade,” a creator-led French format that bu...
variety.com
June 25, 2026
Disney+ Lands See-Saw’s Hugo Weaving Legal Drama ‘The Great White’ for the U.K. From Mediawan Rights (EXCLUSIVE)
Disney+ has picked up “The Great White,” ABC Australia’s upcoming legal workplace drama series from See-Saw Films, the Mediawan-owned banner behind “Slow Horses,” for the U.K. Headlined by Hugo Wea...
variety.com
June 25, 2026
Will.i.am Says ‘Now Is the Time for the Dreamer’ Because ‘AI Is Not Doing Imagination Yet’
Will.i.am, the Black Eyed Peas frontman and tech entrepreneur, said he’s more “worried about human greed” than about musicians being replaced by robots. “Right now is the time for the dreamer, not ...
variety.com
June 24, 2026
Former Mediawan Producer Charlotte Toledano Detaille Launches Alyx Films, Teams With ‘Book Club’ Creator Geronimo on Projects (EXCLUSIVE)
Charlotte Toledano Detaille, the former Mediawan producer behind Prime Video’s streaming hit “Escort Boys,” is launching Alyx Films, an independent banner that will kick off with an ambitious slate...
variety.com
June 24, 2026
Priyanka Chopra Jonas Says ‘Obsession’ Shows How Hollywood’s Barriers Are Falling: ‘Ideas Are Your Currency’
Speaking at the Cannes Lions conference on Wednesday, Priyanka Chopra Jonas shared her thoughts on becoming a producer, her desire to expand her career in the U.S. and cited the low-budget horror s...
variety.com
June 23, 2026
Carmelo Anthony on How the Knicks’ Victory Has ‘Reignited’ New York and Timothée Chalamet Earning His ‘Favorite White Boy’ Award: It’s ‘What He Really Wanted’
Basketball Hall of Famer and entrepreneur Carmelo Anthony weighed in on the New York Knicks’ historic championship win, the unifying power of sports and Timothée Chalamet’s fervent fandom during a ...
variety.com
June 23, 2026
Oprah Winfrey Says Whitney Houston Once Fell Off Stage During ‘Oprah Show’ Performance and She ‘Begged’ Audience Not to Leak It to the Press: ‘I Knew She Would Be Destroyed by That’
Oprah Winfrey turned her Cannes Lions appearance into a call for creators to use their platforms for good, talking with festival chair Phil Thomas about philanthropy, legacy and her improbable path...
variety.com
June 22, 2026
Amazon Kicks Off Creator Hub to Fire TV for Videos and Podcasts From YouTubers
Amazon is launching dedicated Creator Hub to Fire TV this summer, creating a new section for videos and podcasts from digital creators to expand beyond social media and into connected TV. The featu...
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June 22, 2026
Romeo Beckham Making Acting Debut in Tennis Romance ‘Forty Love’; Studiocanal Unveils First Look (EXCLUSIVE)
Studiocanal has unveiled a first look at Romeo Beckham in his acting debut “Forty Love,” directed by renowned fashion photographer Pierre-Ange Carlotti. “Forty Love,” which marks the first director...
variety.com
June 21, 2026
Netflix, A24 and Focus Pass on Luca Guadagnino’s ‘Artificial’ as Mubi Circles (EXCLUSIVE)
Several of the buyers who screened Luca Guadagnino’s hotly anticipated “Artificial” in the days after Amazon MGM Studios abruptly dropped the film have passed on acquiring it, sources tell Variety....
variety.com
June 20, 2026
‘Minions & Monsters’ Director Pierre Coffin on His Tribute to Hollywood, the Exhausting Work of Voicing the Yellow Creatures and Crafting Comedy That’s ‘More Irreverent Than Some of the Competition’
Pierre Coffin thought he was done with the Minions. After nearly two decades inside the “Despicable Me” universe — the highest-grossing animated franchise of all time, with more than $5.5 billion w...
variety.com
June 19, 2026
‘Pippi Longstocking’ Animated Series in the Works With StudioCanal, Heyday Films, Submarine and the Astrid Lindgren Company (EXCLUSIVE)
Studiocanal is expanding its ambitions for “Pippi Longstocking,” teaming with its “Paddington” production partner Heyday Films, as well as Submarine and The Astrid Lindgren Company to develop a new...
variety.com