Romantic Adventure: ‘Paddington in Peru’ Arrives in U.S. Theaters This Valentine’s

Paddington fans in the United States will have to wait a little longer to get their fix because the third part of the popular movie trilogy, “Paddington in Peru,” will now be released on Valentine’s Day instead of January 2025.

The family movie will now make its premiere on February 14, which also happens to be President’s Day weekend, rather than January 17. Due to the fact that the family movie is scheduled for a double holiday weekend, many K–12 children will be off from school for a long break and searching for something to do.

The U.K. premiere of “Paddington 3” earlier this month brought in a record-breaking £9.65 million ($12.4 million) on its first weekend, making it the biggest British film debut since “No Time to Die” in 2021. Globally, the first two “Paddington” films have made over $600 million, and the third film is expected to bring the franchise close to $1 billion.

In “Paddington in Peru,” Ben Whishaw’s character Paddington receives a letter from Peru informing him that his beloved Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton) has mysteriously disappeared from her jungle cabin at the Home for Retired Bears. The story is based on the best-selling children’s book series by British author Michael Bond. When a mystery leads his adopted family, the Browns, on an unexpected excursion through the Amazon rainforest and to the Peruvian high peaks, adventure ensues.

Hugh Bonneville, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Madeleine Harris, and Samuel Joslin are among the returning cast members in addition to Whishaw and Staunton. Newcomers like Antonio Banderas, Carla Tous, Olivia Colman, and Emily Mortimer complete the group.

Variety described how “Paddington 3” came to include both the late Queen Elizabeth II and the man who played her in “The Crown” in a recent article about Paddington Bear’s comeback to the big screen.

According to producer Rosie Alison, “[the royal family] were actually very happy for it to happen.” “But we don’t like to make a big deal of it, because Paddington’s obviously a very modest fellow.”

Colman joined on without hesitation as well. She remarked, “Oh yeah, I mean, it’s Paddington!” in reference to her willingness to portray a nun who manages the “home for retired bears” and is a singer, guitarist, and “The Sound of Music” fan. “Paddington is just the best person in the whole wide world … Imagine if everyone was like Paddington, wouldn’t that be lovely?”

The film was directed by Dougal Wilson and was based on a script by Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont. Simon Farnaby and Burton worked with Paul King, the director of the first two “Paddington” movies, to design the plot.

In addition to managing distribution in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Benelux, Poland, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as through partners in China and Japan, Studiocanal provided full funding for “Paddington in Peru.” In addition to other important foreign regions including Latin America, Sony Pictures will distribute the movie in the United States and Canada.