Paramount Pictures has won the rights to ‘The Midnight Library,’ Garth Davis’ feature adaptation of Matt Haig’s bestselling novel, in a $36 million deal.

The film will star Florence Pugh as Nora Seed, a woman who finds herself in a library between life and death, where she can explore the many lives she might have lived.

Paramount beat out Focus and Sony for North American and select international rights, though the deal is still being finalized with StudioCanal over territories. StudioCanal will retain rights in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Benelux, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

The project, budgeted at around $70 million, is one of the largest European productions in recent years. Pre-production is expected to begin this autumn, with filming planned for early next year.

The Cannes market deal is the biggest so far, ahead of Park Chan-wook’s ‘The Brigands of Rattlecreek,’ which sold to Warner’s Clockwork for $30 million.

The screenplay is being adapted by Laura Wade and Nick Payne. Published by Canongate in 2020, The Midnight Library has sold 15 million copies and been translated into 56 languages.

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