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 Logo used since 2011 | |
| Formerly | |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Film distributor |
| Predecessor | Canal+ Image (as a label in the UK) Pathé UK Guild Home Video FilmFour Distributiors UGC Films UK World Cinema Ltd Network Distributing. |
| Founded | 9 October 1998; 27 years ago (1998-10-09) (as Tidalgate 2000 Limited)[1] |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products | Feature films |
| Parent | StudioCanal (2006–present) |
| Subsidiaries | Elevation Sales (joint venture withLionsgate UK) Paddington and Company |
| Website | studiocanal |
StudioCanal Limited,doing business asStudioCanal UK (formerly known asOptimum Releasing), is a British film distribution division and the official British branch of the French film & television production and distribution companyStudioCanal in the UK.[2] The company releases many films, including foreign,anime (mostlyStudio Ghibli (until 2024)), independent,art, British, Irish and American films in the United Kingdom.
The company was founded in October 1998, and began operation as Optimum Releasing in May 1999. The company, at the time, was exclusively a theatrical distributor, holding distribution of new releases and UK rights to the back catalogues of other companies. Optimum's first theatrical release was a restored version ofThe Third Man, licensed fromLe Studio Canal+, and was released in July of that year, on the same weekend as the anticipated UK release ofStar Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.[3]
The company launched a Home Entertainment division in 2004,[4] and released material under several banners:
Optimum released over two hundred films a year and were one of the most prominent distributors in the independent film and world cinema market in the United Kingdom since the closure ofTartan Films in June 2008. In May 2006, Optimum Releasing was acquired by French film producer and distributorStudioCanal, a subsidiary ofVivendi'sCanal+ Group, for £22–25 million, marking a re-entry into an international market for StudioCanal.[5] Since then, StudioCanal now releases films from their back catalogue (including those from theCarolco Pictures andEMI Films libraries) through Optimum Releasing under the Optimum Classic banner.
Some of the last titles released under the Optimum Releasing name includeKill List,The Guard, and a re release ofWhisky Galore!.[6]
In September 2011, Optimum Releasing was rebranded under theStudioCanal name.Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,Tyrannosaur,Don't Be Afraid of the Dark,The Awakening, andW.E. were among the first films released under the new name.[6]
In December 2022, the company suedWild Bunch International over their British/IrishStudio Ghibli contract, certifying that Wild Bunch International's deal withNetflix for the Ghibli catalogue breached an agreement over standalone streaming rights where Wild Bunch claimed that "non-internet" steaming platforms "don't exist". WBI counter-sued StudioCanal UK, where they citified that their distribution deal was recouping distribution expenses against all forms of distribution, and not theatrical as they originally claimed.[7] As of 2023 with the release ofThe Boy and the Heron, Elysian Film Group officially took over as Ghibli's distributor in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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