EuropaCorp

EuropaCorp S.A.
Company type	Public (formerly)
Industry	Film production and distribution
Founded	1992
Founder	Luc Besson
Headquarters	Saint-Denis, France
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Luc Besson (Chairman), Jean-Marc Lacarrère (CEO, since March 2024)
Products	Feature films, television series, home entertainment, video on demand, soundtrack production, publishing, theatrical exhibition

EuropaCorp S.A. (known as EUROPA CORP. until 2022) is a French film company based in Saint-Denis, close to Paris. It stands out as one of the rare independent studios offering comprehensive services by both producing and distributing feature films. EuropaCorp’s expertise spans production, distribution, home entertainment, video on demand (VOD), film financing, partnerships, licensing, soundtrack production, publishing, and theatrical exhibition. Its integrated financial approach generates income through multiple channels, maintaining a significant footprint in global markets.

Over a period exceeding 14 years, EuropaCorp has been involved in producing and co-producing upwards of 80 films and distributes more than 500 titles following its acquisition of the RoissyFilms Catalogue. The company is recognized for its proficiency in English-language productions and for launching lucrative franchises such as the Taken trilogy and the Transporter series. Since 2010, it has broadened its scope into television through EuropaCorp Television, adapting well-known franchises like Taxi for the small screen.

Starting in 2018, EuropaCorp encountered difficulties linked to accusations of rape and sexual assault directed at its chairman and majority shareholder Luc Besson.

History

Founded in 1992 by Luc Besson under the name Leeloo Productions, the company began making feature films with notable titles including Taxi and The Dancer. It adopted the name EuropaCorp in 2000. Separately, Besson established another smaller entity called Les Films du Dauphin in 1990, which operates independently.

Pierre-Ange Le Pogam, who previously held roles as Distribution Director and Deputy CEO at Gaumont, joined EuropaCorp in 2000 as Besson’s deputy but departed in 2011 due to internal conflicts.

EuropaCorp became publicly traded on Euronext Paris in July 2007, raising €70 million from the offering. In 2008, the French media authority selected one of EuropaCorp’s television projects for a mobile TV channel application. To strengthen its foothold in the U.S. market, Lisa Ellzey—formerly with Lionsgate and 20th Century Fox—was appointed executive vice president of U.S. Motion Picture Production in 2013.

Following rape accusations against Besson in 2018, EuropaCorp’s share price dropped by 17% to €2.31. The company divested its French television business to Mediawan, which rebranded it as Storia Television, and sold the Roissy Films catalogue to Gaumont. Additional allegations against Besson further tarnished the company’s image.

By May 2019, EuropaCorp obtained a six-month debt moratorium from a French commercial court and entered judicial protection proceedings. Shortly thereafter, it filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States; during this period its stock value fell to €0.67 and no active film projects were underway. By December 2019, EuropaCorp had accumulated $182 million in debt while negotiating a bailout with Vine Alternative Investments.

In February 2020, Vine Alternative Investments acquired a controlling interest of 60.15% in EuropaCorp. Falcon Strategic Partners IV also secured a 6.25% stake, signaling a transition toward American investment control.

Structure

As of 2007, ownership comprised 62% held by Luc Besson through Frontline, Pierre-Ange Le Pogam owning 8.06%, with the remaining 23% publicly traded.

Luc Besson served as chairman of the board. Jean-Julien Baronnet was chief executive officer until November 2008; Christophe Lambert succeeded him from 2010 until 2016. Marc Shmuger took over as CEO in 2016. In February 2024, Jean-Marc Lacarrère was appointed CEO and assumed his role in March.

Digital Factory—a company associated with EuropaCorp through Besson—managed post-production sound operations in Normandy and visual effects work based in Paris. In September 2022, EuropaCorp divested Digital Factory to Groupe Atlantis.

In September 2016, Chinese company Fundamental Films purchased a 27.9% stake, becoming the second-largest shareholder.

In June 2017, EuropaCorp entered into a music publishing agreement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Later that month, it disclosed a loss amounting to €120 million (US$135 million).

International scope

EuropaCorp has delivered worldwide box-office successes such as Taken ($224 million), Arthur and the Invisibles ($107 million), Transporter 3 ($106 million), and Hitman ($100 million). Notably, two EuropaCorp productions reached the top position at the US box office: Transporter 2 during summer 2005 and Taken in spring 2009.

The company has collaborated with prominent global actors including Jim Carrey, Penélope Cruz, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Salma Hayek, Tommy Lee Jones, Jet Li, John Malkovich, Jason Statham, and Liam Neeson, among others. The majority of its films are shot in English to enhance appeal across international markets.

EuropaCorp Japan, based in Tokyo, operates as a subsidiary specializing in film distribution within Japan through a partnership with Asmik Ace, Sumitomo Corporation, and Kadokawa.

Until 2020, home media distribution of EuropaCorp’s French releases was handled by Fox Pathé Europa, a collaboration involving 20th Century Home Entertainment and Pathé. This responsibility transitioned to ESC Distribution thereafter.

In 2012, EuropaCorp entered into a three-year output agreement with Chinese distributor Fundamental Films for 15 feature films, including co-production deals on three projects, thereby strengthening its presence in the Chinese market.

Further expanding its global reach, EuropaCorp announced an output arrangement with Polish distributor Kino Swiat in May 2015.

"Cité du Cinéma", French film studios

In 2012, EuropaCorp moved its operations to the Cité du Cinéma, a film studio complex located in Saint-Denis, near Paris. The facility boasts nine sound stages, 12,000 square meters dedicated to technical departments, and 2,200 square meters allocated for screening and reception areas at full capacity.

That same year, the cinema, photography, and sound engineering institution ENS Louis-Lumière also relocated to this complex.

EuropaCorp secured a lease agreement with Nef Lumière, which owns the commercial complex financed by Caisse des Dépôt and Vinci. This arrangement provides permanent office space for staff and production teams along with potential for future growth. EuropaCorp holds a minority equity position in the operating company alongside Euro Media Group, Quinta Communications, and Frontline. Euro Media Group oversees daily management and operates several studios across Europe.

Films

... [table continues with similar formatting for subsequent years] ...

Year	Title	Director	Language	Critical Reception
Year	Title	Director	Language	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic
1997	Nil by Mouth	Gary Oldman	English	65%
2000	Taxi 2	Gérard Krawczyk	French
The Dancer	Frédéric Garson	English
Exit	Olivier Megaton	French
Bang Rajan	Tanit Jitnukul	Thai
2001	Yamakasi		French
15 août	Patrick Alessandrin	French
Kiss of the Dragon	Chris Nahon	English
Wasabi	Gérard Krawczyk	French	43%	53
2002	Blanche	Bernie Bonvoisin	French
Once Upon an Angel	Vincent Perez	French
The Transporter		English	53%
Chaos and Desire	Manon Briand	French
2003	Laughter and Punishment	Isabelle Doval	French
Taxi 3	Gérard Krawczyk	French
I, Cesar	Richard Berry	French
'Tristan'	'Philippe Harel'	'French'
'Fanfan la Tulipe'	'Gérard Krawczyk'	'French'
'Les Côtelettes'	'Bertrand Blier'	'French'
'High Tension'	'Alexandre Aja'	'French'	'41%'	'42'
'Happiness Costs Nothing'	'Mimmo Calopresti'	'Italian'
'Michel Vaillant'	'Louis-Pascal Couvelaire'	'French'
'Together'	'Chen Kaige'	'Chinese (Mandarin)'
'Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior'	'Prachya Pinkaew'	'Thai'	'86%'

Storia Television

Storia Television is a French TV production firm that develops series and standalone programs for both domestic and international audiences. It originated as Europacorp's television division.

On April 16, 2010, Europacorp expanded by acquiring the production entity Cipango.

In January 2018, Mediawan purchased EuropaCorp Television’s French branch from Europacorp and rebranded it as Storia Television. This acquisition broadened Mediawan’s drama catalogue, positioning it as France's largest producer of scripted television content while enhancing its global distribution capabilities. The American segment of EuropaCorp Television was not included in this transaction.

Television series

Title	Years Active	Broadcasting Network(s)	Remarks
Taxi Brooklyn	2014	TF1 NBC (United States)	Co-produced with Gary Scott Thompson Productions Adapted from Luc Besson's film Taxi
Arthur and the Minimoys	2017–2018	Canal J, Gulli & Tiji OUFtivi (Belgium) Disney Channel Germany Radio-Canada (Canada)	Produced jointly with Studio 100 Animation Based on Luc Besson's movie series
The Crimson Rivers	2018	France 2	Co-production with Maze Pictures
Infidèle	2019–2020	TF1 La Une (Belgium)	Also titled Unfaithful Produced alongside BBC Studios France and Be-Films

XIII: The Series (2011–2012)
No Limit (2012–2015)
Transporter: The Series (2012–2014)
Flight of the Storks (2012)
Nom de code: Rose (2012)
Taken: The Series (2017–2018)

Awards and nominations

2009: In the Beginning, directed by Xavier Giannoli, was selected as France’s official entry at the Cannes Film Festival.
2009: I Love You Phillip Morris, directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, featuring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, competed for the Camera d’Or during Director’s Fortnight.
2009: Taken, under director Pierre Morel, received a Teen Choice Award nomination for Action Adventure Movie and won the BMI Film Music Award for composer Nathaniel Mechaly.
2009: Human Zoo, directed by Rie Rasmussen, was part of the Panorama section at the 59th Berlin Film Festival and screened at festivals in Copenhagen and Rio de Janeiro.
2007: Hitman, directed by Xavier Gens, earned the Golden Trailer Award for Best Motion/Title Graphics.
2007: Arthur and the Invisibles, directed by Luc Besson, received the NRJ Ciné Award for Best Dubbing; it was also nominated at the Young Artist Awards for Best International Family Feature Film and Best Performance by actor Freddie Highmore.
2006: The Chinese Botanist's Daughters, directed by Dai Sijie, won Best Artistic Contribution and People’s Choice Awards at Montreal World Film Festival, as well as Best Canadian Film or Video at Toronto Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 2007.
2005: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, directed by Tommy Lee Jones, was nominated for Palme d'Or; Jones won Best Actor while Guillermo Arriaga received Best Script honors. The film also garnered awards from Satellite Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Flanders International Film Festival, and Western Heritage Awards.

References

External links