StudioCanal confirms acquisition of Italian film outfit Lucky Red

Lucky Red was established in 1987 by Andrea Occhipinti

France’s StudioCanal has confirmed its acquisition of a majority stake in Italian distribution and production company Lucky Red.

Established in 1987 in Rome by Andrea Occhipinti, Lucky Red initially operated as an independent art-house film distributor before expanding its scope and releasing over 600 films.

It owns a catalogue including films from the likes of Bong Joon-ho, Jafar Panahi, Joachim Trier, Paolo Sorrentino, Michael Haneke, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wim Wenders, Danny Boyle, Luca Guadagnino, Alexander Payne, Todd Haynes, Stephen Frears and Asghar Farhadi.

It comes after Lucky Red and StudioCanal have previously partnered to distribute films such as Inside Llewyn Davis, Heidi and We Live in Time.

The acquisition will allow StudioCanal to expand into Italy, adding to its existing direct distribution and production presence across 11 European territories: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. It also has a presence in Australia and New Zealand and has offices in the US and China.

For Lucky Red, StudioCanal said the move will allow it to board more ambitious projects. While its activities are primarily focused on films, Lucky Red has been involved in TV series such as Belcanto (Rai/Netflix), Gigolo Per Caso (Amazon’s Prime Video) and Christian (Sky).

Anna Marsh, CEO of StudioCanal and chief content officer at Canal+, said: “This development enables us to gain a solid presence in one of Europe’s prime markets, further reinforcing our status as the leading European studio.”

Occhipinti, founder and CEO of Lucky Red, added: “Lucky Red and StudioCanal are both distributors and producers of successful films and series, with complementary strengths and a shared long-term vision.”