StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., and Canal+ Production and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

& television production and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

company which is a subsidiary of

Canal+ S.A. Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow u ...

. , the company has 13 production companies in Europe and the United States, and holds around 9,000 titles in its extensive film library in which they ensure the preservation and restoration them for home video releases & digital platforms worldwide.

History

On 1 January 1987, Canal+ Productions was founded as a cinema film co-production subsidiary of the cable channel which had been established in November 1984,

Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...

. The subscription channel was co-founded by

André Rousselet André Rousselet (1 October 1922 – 29 May 2016) was a French businessman and the founder of Canal Plus, a French premium cable television channel launched in 1984. He also founded the number one taxi company in Paris called Taxis G7. He served a ...

and

Pierre Lescure Pierre Lescure (; born ) is a French journalist and television executive. He is known for having founded the French TV music show ''Les Enfants du rock'' broadcast on public television from 1981 to 1988 and for having led the French Canal+ cha ...

. This was to reduce Canal+'s dependence on the American major studios by building its own library that the pay-TV channel could use on their own channels and internationally. By December 1990, Canal+ Productions rebranded to Le Studio Canal+, and released its first film, ''

The Double Life of Veronique ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (, ) is a 1991 drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski, and starring Irène Jacob and Philippe Volter. Written by Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film explores the themes of identity, love, and h ...

'', by

Krzysztof Kieslowski Krzysztof () is a Polish male given name, equivalent to English ''Christopher''. The name became popular in the 15th century. Its diminutive forms include Krzyś, Krzysiek, and Krzysio; augmentative – Krzychu Individuals named Krzysztof may cho ...

. By the early 1990s, it became apparent that Canal+ was a major contributor to the

French film industry The cinema of France comprises the film industry and its film productions, whether made within the nation of France or by French film production companies abroad. It is the oldest and largest precursor of national cinemas in Europe, with prima ...

, with its obligation to spend 10% of its income on French-made films, as well as being Europe's largest buyer of American film rights. Canal+ also made investments in other companies. In 1991 it bought a five percent stake in the independent American studio

Carolco Pictures Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that was founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna in 1976. Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit its peak in th ...

. However, in 1992, Le Studio Canal+ suffered financial difficulties after

entered a corporate restructure. StudioCanal's most notable productions from its early years include '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', ''

JFK John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his assassination in 1963. He was the first Catholic Chur ...

'', ''

Basic Instinct ''Basic Instinct'' is a 1992 erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Wayne Knight, the film follows the detective Nick ...

'', ''

Cliffhanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious situation, facing a difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode of serialized fiction or bef ...

'', ''

Under Siege ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and written by J. F. Lawton. It stars Steven Seagal (who also produced the film), Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, and Erika Eleniak. Seagal plays Casey Ryback, a former ...

'', ''

Free Willy ''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American Adventure film, adventure Drama (film and television), drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by ...

'', and the original ''

Stargate ''Stargate'' is a military science fiction media franchise owned by Amazon MGM Studios. It is based on Stargate (film), the film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin; production company StudioCanal owns the ...

'' movie. In those days, it was known as either Le Studio Canal+ or simply Canal+. Other films the company financed include '' U-571'', ''

Bully Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing, comments, or threats, in order to abuse, aggressively dominate, or intimidate one or more others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perc ...

'', and ''

Bridget Jones's Diary ''Bridget Jones's Diary'' is a 2001 romantic comedy film directed by Sharon Maguire from a screenplay by Helen Fielding, Andrew Davies and Richard Curtis. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Fielding, which was itself a loose ...

''. StudioCanal also funded the last third of

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

's film ''

Mulholland Drive Mulholland Drive is a street and road in the eastern Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California. It is named after pioneering Los Angeles civil engineer William Mulholland. The western rural portion in Los Angeles and Ventura counties is n ...

''. StudioCanal also financed French-language films, such as ''

Brotherhood of the Wolf ''Brotherhood of the Wolf'' () is a 2001 French period action horror film directed by Christophe Gans, co-written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel, and starring Samuel Le Bihan, Mark Dacascos, Émilie Dequenne, Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel. ...

'' (which became the sixth-highest-grossing French-language film of all time in the United States) and '' Intimate Strangers.'' Films such as ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' which grossed US$519 million, ''

'' which grossed US$352 million and '' The Tourist'' which grossed US$278 million worldwide, have been big box-office hits for StudioCanal. In January 1996, Le Studio Canal+ made a $56 million bid for

' library.

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, which had originally agreed to buy the library for $50 million, had dropped their bid to $47.5 million and ultimately dropped out of contention, making this acquisition Canal+'s first foray into library acquisitions. Le Studio Canal+'s original plan was to build a pan-European distribution network. They made their first known acquisition into a foreign market in 1997 when they bought a 20% minority stake in German film distribution company

Tobis Film Tobis Film was a German film production and film distribution company. Founded in the late 1920s as a merger of several companies involved in the switch from silent film, silent to sound films, the organisation emerged as a leading German sound s ...

, marking their first German subsidiary alongside their first entrance into the German movie distribution genre; they would later increase the stake to 60% in February 2000, renaming the company Tobis StudioCanal. On 1 December 1998, all of Canal+ film, television, music, video production activities, etc., were grouped into a new entity, Canal+ Image, which was rebranded as StudioCanal in 2000. In December 2000, StudioCanal partnered with Italian public broadcasting company

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

through the latter's division

Rai Cinema Rai Cinema S.p.A. is an Italian film production company owned by RAI, the national public broadcaster of Italy. Since its inception, the company has invested nearly €1 billion in the production of over 900 films. History Rai Cinema was forme ...

to launch a joint venture distribution company in Italy, marking StudioCanal's first entry into the Italian film production & distribution market; the joint venture film distribution company's name was later revealed to be

01 Distribution Rai Cinema S.p.A. is an Italian film production company owned by RAI, the national public broadcaster of Italy. Since its inception, the company has invested nearly €1 billion in the production of over 900 films. History Rai Cinema was forme ...

one year later in May 2001. However two years later in June 2003, StudioCanal announced it had sold their 50% stake in Italian joint-venture distribution outfit 01 Distribution to Italian public broadcasting company

through its cinema division Rai Cinema giving the latter full control of 01 Distribution. In July 2001, StudioCanal entered the Spanish film industry by acquiring a 45% stake in Sogepaq from Spanish pay television company

Sogecable PRISA Televisión, S.A.U (PRISA TV) is a pay TV company in Spain. History and profile PRISA TV was established in 1989 and controlled (as of 2007) by PRISA. It was amongst the pioneer companies in the market to introduce interactive systems ...

(Vivendi Universal owned 21% of Sogecable at the time) for $36.2 million, also giving the former a 73% controlling stake in its Spanish subsidiary StudioCanal España and a minority stake in the joint venture

Warner Sogefilms Warner Sogefilms was a film distribution label in Spain active from 1998 to 2005. It was created in January 1998 as a ''joint venture'' of Sogecable (Prisa) and Warner Bros., bringing the demise of Sogepaq Distribución (a previous joint venture ...

. The following month, StudioCanal acquired a 52% stake in French television production powerhouse Expand. In May 2002, StudioCanal expanded their Italian operations by setting up an in-house production outfit based in Rome named StudioCanal Urania, aiming to produce up to three films annually. In late-September 2002, StudioCanal announced that they and BAC Majestic had parted ways. Terms of the deal included the sale of their joint venture Mars Distribution to StudioCanal, while BAC Distribution would revert to BAC Majestic. Staff departures and its parent Vivendi Universal's debt forced StudioCanal to gradually sell off their interests in these companies: * Tobis StudioCanal was subject to a management buyout by CEO Kilian Rebentrost and shareholder

Pathé Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Fren ...

in December 2002 and renamed back to Tobis Film, although the two companies maintained their business relations. * Sogepaq was sold back to Sogecable in July 2003 for £48 million ($54.2 million). * Mars Films split from StudioCanal in 2007 to become independent; StudioCanal would later buy a 30% stake in the company in September 2015 and begin controlling its library in August 2021. Three years later, StudioCanal re-entered the international market by acquiring British film distributor

Optimum Releasing StudioCanal Limited, doing business as StudioCanal UK (formerly known as Optimum Releasing), is a British film distribution division and the official British branch of the French film & television production and distribution company StudioCanal ...

in May 2006 as their first expansion into the United Kingdom, releasing their British film and television catalogue, including the

EMI Films Canal+ Image International (formerly known as EMI Films, Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment, Lumiere Pictures and Television, and UGC DA) was a British-French film, television, animation studio and distributor. A former subsidiary of the EMI congl ...

library, through the newly acquired company. A year later in 2007, Optimum Home Entertainment and

Lionsgate UK Lions Gate UK Limited (formerly Redbus Film Distribution, and briefly known as Helkon SK between 2001 and 2003) is the British subsidiary of the American film company, Lionsgate Studios. Founded in 1999 by Simon Franks and Zygi Kamasa, Redbus ...

acquired Elevation Sales, a home entertainment sales and distribution company. In August 2007, StudioCanal partnered with

NBC Universal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast and headquartered at 30 ...

's international home entertainment division Universal Pictures International Entertainment to launch a joint venture home entertainment distribution subsidiary called Universal Studio Canal Video. In January 2008, StudioCanal acquired German-based film independent distributor Kinowelt, which had distributed StudioCanal's films there until then, marking a re-entry for StudioCanal into the German market. Kinowelt also owned the DVD label

Arthaus Arthaus is a major German producer of art films and classical music DVDs founded in 1994. Arthaus is a brand of Kinowelt Home Entertainment Gmbh, which is now owned by Studiocanal. Arthaus acquired the video back-catalogue of Filmverlag der Autor ...

. Both Optimum Releasing and Kinowelt have since been merged into StudioCanal were rebranded as StudioCanal Limited and StudioCanal GmbH respectively. In January 2012, StudioCanal expanded its European operations by acquiring a majority stake in Munich-based producer and distributor

Tandem Productions Tandem Productions, Inc. (a.k.a. Tandem Enterprises, Inc.) was a film and television production company that was founded in 1958 by television director Bud Yorkin and television writer/producer Norman Lear. History Tandem Productions In the e ...

, marking the company's first major move into television production. StudioCanal would later buy out the company's remaining shares in May 2020. In July 2012, StudioCanal made a deal with Australian & New Zealand cinema chain

Hoyts The HOYTS Group of companies in Australia and New Zealand includes HOYTS Cinemas, a cinema chain, and Val Morgan, which sells advertising on cinema screens and digital billboards. The company was established by dentist Arthur Russell in Melbo ...

to acquire the latter's independent film distribution division Hoyts Distribution, marking StudioCanal's first acquisition outside of Europe; the company was rebranded to StudioCanal Pty Limited one year later in April 2013. In December 2013, StudioCanal announced its acquisition of a majority stake in the British independent TV production company

Red Production Company Red Production Company Limited was a British independent television drama production company that was founded by Nicola Shindler and owned by French production & distribution company StudioCanal. Background Red Production Company was formed i ...

, expanded StudioCanal's British activities into the British television industry. In May 2014, StudioCanal expanded their operations into the Scandinavian market, joining forces with Danish screenwriter & author

Søren Sveistrup Søren Sveistrup (born 7 January 1968 in Kastrup) is a Danish screenwriter and author. His credits include ''The Killing (Danish TV series), The Killing'' and ''Nikolaj og Julie''. His first novel, ''The Chestnut Man'', was published in 2019 an ...

, screenwriter

Adam Price Adam Robert Price (born 23 September 1968) is a Welsh politician who served as Leader of Plaid Cymru from September 2018 to May 2023. He has been the Member of the Senedd (MS) for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 2016, having previously been ...

and film & television producer Meta Louise Foldager to launch a new Danish television production company based in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

named

SAM Productions SAM Productions ApS is a Danish television production company founded by Søren Sveistrup, Adam Price, and . It is a subsidiary of StudioCanal. History SAM Productions was founded in 2014 by Søren Sveistrup, Adam Price, and . StudioCanal hold ...

, with the latter becoming CEO of the new production company. In September 2014, StudioCanal announced a first-look deal with the newly established American entertainment company

The Picture Company The Picture Company is an American entertainment company founded in 2014, by Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman, in Glendale, California. It specializes in film, starting off moderately in 2018 with Jaume Collet-Serra's '' The Commuter'' and Albert ...

, founded by former

Silver Pictures Silver Pictures is an American film production company founded by Cinema of the United States, Hollywood producer Joel Silver in 1980. For many years, during the mid-1980s, the production company was based at 20th Century-Fox, but the productio ...

employees

Andrew Rona Andrew Rona (born July 1971) is an American film producer and movie executive. Early life and education Rona was born in New York, where he studied film at the School of Visual Arts. Career Miramax Films (1991–1995) In 1991, while a stud ...

and Alex Heinemann. The deal was extended in May 2023, with StudioCanal acquiring a minority stake in the company alongside a new five-year deal. In May 2015, StudioCanal collaborated with Japanese publishing company

Kadokawa Corporation , formerly is a Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Fujimi, Chiyoda, Tokyo. Created as a result of the merger of the original Kadokawa Corporation and Dwango (company), Dwango Co., Ltd. on October 1, 2014, the company has ...

to restore

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films in a career spanning six decades. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the History of film, history of cinema ...

’s highly acclaimed film ''

Ran RAN may refer to: * Radio access network, a part of a mobile telecommunication system * Rainforest Action Network * Ran (gene) (RAs-related Nuclear protein), also known as GTP-binding nuclear protein Ran, a protein that in humans is encoded by t ...

'' for its 30th anniversary with French film processing company

Éclair An éclair ( or , ; ) is a pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with a flavored icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for profiteroles, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked u ...

restoring the film in 4K under the supervision of the two companies ahead of the film's re-release in Japanese theatres before releasing it to French cinemas. In April 2016, StudioCanal further extended their British film & television activities by acquiring a 20% stake in two London-based British film & television production companies: actor

Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Benedict Cumberbatch, various accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurenc ...

's film and television production company SunnyMarch TV and

Johnny Capps Johnny Capps is a British television producer and writer, best known for co-creating the BBC fantasy adventure series ''Merlin'' and later, ''Atlantis''. Career Capps began his career at the BBC after graduating, working as a script editor on prog ...

& Julian Murphy's television production company Urban Myth Films, they also acquired a 33% stake in Spanish television production company Bambú Producciones; the latter marked StudioCanal's re-entry into the Spanish film & television production business. In June 2016 two following the success of ''

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

, StudioCanal acquired the ''

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear (though his name is just Paddington; the "Bear" simply serves to confirm his species; and also known as Paddington Brown for some sources) is a fictional character in British children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October ...

'' brand along with Paddington & Company and The Copyrights Group, the franchise's merchandise licensing agent. StudioCanal then announced that it would be producing three more ''

'' films, including

a show Hosea Jan "Ze" Frank (; born March 31, 1971) is an American online performance artist, composer, humorist and public speaker based in Los Angeles. Personal life Frank was born to German-American parents (his father is Chemistry Nobel Laureate J ...

Nick Jr. Nick Jr. (sometimes disambiguated as Nick Jr. on Nickelodeon or Nick Jr. on Nick, and sometimes referred to as Nick, Jr.) is an American morning programming block that airs on Nickelodeon every weekday. It was launched on January 4, 1988. Nick ...

in 2020. In July 2021, StudioCanal announced their acquisition of German production company Lailaps Films. In June 2022, StudioCanal expanded into the Benelux film & television market by acquiring a majority stake in the Dutch independent film production and distribution firm

Dutch FilmWorks Dutch FilmWorks B.V. is the film distributor and producer of the Netherlands founded in 1998, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, focusing on Benelux rights mainly to release films theatrically, on DVD, Blu-ray and VOD. They are also a publisher ...

. In October 2022, StudioCanal entered a partnership with Rome-based Italian film production company Elsinore Film to jointly co-develop and co-produce a slate of scripted and unscripted content for the international market, giving StudioCanal a re-entry to Italian film & television business. In March 2024, StudioCanal launched their first in-house production label, an unnamed film & television production genre label dedicated to horror, thriller and sci-fi action movies and had hired former StudioCanal UK executive Jed Benedict as the CEO of the label. One year later in February 2025, the label, now christened Sixth Dimension, made its first acquisition by acquiring distribution rights outside North America to an upcoming reboot of the ''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' series from

Cineverse Cineverse Corp. (originally Access IT Digital Media, Inc., and later, Cinedigm) is an American entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Cineverse’s businesses encompass digital cinema, streaming channels, content marketi ...

. In April 2024, StudioCanal launched a production label dedicated to publishing book-to-screen adaptations called StudioCanal Stories. In July 2024, StudioCanal expanded their American operations by launching their second American office based in New York City and had promoted former global distribution sales chief Anne Chérel to oversee the office as StudioCanal's American CCO. In September 2024, StudioCanal rebranded their merchandising and licensing company The Copyrights Group to StudioCanal Kids & Family to expand their kids and family brand portfolio; they will also lead on worldwide brand development, licensing and retail services including their own IP ''Paddington Bear'', with Francoise Guyonnet continuing to be the CEO of the renamed division. In October 2024, StudioCanal signed an international distribution deal with American independent film production company

River Road Entertainment River Road Entertainment is an American independent film production company founded in 1987 by Bill Pohlad, who is also the company's president. It is based in Los Angeles and Minneapolis. Films produced by River Road include ''12 Years A Slave' ...

for nine feature films and two documentaries for theatrical, TV, SVOD and other media. In June 2025 12 years after StudioCanal acquired Red Production Company, StudioCanal announced the shuttering of their Manchester-based British television production outfit Red Production Company cutting down as Patrick Schweitzer stepping down as chief executive with Red's current and future state will be taken over by StudioCanal's British television production division StudioCanal TV UK as their new production arm.

Film library

StudioCanal acquired film libraries from studios that either became defunct or had merged with it over the years, currently holding more than 9,000 titles as a result. StudioCanal owns the libraries of the following companies: *

** The Vista Organization ** Seven Arts (joint venture with

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

) *

Paravision International De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) was an entertainment production company and distribution studio founded by Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis. The company is notable for producing '' Manhunter'', '' Blue Velvet'', the horror films '' N ...

** Parafrance Films **

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) was an entertainment production company and distribution studio founded by Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis. The company is notable for producing '' Manhunter'', '' Blue Velvet'', the horror films '' Ne ...

***

Embassy Pictures Embassy Pictures Corporation (also and later known as Avco Embassy Pictures as well as Embassy Films Associates) was an American independent film production and distribution company, which was active from 1942 to 1986. Embassy was responsible ...

Lumiere Pictures and Television Canal+ Image International (formerly known as EMI Films, Thorn EMI Screen Entertainment, Lumiere Pictures and Television, and UGC DA) was a British-French film, television, animation studio and distributor. A former subsidiary of the EMI conglo ...

(currently owned as a result of parent company

Canal+ Group Canal+ S.A., formerly Groupe Canal+, is a French Media conglomerate, media and telecommunications Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Paris. It runs its own Canal+ (streaming service), eponymous Over-the-top media service, over-the-to ...

's acquisition of cinema operator UGC who acquired those companies, via

Weintraub Entertainment Group Weintraub Entertainment Group (WEG) was a film production company considered to be a mini-major studio founded by Jerry Weintraub. History Weintraub Entertainment Group was formed on July 1, 1986 by Jerry Weintraub. In February 1987, WEG receive ...

) **

***

British Lion Films British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was k ...

**** Individual Pictures **** The 1947–1955

London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included '' The Private Li ...

library (pre-1947 titles owned by

ITV Studios ITV Studios Limited is a British multinational television media company owned by British television broadcaster ITV plc. It handles production and distribution of programmes broadcast on the ITV network and third-party broadcasters, and is ba ...

) ***

Anglo-Amalgamated Anglo-Amalgamated Productions was a British film production company, run by Nat Cohen and Stuart Levy, which operated from 1945 until roughly 1971 (after which it was absorbed into EMI Films). Low-budget and second features, often produced at ...

**** Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors ***

Associated British Picture Corporation Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

****

ABC Weekend TV ABC Television Limited, popularly known as ABC Weekend TV, was a British broadcaster which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one of ...

**** Associated British Productions **** British International Pictures ****

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

***** Associated Talking Pictures and Associated British Film Distributors ****

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as "British Pathé". I ...

****

Welwyn Studios Welwyn Studios was a British film studio located at Broadwater Road, Welwyn Garden City, in Hertfordshire. The facility operated between 1928 and 1950. The studios were first constructed by British Instructional Films, and converted to make so ...

* Almi Pictures/Television catalog *

Romulus Films Sir John Woolf (15 March 1913, London – 28 June 1999, London) and his brother James Woolf (2 March 1920, London – 30 May 1966, Beverly Hills, California) were British film producers. John and James founded the production companies Romulus Fi ...

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve classi ...

(distribution rights) *

Alexander Salkind Alexander Salkind (; 2 June 1921 – 8 March 1997) was a French film producer, the second of three generations of successful international producers. Life and career Salkind was born in the Free City of Danzig to Russian Jewish parents, Maria ...

/Pueblo Film Licensing (the non-

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

films not owned by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

) * Quad Cinema *

Regency Enterprises New Regency Productions is an American-British-Luxembourgish entertainment company formed by Arnon Milchan. It was founded in 1991 as the successor to Regency International Pictures (formerly known as Embassy International Pictures N.V.). His ...

(TV rights only, France) *

Spyglass Entertainment Spyglass Media Group, LLC is an American independent film and television production and finance company based in Los Angeles, California. The company was founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum on August 21, 1998 as Spyglass Entertainment and ...

(TV rights only, France, Benelux, Sweden and Poland) *

American Zoetrope American Zoetrope (also known as Omni Zoetrope from 1977 to 1980 and Zoetrope Studios from 1980 until 1991) is a privately run American film production company, centered in San Francisco, California and founded by Francis Ford Coppola and Georg ...

(distribution rights)

Former agreements

Miramax Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...

(most international home video releases; 2011–2020) (rights now held by

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, originally Paramount Home Video, and operating as the namesake film studio since 2022) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures. The division oversees Para ...

) *

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

(

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

only; ended in December 2022) (rights now held by Elysian Film Group starting with ''

Earwig and the Witch is a 2020 Japanese animated fantasy film directed by Gorō Miyazaki and with a screenplay by Keiko Niwa and Emi Gunji. It is based on the novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. The original voice cast includes Shinobu Terajima, Etsu ...

''; rights to ''

My Neighbour Totoro is a 1988 Anime, Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. It stars the voices of Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto and Hitoshi Takagi, and focuses on two young sister ...

'', ''

Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese Anime film, animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It was produced by Toshio Suzuki, animated by Studio Ghibli, and distributed by Toho.Howl's Moving Castle Howl's Moving Castle may refer to: * ''Howl's Moving Castle'' (novel), 1986 novel by Diana Wynne Jones * ''Howl's Moving Castle'' (film), 2004 film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, loosely based on Jones' novel {{dab ...

'' are co-owned by Elysian and

Anonymous Content Anonymous Content (AC) is an independent global entertainment company founded in 1999 by CEO Steve Golin, Dave Morrison and Gore Verbinski. It is based in Los Angeles with offices in Culver City, New York City and London. History Anonymous Co ...

and those to ''

The Boy and the Heron is a 2023 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli, the film's Japanese title references Genzaburō Yoshino's 1937 novel '' How Do You Live?'' but is not an adaptation of it. The film s ...

'' are co-owned by Elysian,

Bleecker Street Bleecker Street is an east–west street in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is most famous today as a Greenwich Village nightlife, nightclub district. The street connects a neighborhood popular today for music venues and comedy as well as a ...

and Anonymous Content)

Television series

StudioCanal currently owns the rights to over 30 television series, mostly produced by

TANDEM Productions Tandem Productions, Inc. (a.k.a. Tandem Enterprises, Inc.) was a film and television production company that was founded in 1958 by television director Bud Yorkin and television writer/producer Norman Lear. History Tandem Productions In the e ...

and

, including ''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'', '' Rambo: The Force of Freedom'', ''

Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...

'', '' Public Eye'', ''

Crazyhead Crazyhead are an English garage punk band from Leicester, England. Though lumped in with the largely media-created grebo scene, they were more influenced by the garage rock of the late 1960s, as well as bands like the Ramones, The Stooges and ...

'', '' Take Two'', '' Wanted Dead or Alive'', '' The Adventures of Paddington'' (2019), and international rights to ''

The Big Valley ''The Big Valley'' is an American Western television series that originally aired from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969 on ABC. The series is set on the fictional Barkley Ranch in Stockton, California, from 1884 to 1888. The one-hour epis ...

''.

Distribution

Outside

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, StudioCanal does not have a formal distribution unit ''

per se Per se may refer to: * '' per se'', a Latin phrase meaning "by itself" or "in itself". * Illegal ''per se'', the legal usage in criminal and antitrust law * Negligence ''per se'', legal use in tort law *Per Se (restaurant) Per Se is a New Amer ...

'', instead relying on other distribution studios and home video distributors to handle their titles. In

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

for example,

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...

Rialto Pictures Rialto Pictures is a film distributor founded in 1997 by Bruce Goldstein and based in New York City. A year later, Adrienne Halpern joined him as partner. In 2002, Eric Di Bernardo became the company's National Sales Director. It was described ...

Lionsgate Home Entertainment Lionsgate Studios Corp. (simply known as Lionsgate Studios) is a Canadian-American film and television production and distribution conglomerate, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, and primarily based in Santa Monica, California. It was f ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

(for the Embassy catalog),

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

(for co-productions),

Shout! Studios Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

and

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art film, art ho ...

distribute StudioCanal's back catalogue on DVD and Blu-ray Disc (in addition,

Anchor Bay Entertainment The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre ...

and

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

previously owned several of their titles).

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

has handled distribution of StudioCanal/Hoyts Distribution films in Australia and New Zealand on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

since early 2013. From the 1990s to early 2000s,

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

formerly handled distribution of select StudioCanal titles through the ''Canal+ Image'' label in the United Kingdom on VHS and DVD until 2006 when StudioCanal opened its own distribution unit in the UK, with titles distributed through

(via

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

from 2006 to 2007 and Elevation Sales since 2007). StudioCanal had the European home video distribution rights to 550 titles from the

library, shared with

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

in the UK and Ireland, from 2011 to 2020, when

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (Trade name, d/b/a Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate controlled by National Amusements and Headquarters, headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Times Square, ...

bought a minority stake in Miramax. On 13 October 2021, StudioCanal announced that its global distribution deal with Universal would expire in January 2022.

Selected films produced by StudioCanal or associated companies

* ''

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

'' (1991) * '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991) * ''

'' (1991) * ''

The Mambo Kings ''The Mambo Kings'' is a 1992 musical film, musical Drama (film and television), drama film based on the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel ''The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'' by Oscar Hijuelos. The film was direc ...

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1992) * '' Universal Soldier'' (1992) * ''

'' (1992) * ''

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * ''Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * Chaplin (film), ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * Chaplin (2011 fi ...

'' (1992) * ''

Sommersby ''Sommersby'' is a 1993 period romantic drama directed by Jon Amiel from a screenplay written by Nicholas Meyer and Sarah Kernochan, adapted from the historical account of the 16th century French peasant Martin Guerre. Based on the 1982 Fre ...

'' (1993) * ''

Falling Down ''Falling Down'' is a 1993 American crime drama film directed by Joel Schumacher, written by Ebbe Roe Smith, and starring Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall. Set in Los Angeles, the film tells the story of William Foster, a disgruntled, une ...

'' (1993) * ''

'' (1994) * '' Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home'' (1995) * '' U-571'' (2000) * ''

O Brother, Where Art Thou? ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' is a 2000 satirical comedy-drama musical film written, produced, co-edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson, with Charles Durning, Michael Bad ...

'' (2000) * ''

'' (2001) * ''

Johnny English ''Johnny English'' is a 2003 spy action comedy film directed by Peter Howitt and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and William Davies. It is a British-French venture produced by StudioCanal and Working Title Films, and distributed by Unive ...

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2014)

References

External links

*
Official history
(archived)
current versionList of film credits
from

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Studiocanal Film production companies of France Mass media companies established in 1988 French film studios Film distributors of Australia Film distributors of France Film distributors of Germany Canal+ S.A. International sales agents