He is the greatest of thieves… And the greatest of sellers? Two years after the launch of Lupine and its global success (more than 70 million views across the planet), the series inspired by the adventures of Arsène Lupine is making its return to Netflix. Season 3 available from this Thursday on the platform, where we once again find Omar Sy in the role of Assane Diop, fervent admirer of the “gentleman burglar”.
Like previous seasons, these new episodes continue to highlight the work of Maurice Leblanc. Slipped into Assane’s hands, the author’s books appear in small touches on the screen. When it was released in 2021, the enthusiasm was such that the series boosted the sales of the Norman novelist, pushing him into the top online sites. But two years later, where are we with “Lupinmania”? Does the magic of the series still work on Arsène Lupine in bookstores?
“Discover the book that changed Assane’s life”
“Sales have run out of steam a little but we still sell more than three years ago,” notes Sonia, bookseller at Ici Librairie in the center of Paris. In 2021, she remembers being out of stock in the first week of the series’ release and having multiplied sales during the following three months. “The adults would come in and say they didn’t remember it looking that good. There were also parents who wanted to introduce it to their children,” she explains. Among the best sellers was a Hachette novel in partnership with Netflix. Just a few days after the release of Lupinethe publisher published a new edition by Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar, with a cover resembling Omar Sy’s book in the series. A work decorated with a banner with this inscription: “Discover the book that changed Assane’s life”. A marketing stunt of formidable effectiveness. “The cover effect worked directly, it was very clever,” confirms the bookseller.
This edition sold nearly 140,000 copies in 2021, reveals Hachette Romans at 20 minutes. In the same collection, The Hollow Needle, published ahead of part 2 of the series, sold more than 35,000 copies between June and December of that same year. “Overall, the “Maurice Leblanc” market has exploded since the series was broadcast,” rejoices Charlotte Borelle, marketing and communications director at Hachette Romans. A success for this publisher, but not only that. In 2021, the novelist’s sales overall (all publishing houses having published a title by Maurice Leblanc) reach more than 550,000 copies, compared to 25,000 in 2019 and 2020, explains Charlotte Borelle, citing GFK data. That’s an increase of +2,100% in the space of a few months…
As for Gallimard Jeunesse, Arsène Lupine is also a hit. Taking advantage of the arrival of the series on Netflix, the publisher includes the novelist in its catalog and publishes four of his novels between 2021 and 2022 (since sold nearly 100,000 copies, according to publisher figures). The strategy adopted? Appeal to young readers. For this, Gallimard Jeunesse is offering around 1,500 middle school teachers a limited edition of the Gentleman Burglar accompanied by an educational booklet. A successful operation. “The older teachers were delighted to find Maurice Leblanc, the younger ones delighted to discover him and teach him to their students,” explains Adélaïde Klein, responsible for the pocket and school prescription.
“The character has returned to the forefront of the pop scene”
If in 2021 the Omar Sy and Netflix effect is notable, the following year the soufflé subsides a little. At Gallimard Jeunesse, Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar, sold 39,000 copies at the height of “Lupinmania”, then 8,000 in 2022 and 7,000 in 2023 (publisher figures). “The phenomenon has calmed down a little,” Hachette Romans also recognizes. “But sales remain very high compared to the years before the series,” adds the publisher, advancing 157,000 copies (GFK) on the overall Maurice Leblanc sales market in 2022. A nice spotlight for this character from the very beginning of the XXth century.
For Louis Gendebien, president of the Association of Friends of Arsène Lupin, the series has its merits. “They had the intelligence to say from the start that it was not about Arsène but about a character inspired by his values. Historical enthusiasts did not feel shocked. It’s very clever and it brings something new to the adventure and detective novel,” he believes. Louis Gendebien particularly emphasizes the “intelligence of the scenario” of the Netflix fiction. “The content is very Lupine, it’s very similar in spirit. The fact of having transposed it through this character makes it all both more contemporary and more alive,” he judges.
At Gallimard Jeunesse, Adélaïde Klein is of the same opinion. The series “completely dusted off” the work of Maurice Leblanc, which moreover “was not dated”. “There is really a mischief in the writing which makes it completely suitable for a young audience, it is perfectly accessible for children aged 10 and over,” she believes. “The character was until then very much in the shadow of Sherlock Holmes,” we note at Ici Librairie in Paris. It potentially relaunched the reading of Arsène Lupin but it was above all the character who returned to the forefront of the pop scene. » Very popular in Japan, we find the universe of Arsène Lupine in several mangas, but also in comics in France, notably at bamboo who released several of his adventures this year.
“The market exists in many places and in many forms,” confirms Jacques Braunstein, editor-in-chief of Weekly Books. “What I find interesting in the Netflix series is that it revitalizes a work. Not by adapting it but by telling another story. It does not replace it but extends it and makes you want to discover it. » An effect that lasts until season 3?
“The resurgence of Lupine has really been sustained”
Two years after its great move, Hachette Romans still believes in it. “Since the series, Maurice Leblanc has completely “re-established himself” as a classic author of reference in bookstores,” believes Charlotte Borelle. “The enthusiasm for a season 3 cannot be compared to the surge caused by season 1 of the series,” she adds. But the resurgence of Lupine has really been lasting and we think that this new season will allow us to put our titles back in the spotlight. » Still in partnership with Netflix, the publisher published last September Lupine, Failure to the Queen, a spin-off derived from the series, written by Bertrand Puard in consultation with George Kay, the creator of Lupine. The story ? “The novel recounts a period never before seen in Lupine15 years before the events of the series when Benjamin and Assane are young adults,” describes the book’s press release.
At Ici Librairie, we are also waiting for this new booster effect. “I think it will pick up with the series. It has become a label now and it works well,” analyzes bookseller Sonia. Especially since Arsène Lupine had babies. In mid-October, the bookstore organizes an escape game for childrenfor the release of The Arsènes – The key to the three jewelsxa novel by Bertrand Puard (him again!) where the retired burglar trains his young generation.
Without forgetting the richness of Maurice Leblanc’s original work. In January 2024, Gallimard Jeunesse will notably publish The secrets of Arsène Lupin. “There are more than twenty adventures and somewhere there could be twenty seasons of the series,” foresees Jacques Braunstein of Weekly Books. Hoping that Omar Sy has nothing planned for the next 20 years.