France’s Canal+ Group has acquired a 51% majority stake in prominent Italian distribution and production company Lucky Red, marking its latest consolidation move in Europe.
Lucky Red, Italy’s leading independent film distributor, was active in film and television production as well as sales, and was one of the few Italian companies not yet acquired by a large international group.
The Rome-based company’s recent releases include “Sentimental Values,” “Nouvelle Vague,” “Greenland 2: Migration” and the Robbie Williams biopic “Better Man.” Their standout works include Gabriele Mainetti’s Freaks Out and Netflix’s first Italian film, On My Skin. Lucky Red’s recent work includes two films by French directors: Roban Campillo’s Enzo and Christophe Honoré’s Marcello Mio.
Lucky Red has also partnered with Italy’s Indigo Film for its distribution company True Colors.
The deal, which reportedly values 51% of Lucky Red’s shares at about $31 million, is not expected to result in any changes in management or creative decisions within the company, which was founded in 1987 by Andrea Occhipinti and Kermit Smith. This is considered a strategic partnership aimed at European synergies. Occhipinti (pictured above) holds the remaining 49% of the shares.
Lucky Red is past 39 Over the years, we have distributed approximately 400 titles by the world’s top authors, including Ang Lee, Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne, Nanni Moretti, Aki Kaurismäki, Mario Martone, Hayao Miyazaki, Alexander Payne, Stephen Frears, Pablo Larraín, Paolo Sorrentino, Christian Mungiu, Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, Denis Villeneuve, and Wes. Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Jia Zhangke, Wong Kar-wai, Tim Burton, Asghar Faraday, Luc Besson, Jim Jarmusch, Jafar Panahi.
The deal to acquire Lucky Red was reportedly signed in Rome by Occhipinti along with his business partners
Valerio Scarinci and Stefano Massenzi, StudioCanal CEO Anna Marsh.
In 2024, Lucky Red reported revenue of more than 50 million euros ($58.8 million) and net profit of 3.7 million euros ($4.35 million). Distribution revenue in 2025 will reach approximately 24 million euros ($28 million), making the company 8th place among Italian distributors last year.
Vivendi’s acquisition of Lucky Red follows a series of acquisitions of Italian companies by French groups in recent years, including BIM Distribution by Wild Bunch, Palomar and Our Films by Media One, and Groenlandia by Banijay.
