Entertainment One Creates Own Films

Entertainment One shifts focus from acquiring independent movies to producing its own titles.

14:33 22 November 2017

Entertainment One, a major distributor of independent films, is now shifting to producing its own titles as film fans switch to streaming services from Netflix, Sky, and Amazon.

 

The company, best known as the maker of the children’s animation Peppa Pig, is making a move as its margins squeezed due to the declining sales of DVDs. This gives the company more rights and take a bigger share of revenues and profits than for independently produced films.

 

The company has been signing co-production deals with Steven Spielberg and others to expand its roles in the earlier stages of filmmaking. Although its first release in partnership with the ET director, The BFG, disappointed last year, hopes are high for The Post, a Vietnam-Era drama set in the newsroom of The Washington Post.

 

In the first half of the year, the company spent £26.5million less on acquiring films and increased its investment in production by almost the same amount. Its share increased by 6.4pc on the update to 310pc. This is much higher than the 236p takeover approach from ITV last year.