StudioCanal, a Canal + subsidiary is appointing Alex Hamilton as Chief International Officer StudioCanal and to replace him, Katheryn Needham is promoted to CEO StudioCanal UK. Hamilton has held the position since 2020.
Hamilton will be working closely with all of the territory CEOs, and 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.
In 2024, StudioCanal achieved its highest ever box office share at the UK Box Office, grossing over £80m, and established itself as a 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.
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.
Needham 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.
Pippa Considine
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