Despite the acclaim garnered by the third instalment Paddington in Peru last year, Paddington 4 has encountered a setback. In September 2024, a StudioCanal executive buoyed fans’ excitement with news that a fourth film was being planned to coincide with Paddington Bear’s 70th anniversary in 2028.
Yet, producer Rosie Alison has since labelled these plans as “premature”, pointing out that the decision hinges on how Paddington in Peru fares globally. The film is set for release across various territories including Australia, the US, and Europe throughout January and February.
Speaking to Screen Daily, Alison said: “We have to wait and see how this one performs in the rest of the world and the States, as we hope it will. We will see how things look by Easter. But hopefully. There’s a very clear hint of what might happen next at the end of this film.”
Alison added: “Obviously I love the first two films, but I feel very protective about the third film – mindful that we were going to be up against it if everybody was saying ‘It’s not as good as Paddington 2, but feeling that it does have its own qualities and that it was worth doing.”
November seen Paddington in Peru release in the UK to critical praise and commercial success, reports the Express. In its debut weekend, it achieved the highest opening for a British-produced film of the year, and the best since Bond’s No Time To Die, which premiered in 2021. The three-day total came to £9.65 million, surpassing the first two films which earned £5.1 million and £8.2 million in their opening weekends.
So far, it has grossed $51.2 million, but it remains to be seen how the film will fare globally. The original Paddington film was released in 2014, followed by Paddington 2 in 2017. In addition to the films, a TV series titled The Adventures of Paddington was announced in 2017. The series debuted worldwide on Nickelodeon on January 20, 2020.
The beloved bear first appeared in the children’s book A Bear Called Paddington by British author Michael Bond on October 13, 1958. He featured in 29 books by the author, with the last, Paddington at St Paul’s, published posthumously in 2018.
The character has become a classic figure in children’s literature, with the iconic bear known for his old red hat, brown suitcase, blue duffel coat and insatiable love for marmalade.