Lionsgate, Studiocanal, Miramax in Distribution Agreement

SANTA MONICA/VANCOUVER/PARIS: Lionsgate and Studiocanal have clinched a deal to distribute more than 550 titles from the Miramax film library on DVD, Blu-ray, electronic sell-through, Internet VOD and worldwide cable VOD.

Lionsgate will represent the library in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, while Studiocanal will be response for Europe.

Steve Beeks, president and co-COO of Lionsgate, commented, "The Miramax library will be one of the most treasured jewels in our home entertainment crown. 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."

Olivier Courson, CEO of Studiocanal, added, "We are pleased to expand our existing partnership with Lionsgate to encompass this exciting new venture with Miramax. 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," said Miramax CEO Mike 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 U.S., which will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, VOD and available for digital download on March 15.