The Midnight Library: Florence Pugh Stars in Adaptation

HOLLYWOOD

Paramount Pictures won a heated bidding war for North American rights to The Midnight Library, the fantasy drama starring Florence Pugh, paying $36 million at the 2026 Cannes Film Market.

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Paramount Pictures acquires North American rights to Florence Pugh's fantasy drama "The Midnight Library" for $36 million at the 2026 Cannes Film Market, beating out Sony and Focus Features in a major bidding war. Garth Davis directs the Matt Haig bestselling novel adaptation, with production set to begin early 2027.

Sony Pictures and Focus Features also pursued the project, but Paramount prevailed in what insiders are calling one of the market’s most competitive races this year.

Garth Davis, who previously worked with Pugh on Don’t Worry Darling, will direct the adaptation of Matt Haig’s bestselling 2020 novel, which has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Pugh will star and serve as a producer. Laura Wade and Nick Payne wrote the screenplay, and Haig will executive produce.

Studios estimate production will cost about $70 million. The team plans to begin pre-production in fall 2026, with principal photography set to start in early 2027. Studiocanal, which handled the sale at Cannes, will keep distribution rights in the U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Australia and New Zealand.

The Midnight Library follows Nora Seed, who discovers a mysterious library between life and death that allows her to explore alternate versions of her life—lives she might have lived had she made different choices. Davis called the film “a love letter to life,” an emotional exploration of regret, possibility and what makes life meaningful.

At $36 million, the deal ranks among the largest Cannes transactions of 2026. Studios pitched aggressively for the title because Pugh’s rising star power—she’s an Oscar nominee who recently co-starred with Andrew Garfield in We Live in Time—paired with Haig’s massive global readership gives the film broad commercial and awards appeal. Davis’s track record on character-driven dramas like Lion further attracted buyers.

Paramount plans a wide theatrical rollout across multiple international markets after production wraps.

Pugh has kept a busy slate this year: she finished We Live in Time—where she shaved her head to play a chef confronting cancer recurrence—and now moves on to this high-profile Cannes acquisition.