Lionsgate and Studiocanal have partnered on worldwide distribution rights to over 550 titles from the Miramax library. The full press release:
LIONSGATE®, a leading diversified filmed entertainment studio, Studiocanal and Miramax announced today that they have entered into a worldwide home entertainment distribution deal. Under the long-term deal, Lionsgate and Studiocanal will distribute more than 550 titles from the renowned Miramax film library via DVD, Blu-ray, EST and Internet Video On Demand (VOD), in addition to cable VOD internationally.
Lionsgate will partner with leading international distributor Studiocanal to distribute Miramax titles in the UK and Europe. The announcement was made by Steve Beeks, President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Lionsgate, Olivier Courson, Chief Executive Officer of Studiocanal and Mike Lang, Chief Executive Officer of Miramax.
“The Miramax library will be one of the most treasured jewels in our home entertainment crown,” said Beeks. “With our longstanding commitment and expertise in aggressively managing library titles, we are thrilled to bring together under one roof such Miramax film icons as Shakespeare in Love, The English Patient, Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting with our existing classics such as Dirty Dancing and Monster’s Ball to create what is unquestionably one of the most powerful and prestigious filmed entertainment libraries in the world. We are looking forward to working with Mike and his incredible team on this exciting venture.”
“We are pleased to expand our existing partnership with Lionsgate to encompass this exciting new venture with Miramax,” said Courson. “The Miramax library features some of the best of American independent cinema, representing a wonderful mix of creative excellence, award winning films and commercial successes. The Miramax slate is a perfect fit for Studiocanal’s core values and vision and we believe it will resonate with European audiences.”
“With their expertise and success in the home entertainment marketplace, we consider both Lionsgate and Studiocanal to be the perfect partners to distribute these films,” says Lang. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with them as we work to expand the availability of our library across all platforms to reach new audiences around the world.”
The first home entertainment release under the deal will be The Switch in the US, the romantic comedy about friendship, fertility and family, starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman, which will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, VOD and available for digital download on March 15th.
The deal with Miramax continues to build on Lionsgate’s tremendous success distributing third party product from some of the most prominent libraries in the world, including Studiocanal. Consisting of approximately 13,000 motion picture titles and television episodes, Lionsgate has one of the largest and most prestigious libraries in the entertainment industry with titles including Dirty Dancing, Memento, Monster’s Ball, Crash and Rambo. Lionsgate has noted that the Company has achieved record library revenue for five consecutive years through a combination of organic replenishment and strategic acquisitions and distribution deals, despite a challenging marketplace.
