Appointments of A. Hamilton and K. Needham

STUDIOCANAL, a CANAL+ subsidiary and one of Europe's leading film and series studios with worldwide production and distribution capabilities, announces two management changes, effective March 1st, 2025.

Alex Hamilton is appointed Chief International Officer STUDIOCANAL. In this new role, working closely with all of the territory CEOs, Alex will oversee direct distribution and international operations across all of STUDIOCANAL’s direct distribution territories in nine European markets of France, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and Poland, as well as Australia and New Zealand. He will also oversee the STUDIOCANAL Kids & Family business, which notably controls the Paddington IP.

Alex Hamilton was appointed CEO of STUDIOCANAL UK in 2020. In 2024, STUDIOCANAL achieved its highest ever box office share at the UK Box Office, and established itself as the UK’s leading independent distributor. It also enjoyed a run of British film hits, including Wicked Little Letters, Back to Black, Paddington In Peru and We Live In Time. Additionally, over the past 12 months, whilst grossing over £80m at the UK Box Office, STUDIOCANAL has seen BAFTA nominations for The Apprentice, Hard Truths, and The Outrun, following on from nominations last year for Past Lives and The Old Oak.

Before joining STUDIOCANAL, Alex was President, International, Film and Managing Director of Entertainment One UK. From 2008 to 2019, Alex spearheaded eOne UK’s film business and oversaw the growth of the UK group from a theatrical startup into the country’s leading independent distributor, with eOne grossing over £725M at the UK Box Office alone during his tenure. From 2016-2019, Alex oversaw eOne’s film operations outside of North America as President of International, Film.

Katheryn Needham is promoted to CEO STUDIOCANAL UK, replacing Alex Hamilton who has held the position since 2020. She has held the position of Managing Director STUDIOCANAL UK since the beginning of 2024 and was previously the Interim CEO of STUDIOCANAL Kids & Family (ex-Copyrights) for 18 months, in addition to her responsibilities as Head of TV, Digital & Business Development within STUDIOCANAL UK.

During her time at STUDIOCANAL Kids & Family (ex-Copyrights), Katheryn successfully shepherded the licensing, merchandising and retail business of the Paddington brand into the STUDIOCANAL group. Prior to that, Katheryn was instrumental in launching STUDIOCANAL Presents streaming channel which showcases the best of the studio’s library on Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ platforms in the UK, as well as being responsible for securing Pay deals for the UK theatrical releases.

Anna Marsh, STUDIOCANAL CEO and CANAL+ Deputy CEO, comments: "I am delighted to announce the promotions of Alex Hamilton as STUDIOCANAL's Chief International Officer and Katheryn Needham as CEO STUDIOCANAL UK. Their in-depth knowledge of the industry, passion and commitment to STUDIOCANAL and the CANAL+ group is second to none. Alex’s will oversee all direct distribution territories and our Kids & Family entity, further progressing STUDIOCANAL global ambitions to leverage synergies with CANAL+, and solidify partnerships with industry players operating locally and worldwide. After almost two decades in delivering excellent results for the UK business, Katheryn was Alex’s natural successor to continue to shepherd the UK's leading independent distributor."

ABOUT STUDIOCANAL (a CANAL+ Company) STUDIOCANAL, a 100% affiliate of CANAL+, is one of Europe’s leading film and series studios, with worldwide production and distribution capabilities. It operates directly in nine major European markets including Austria, Benelux, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, and in offices in the United States and China. STUDIOCANAL finances, produces, and distributes 80 films per year. It owns one of the most prestigious catalogues in the world and the largest catalogue of European titles, boasting more than 9 400 titles from 60 countries. With a catalogue spanning 100 years of film history, STUDIOCANAL has invested close to 25 million euros into the 4K restoration of nearly 1 000 classic feature films over the past 7 years. STUDIOCANAL also produces over 15 series each year, including local creations and premium international co-productions, and distributes its scripted productions and CANAL+ Originals globally (2,000 hours of current and library content in distribution). Projects are produced in-house by STUDIOCANAL or through its worldwide network of production companies, including 2e Bureau and STUDIOCANAL Original in France; Birdie Pictures, Red Production Company, Urban Myth Films, Strong Film & Television, and Sunny March TV in the UK; Bambú Producciones and Te Espero en Marte in Spain; Lailaps Films and STUDIOCANAL Series in Germany; Opus TV in Poland; Sam Productions in Denmark; Dingie in Belgium; and The Picture Company in the United States.

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CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS Elvire Charbonnel elvire.charbonnel@canal-plus.com