Mars Films, also known as Mars Distribution, is a French motion picture company. It was established as an independent company by Stéphane Célérier and Valérie Garcia in 2007. It was acquired in 2021 by Vivendi, whose Canal+ subsidiary StudioCanal now operates its extensive library.
History
A former distribution subsidiary of BAC Films, Mars Films was acquired at 80 percent by StudioCanal in 2000 and served as the French distribution outfit for films financed and produced by StudioCanal. In 2002, StudioCanal bought it out entirely, retaining Stéphane Célérier as head. Célérier was ousted in November 2006 and replaced by Philippe Désandré, with Mars Films renamed to StudioCanal Distribution. At the time, it was classed as the fifth most popular distributor in 2006 with a 9.7% market share (or 15.3m admissions for 28 titles released). Célérier went on to reclaim the name and set up, in 2007, an independent company with Valérie Garcia.
In September 2015, Vivendi, the parent company of Groupe Canal+ (which operates StudioCanal), announced it had acquired a 30 percent stake in Mars Films. Stéphane Célérier was appointed vice-chairman of StudioCanal as part of the deal. At the time, Mars Films was again ranked as the fifth largest distributor in France.
Mars Films' catalogue includes the comedy-drama La Famille Bélier, which became a hit in France and was remade into the Academy Award-winning CODA; Two Is a Family with Omar Sy; Fred Cavayé's Nothing to Hide, François Ozon's In the House, Régis Roinsard's Populaire, Guillaume Canet's Blood Ties, Costa-Gavras' Capital. It also picked up the French distribution for several successful indie titles from the U.S. such Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, Barry Jenkins' Moonlight, Craig Gillespie's I, Tonya (2017), Matt Ross' Captain Fantastic (2016), Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, Jeff Nichols' Loving, and Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris, To Rome with Love, Magic in the Moonlight and Blue Jasmine.
On 1 August 2019, the company went into receivership after it stopped paying creditors. It was ordered by the Tribunal de commerce de Paris to restructure. On 11 August 2021, minority shareholder Vivendi acquired the remaining 70% share of Mars Films from May Holding. It also acquired its library of more than 200 titles for all rights in France, which is now fully operated by StudioCanal. Vivendi's paid a total of €17.3 million in its acquisition of Mars Films and laid off its 11 employees. The court ruling stated that the company "will now be focused on the distribution of its library titles and will limit the number of new films released". Upon its restructuring, Variety wrote, "So far, no other French company has managed to fill the gap left by Mars Films as a key purveyor of U.S. independent films." In 2022, Célérier went on to launch a new production company named Gemma Pictures with PGS Entertainment. That same year, Garcia launched her own company Gabman.
Selected filmography + Release date Title Director(s) French box office (admissions) Totally Spies! The Movie 146,388 Of Gods and Men 3,204,147 Potiche 2,318,221 War of the Buttons 1,542,231 Polisse Maïwenn 2,414,418 The Players 2,301,045 In the House 1,195,518 Populaire 1,167,403 Renoir 502,064 Young & Beautiful 712,767 Blood Ties 238,823 Venus in Fur 264,029 In the Name of My Daughter 300,373 The New Girlfriend 568,161 La Famille Bélier 7,450,944 A Perfect Man 667,261 Diary of a Chambermaid 333,118 Dark Places 239,160 One Wild Moment 854,153 Frantz 637,625 Lolo 906,840 The Innocents 702,040 Two Is a Family 3,237,948 The Climb 1,136,827 L'Amant double 387,829 The Man with the Iron Heart 242,999 Based on a True Story 110,940 Just a Breath Away 256,506 Nothing to Hide 1,639,781 Through the Fire 1,014,439 Remi, Nobody's Boy 857,515 By the Grace of God 915,327 Real Love 102,934 Love at Second Sight 559,126 The Translators 279,035
U.S. titles
The American (2010) Greenberg (2010) Midnight in Paris (2011) Arthur Newman (2012) Bachelorette (2012) Promised Land (2012) Spring Breakers (2012) To Rome with Love (2012) 12 Years a Slave (2013) Blue Jasmine (2013) Don Jon (2013) Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013) Foxcatcher (2014) Magic in the Moonlight (2014) While We're Young (2014) Irrational Man (2015) Jane Got a Gun (2015) 20th Century Women (2016) All I See Is You (2016) Café Society (2016) Captain Fantastic (2016) The Last Face (2016) Loving (2016) Moonlight (2016) Triple 9 (2016) The Circle (2017) Disobedience (2017) I, Tonya (2017) It Comes at Night (2017) Wonder Wheel (2017) If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Life Itself (2018) On the Basis of Sex (2018) Tully (2018) Vice (2018) A Rainy Day in New York (2019)
Notes
References