Paddington Bear

On Christmas Eve 1956 Michael Bond, then a BBCBBCThe BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is the United Kingdom’s public broadcaster. Its predecessor was the British Broadcasting Company, formed in 1922, and since 1927 it has been established under a Royal Charter. It provides television, radio, and online services in the UK, is funded mainly by the television licence fee, and broadcasts worldwide in multiple languages through BBC World Service.Open the full entry cameraman, bought a teddy bear and went on to write a story about it.⁠[1]

Paddington first appeared in Bond’s book A Bear Called Paddington in 1958.⁠[2]

Peggy Fortnum, already an experienced illustrator, was commissioned to illustrate the book.⁠[1]

From the 1970s Paddington and Company had an unwritten agreement with Pixdene Limited giving Pixdene a share of the net merchandising income from Paddington Bear; its terms were later set out in a written agreement.⁠[3]

On July 31, 1973, Paddington and Company (Films) Limited was incorporated as a private limited company; after December 31, 1978, it took its current name, Paddington and Company Limited.⁠[4]

Warner Bros. and Heyday Films planned a live-action Paddington film written by Hamish McColl; rather than adapting a single book it would draw on the whole series, and the bear was likely to be rendered in CGI.⁠[5]

The CGI/live-action film was produced by David Heyman and directed by Paul King, with France’s StudioCanal financing it and handling distribution in the UK, France and Germany as well as international sales.⁠[6]

The film rolled out from November 27, 2014, distributed in North America by Dimension Films; it grossed about $326 million worldwide, including about $98.95 million in the UK across several releases.⁠[7]

Its first UK weekend brought in about £5.11 million from 520 sites, StudioCanal’s biggest ever opening in the UK.⁠[8]

StudioCanal acquired Paddington and Company and the Copyrights Group, gaining full ownership of nearly all of the Paddington Bear brand worldwide; the former holds the intellectual property rights except publishing, and the latter acts as merchandise licensing agent. StudioCanal also bought Harvey Unna and Stephen Durbridge Ltd., which had represented the Paddington media rights for 40 years.⁠[9]

On June 30, 2016, six directors including Karen Mary Jankel, Anthony Louis Harry Jankel and Nicholas Francis Durbridge stepped down, and Rodolphe Buet and James Forde were appointed directors of Paddington and Company.⁠[10]

From August 16 that year Vivendi SA was registered as the company’s person with significant control, holding more than 75% of its shares and voting rights.⁠[11]

StudioCanal announced a 52-episode Paddington animated series of 11-minute episodes aimed at preschoolers; Gameloft, StudioCanal and the Copyrights Group also teamed up on Paddington Run, the official mobile game of Paddington 2.⁠[12]

Co-producers Heyday Films and StudioCanal sought to end their distribution ties with the Weinstein Company, although they remained contractually bound to TWC-Dimension.⁠[13]

The sequel was co-written by Paul King and Simon Farnaby, with a UK release date of November 10, 2017.⁠[14]

It took £8.3 million ($10.9 million) in its first UK weekend, StudioCanal’s biggest British opening of all time.⁠[15]

The film grossed about $290 million worldwide, including about $111 million in the UK; Warner Bros. distributed it in North America.⁠[16]

The film is not a direct adaptation of any of Bond’s stories; its message is summed up as “If you’re kind and polite, the world will be right.”⁠[2]

For Paddington’s 60th anniversary The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts, staged Paddington Comes to America, the first Paddington exhibition in the United States, showing Bond’s notebooks and typewriter and 70 original illustrations by six artists.⁠[17]

Nickelodeon announced a fully 3D CGI animated series about a young Paddington, made by Heyday Films and StudioCanal in association with Copyrights, helmed by Adam Shaw of Blue Zoo and voiced by Ben Whishaw.⁠[18]

In November 2019 the series was titled The Adventures of Paddington and set to premiere in the U.S. on January 20, 2020, with a theme song written and performed by Gary Barlow.⁠[19]

Earlier, producer David Heyman said a third film was in development with only a treatment so far, and that Paul King would likely not direct it.⁠[20]

StudioCanal confirmed it was working on a third film.⁠[21]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced Paddington in the Ukrainian versions of Paddington and Paddington 2, announcing it in a promotional video for the sequel; after this drew attention in 2022, star Hugh Bonneville publicly thanked him.⁠[22]

Dougal Wilson was chosen to direct the third film, Paddington in Peru, with filming planned in London and Peru in 2023; Paul King stayed on as an executive producer, and StudioCanal fully financed the film, made with Heyday Films.⁠[23]

During the Platinum Jubilee celebrations the BBC’s Platinum Jubilee: Party in the Palace aired a sketch of Paddington taking tea with Queen Elizabeth II, which won the Memorable Moment award at the 2023 BAFTA TV Awards.⁠[24]

StudioCanal renewed its global deal with Nickelodeon for a third season of the animated series; StudioCanal holds worldwide rights to the show.⁠[25]

Pixdene sued Paddington and Company over the audit clause of their agreement. Judge Melissa Clarke of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court ruled that Pixdene itself had no right to inspect documents, that its appointed auditor could take copies, and that each two-year period could be inspected only once.⁠[3]

Sony Pictures acquired North American rights to the third film and rights for the rest of the world excluding Russia, China and Japan, while StudioCanal would release it in the UK, France, Germany, Benelux, Australia/New Zealand and Poland.⁠[26]

Filming began in the UK during the U.S. actors’ strike, with locations in London and Colombia.⁠[27]

In October 2023 the UK release was set for November 8, 2024, and the U.S. release for January 17, 2025; Rachel Zegler withdrew because of the strike and was replaced by Carla Tous.⁠[28]

On July 17, 2024, Vivendi SA ceased to be registered as the person with significant control of Paddington and Company, and the Copyrights Group Limited was registered instead.⁠[29]

As of October 2026 the registered person with significant control was Studiocanal Kids & Family Limited, holding more than 75% of shares and voting rights.⁠[11]

At Brand Licensing Europe 2024 StudioCanal said a fourth film had a greenlight and a TV series was in development, expected around 2027–2028, and announced a West End musical with producer Sonia Friedman.⁠[30]

The film opened in the UK on November 8, 2024, and in North America on February 14, 2025, through Sony Pictures Releasing; it grossed about $171 million worldwide, including about $49.95 million in the UK.⁠[31]

Paddington The Musical began performances at London’s Savoy Theatre on November 1, 2025, with music and lyrics by Tom Fletcher, a book by Jessica Swale and direction by Luke Sheppard.⁠[32]

It officially opened on November 30, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, STUDIOCANAL and Eliza Lumley Productions on behalf of Universal Music UK.⁠[33]

The cast recording was scheduled for release by Decca Records in March 2026, and the production was booking until October 25, 2026.⁠[34]

The show received 11 nominations at the 2026 Laurence Olivier Awards and won seven, including the Cunard Best New Musical, Best Director and Best Actor in a Musical (James Hameed and Arti Shah).⁠[35]

On June 16, 2026, it was announced that the show would move to Broadway’s Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 2027, with previews from March 30 and opening night on April 18.⁠[36]

The Paddington Bear Experience, a multi-room immersive attraction, operates at County Hall on London’s South Bank; its website names the Path Entertainment Group.⁠[37]

Paddington Bear: Official website: https://www.paddington.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[38]

Paddington The Musical: Official website: https://broadway.paddingtonthemusical.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[39]

The Paddington Bear Experience: Official website: https://www.paddingtonbearexperience.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[37]