1988: CANAL+ created CANAL+ Production
1990: CANAL+ Production became LE STUDIO CANAL+ and went into partnership with CAROLCO in the United States.
1992: CANAL+ created CANAL+ DA in order to put in place a vast diversified catalogue. “Basic Instinct”, produced by CAROLCO, caused a sensation at the Cannes Festival and launched the career of the film’s lead actress Sharon Stone.
1994: CANAL+ DA expanded its catalogue by purchasing that of DEG, including such famous films as “The Graduate”.
1995: A particularly eventful year, with the emergence of numerous new talents. “Hate”, the second full length film of Mathieu Kassovitz caused a stir on the Croisette and launched definitively the career of the young producer.
1996: CANAL + acquired UGC DA, the largest catalogue of films in France and the second largest in Europe, which includes the Lumière catalogue in France and the EMI-WEINTRAUB library in the United Kingdom, while LE STUDIO CANAL+ purchased the CAROLCO catalogue (“Terminator 2”, “Basic Instinct”, etc.)
1999: LE STUDIO CANAL+ joined forces with UNIVERSAL PICTURES to co-finance and distribute the WORKING TITLE films, such as “Billy Elliot” of Stephen Daldry which was released in cinemas that year, marking the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership.
2000: LE STUDIO CANAL+ and CANAL+ DA merged to create STUDIOCANAL. “Brotherhood of the Wolf” of Christophe Gans brought in more than 25 million euros at the French box-office.
2001: “The Son’s Room” of Nanni Moretti won 1st prize (the Palme d’Or) at Cannes, while “Mullohand Drive” of David Lynch, one of the film makers the most admired by film fans, won the prize for best production and was also was a box-office hit..
“Intimacy” the film of Patrice Chéreau won the Golden Bear Award in Berlin, as well as the award for best European film.
2002: “The Pianist” of Roman Polanski won three Oscars and the Palme d’Or in Cannes, among a long list of prestigious awards.
2003: A new management team was put in place, managed by Frédéric Sichler. STUDIOCANAL decided to outsource production to concentrate on distribution.
2004: Thanks to the successes of “RRRrrrr!!!”, “Podium”, “Crimson Rivers 2” and “Mariages!”, STUDIOCANAL generated 50 million euros at the French box-office.
The jury at the Festival of Cannes awarded the Palme d’Or to Michael Moore’s provocative documentary “Fahrenheit 911”. Also in competition, Agnès Jaoui’s “Look at Me” won the best screenplay award.
In September, at the 61st International Film Festival of Venice, the top award (the Golden Lion) and the Volpi Cup for best actress went to Mike Leigh’s film “Vera Drake”. Moreover, the film won 3 BAFTA awards .
2005: “Million Dollar Baby”, directed by Clint Eastwood, won four Oscars.
At the end of the year, STUDIOCANAL entered into the first video-on-demand (VOD) agreements in France.
2006: STUDIOCANAL purchased OPTIMUM, a British film distribution company, in an effort to further develop the English portion of its catalogue as well as the direct trade of its French films in the UK.
With the success of “Indigènes” (Days of Glory), a film by Rachid Bouchareb - and winner of best actor award at Cannes -, “Prête-moi ta main” (I do) by Eric Lartigau, “Fauteuils d’Orchestre” (Avenue Montaigne) by Danièle Thompson and “Jean-Philippe” by Laurent Tuel, STUDIOCANAL posted more than 20 million ticket sales at the French box office.
2007: With a view to speeding up STUDIOCANAL’s development in France and abroad, the company bolstered its management team with the nomination of Olivier Courson as Chairman of the Management Board. The agreements with Working Title were renewed.
STUDIOCANAL was present for the big events at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, opening the competition with the presentation of “My Blueberry Nights”, the first English film by Hong Kong director Wonk Kar Wai, “L’Age des Ténèbres” (The Age of Ignorance) by Denys Arcand and “Une Vieille Maîtresse” by Catherine Breillat.
“Je vais bien ne t’en fais pas” by Philippe Lioret won two César awards.
2008: Starting in January 2008, an economic interest group formed with UNIVERSAL will handle commercial video distribution in France.
STUDIOCANAL will distribute highly-anticipated films such as “Babylon AD” by Mathieu Kassovitz, “Disco” by Fabien Onteniente, “Parlez-moi de la pluie” by Agnès Jaoui, “State of Play” by Kevin Mac Donald and “Burn After Reading” by Joel and Ethan Coen.
