Global hits from Mediawan-owned companies include Slow Horses (See-Saw), Adolescence and F1 (both from Brad Pitt's Plan B). Courtesy of Apple TV+; Courtesy of Netflix; Courtesy of Mediawan Share on Facebook Share on X Share to Flipboard Send an Email Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Print the Article Post a Comment When Pierre-Antoine Capton founded Mediawan in 2015 alongside French telecom billionaire Xavier Niel and financier Matthieu Pigasse, he wasn't looking to copy Hollywood. He wanted to do something Europe had never quite managed: Build a truly international, independent studio that put producers and creators first - while still playing at scale. "The French market didn't trust itself," Capton says. "While French music, fashion and food exported well, our audiovisual culture didn't." Already a big name in unscripted TV - his Troisième Oeil Productions was a market leader - Capton says his lightbulb moment came when he saw the international success of French playwright Florian Zeller. Despite Zeller's acclaim (Capton produced his theater productions), financing a film adaptation of his plays in France proved difficult, ultimately leading Zeller to shoot his 2020 drama The Father in English, a decision that earned him an Oscar. Related Stories Movies Venice: Francis Ford Coppola Will Give Werner Herzog His Golden Lion Music Ado Is Japan's Biggest Star (That You'll Never Actually See) "That was proof that European culture needed a better way to express itself," says Capton. "With the rise of the streaming platforms, we were convinced this new environment called for the emergence of new, more agile and more international independent players, capable of bringing together the best talent and supporting them by giving them the means to grow [both] locally and internationally." On Dec. 15, 2015, Capton launched Mediawan with Niel and Pigasse, setting up the operation as a special-purpose acquisition company and taking it public in April 2016, raising more than $300 million to invest in buying media companies. Mediawan set up a joint venture with French animated group Zag in 2024, which produces and manages the global children's franchise Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug. Courtesy of Mediawan In slightly less than a decade, Mediawan snatched up dozens of production and distribution outfits across Europe and the world. It now controls some 80 companies. The crown-jewel partners include Brad Pitt's Plan B (producers of F1, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and Netflix's Adolescence); British-Australian drama champ See-Saw (Slow Horses, The King's Speech); London's Drama Republic (One Day); documentary specialist Misfits Entertainment (Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story); and leading German producer-distributor Leonine Studios. Mediawan has signed joint venture deals with the likes of LeBron James and Maverick Carter's SpringHill Co. and with French animated group Zag, producers of the global children's franchise Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. The Mediawan group is a content machine, producing 400-plus titles annually across TV, film, animation and documentaries. Mediawan's box office last year topped $1.2 billion, making it Europe's No. 1 film studio and a fitting recipient of The Hollywood Reporter's International Producer of the Year honor. Unlike traditional studios, Mediawan doesn't subsume its acquisitions. It federates them, giving each company creative autonomy and financial muscle to create a network that operates more like a collective than a conglomerate. "At Mediawan, our producers run their companies like independents," says Elisabeth d'Arvieu, CEO of Mediawan Pictures. "But they benefit from the infrastructure, co-financing and IP support of the group. It's talent-first-always has been. And we've stayed very nimble, without layers of management. It's basically Pierre-Antoine, myself and a small group of talented executives at the group level. We talk every day or every week with our producers." Adds Plan B co-CEO Jeremy Kleiner: "Mediawan has created an ecosystem of synergies that have expanded our universe in a number of exciting ways. They've given us the capital to innovate and a broader presence in Europe, all while fully respecting our independence." Deputy CEO for Strategy and M&A Guillaume Izabel describes Mediawan's dealmaking philosophy as "cherry picking - not for scale, but for fit." He adds: "Each company joining Mediawan was chosen for a very specific reason, bringing a unique expertise or creative vision that enhances our overall content offering [to allow us] to remain agile and relevant." Mediawan is doubling down on European-grown content. Its new limited series adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, produced by its Italian subsidiary Palomar, was a global sales hit. Miraculous, the animated brand controlled by Mediawan and Zag, generates more than $400 million annually in licensing and mercha