BFA/StudioCanal/AlamyPaddington will not be Americanized for US audiences, the boss of the firm behind the film franchise has promised.
“It’s the most British bear… it’s loved by so many people because it’s authentic,” Canal+ chief executive Maxim Saada said.
The news came as the French streaming company, which owns the film rights to the iconic British bear, began trading on the London Stock Exchange on Monday.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves called it a “vote of confidence” in the London market, which has struggled to attract new business in recent years.
Canal+ is being spun off from the Vivendi media stable, and is said to be planning further global expansion from its new London base.
‘We could have made an American film’
Mr Sada told the BBC: “We’ve had some feedback from American companies that Paddington Bear is not American enough.
“To maximize the Paddington box office, we could have made an American film.”
But he said the heritage of the British bear would be preserved.
“It’s really our most valuable intellectual property … we’re very careful about being very close to its roots and authentic.”
Canal+ is behind streaming hits such as Versailles and its subsidiary StudioCanal owns the rights to an array of films including Total Recall, the Shaun the Sheep and Bridget Jones franchises, and most recently the Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black. , as well as three films included. Movies featuring marmalade-chewing bears
The latest Paddington film, released last month, sees the bear and his adopted British family return to their roots in Peru amid a trail of misadventures.
Mr Saada said Paddington 4 was “definitely not coming tomorrow” but confirmed the company was working on a follow-up and an animated series.
‘Britain is important to us’
Canal+ operates in 50 countries and has 27 million subscribers, two-thirds of which are outside France.
The firm’s London listing comes after years of concerns over poor performance on the exchange, with companies such as construction group Ashstead and microchip designer Arm listed overseas. Others have chosen to go private.
The London Stock Exchange is ready for it. Worst year for departures since 2008-09 financial crisis. As many as 88 companies delisted or moved their primary listing from the main London market, with only 18 replacing them.
Economists say a thriving stock market is important to growing the economy because it helps businesses raise money by allowing them to sell shares.
This gives companies the funds they need to borrow and invest in new projects, create jobs and expand, which in turn leads to economic growth.
Mr Sada has said that new flexibility in the LSE and the UK’s strong creative industries rules helped persuade him to choose London.
“We’ve suddenly generated a lot of curiosity from American investors, British investors, investors from all over the world and we don’t think that could happen from listing anywhere else on European soil.”
“We have a long history of working with the creative industries here in the UK and that’s very important to us.”
The flotation is expected to value the firm at up to €6bn (£5bn).