STUDIOCANAL PARTNERS WITH NEW FRENCH PRODUCTION COMPANY GRANDS DUCS FILMS FOUNDED BY ALEX LUTZ

STUDIOCANAL, the European leading film and series studio and CANAL+ in-house studio, partners with the new French production company Grands Ducs Films, founded by the actor, director, playwright, novelist and filmmaker Alex Lutz.

With Grands Ducs Films, Alex Lutz and his associates Hadrien Bichet and Thomas Santucci aim to develop and produce their own films and TV series. Their previous collaborations with STUDIOCANAL include four films: LE TALENT DE MES AMIS in 2015, ‘GUY’ in 2018 with 6 César nominations, UNE NUIT in 2023 and CONNEMARA part of the Cannes Premiere selection 2025. More broadly, Alex Lutz has worked on numerous projects with CANAL+. He created the cult comedy sketch CATHERINE ET LILIANE broadcasted on CANAL+ from 2012 to 2019 (7 seasons), and he created and directed a TV-movie for CANAL+, LA VENGEANCE AU TRIPLE GALOP. Following the success of these long-standing collaborations between Alex Lutz and the group CANAL+, STUDIOCANAL wishes to now support Alex Lutz in the creation of his own production company.

Anna Marsh, CEO of STUDIOCANAL, Chief Content Officer of CANAL+ and Deputy CEO of CANAL+: “On behalf of STUDIOCANAL, I warmly congratulate Alex Lutz on the creation of Grands Ducs Films. We have enjoyed a close and rewarding relationship with Alex for many years, and are thrilled to support him, Hadrien Bichet and Thomas Santucci, demonstrating our continued commitment to collaborating with inspiring Talent.”

Alex Lutz, founder of GRANDS DUCS FILMS: “I am very pleased to announce the creation of Grands Ducs Films today and with my dear associates Hadrien Bichet and Thomas Santucci. For me, Grands Ducs Films is above all a company that will offer me greater autonomy in developing ideas that come to me and those desires that truly inspire me as a writer, director, and actor. It is also the perfect continuation of a story that has been in the making for many years with the CANAL+ group and STUDIOCANAL, and one which demonstrates mutual trust and loyalty. I’m incredibly grateful to Maxime Saada and Anna Marsh for their support. We already have a lot of projects in mind and are very excited about the future.”

ABOUT ALEX LUTZ
HUMORIST, ACTOR, DIRECTOR, AUTHOR AND FOUNDER OF GRANDS DUCS FILMS Alex Lutz started his acting carrier when he was 17 in Strasbourg, France. He has worked and grew within subsidized theatre for many years, where he has acted in and directed several shows. He came to Paris in 2003 to stage et co-write LA CERISE SUR LE GÂTEAU, Sylvie Joly’s latest show. After these productions, he joined CANAL+ in 2012, which marked the start of a long collaboration between the group and Alex Lutz, as he managed numerous projects for them, such as LE DÉBARQUEMENT and STÉRÉO TOP.

Regarding his carrier as a comedian, Alex created his first one-man-show in 2006, a subtle/delicious mix of stand up and theatre. This successful show led him to the Point-Virgule, Châtelet, Bobino, the Folies Bergère and L’Olympia during years of tour with Tom Dingler, his director. In February 2018, he created his second show, starting at L’Olympia again, performing in the Folies Bergère and the Chatelet as well, and touring throughout France. Both of his shows received many awards, such as “GQ comedian of the year” in 2013 and “l’étoile du Parisien”, an annual distinction awarded by Le Parisien newspaper. The two shows won a Molière, in 2016 for the first one, and in 2020 for the second. With Bruno Sanches, he embodied CATHERINE ET LILIANE for CANAL+ on television, between 2012 and 2016.

At the same time, in 2015, he wrote, directed and acted in LE TALENT DE MES AMIS, his first movie with Bruno Sanches, Tom Dingler, Audrey Lamy, Sylvie Testud and Jeanne Moreau. He directed a satirical feature film for CANAL+, LA VENGEANCE AU TRIPLE GALOP with Audrey Lamy, Marion Cotillard and Leila Bekhti. His second full-length movie, GUY, closed the Critic’s Week at Cannes in 2018. Alex received the Cesar of best actor and the Prix Lumière of best actor for this movie in 2019. UNE NUIT, the third feature movie he directed, in which he also acts alongside with Karin Viard, closed Un Certain Regard at the 2023 Cannes Festival.

In May 2025, he directed his fourth movie based on Nicolas Mathieu’s novel CONNEMARA, produced by STUDIOCANAL, which was selected for Cannes Première at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The movie will be released in theatres on September 10th 2025. Since 2007, Alex has also played in movies such as OSS 117: RIO NE REPOND PLUS, 5ÈME SET, À L'OMBRE DES FILLES, VORTEX, LE TABLEAU VOLÉ, BECOMING KARL LAGERFELD. Grands Ducs Films was conceived out of a shared desire with STUDIOCANAL to continue an artistic collaboration in both television and cinema.

ABOUT CANAL+
Founded as a French subscription-TV channel 40 years ago, CANAL+ is now a global media and entertainment company. The group has 26.9 million subscribers worldwide, over 400 million monthly active users on its video streaming platforms, and a total of more than 9,000 employees. It generates revenues in 195 countries and operates directly in 52 countries, with leading positions in Pay-TV in 20 of them. CANAL+ operates across the entire audio-visual value chain, including production, broadcast, distribution and aggregation. It is home to STUDIOCANAL, a leading film and television studio with worldwide production and distribution capabilities; Dailymotion, major international video platform powered by cutting-edge proprietary technology for video delivery, advertising, and monetization; Thema, a production and distribution company specialising in creating and distributing diverse content and channels; and telecommunication services, through GVA in Africa and CANAL+ Telecom in the French overseas jurisdictions and territories. It also operates the iconic performance venues L’Olympia and Théâtre de l’Œuvre in France. CANAL+ has also significant equity stakes across Africa, Europe and Asia, namely in MultiChoice (the Pay-TV leader in English and Portuguese-speaking Africa), Viaplay (the Pay-TV leader in Scandinavia) and Viu (a leading AVOD platform in Southern-Asia).

ABOUT STUDIOCANAL (a CANAL+ Company)
STUDIOCANAL, CANAL+’s in-house studio, is one of Europe’s leading film and series studios, with worldwide production and distribution capabilities. It operates directly in nine major European markets including Austria, Benelux, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, and offices in the United States and China. STUDIOCANAL finances, produces, and distributes 80 films per year. It owns one of the most prestigious catalogues in the world and the largest catalogue of European titles, boasting more than 9 400 titles from 60 countries. With a catalogue spanning 100 years of film history, STUDIOCANAL has invested close to 25 million euros into the 4K restoration of nearly 1 000 classic feature films over the past 7 years.

STUDIOCANAL also produces over 15 series each year, including local creations and premium international co-productions, and distributes its scripted productions and CANAL+ Originals globally (2,000 hours of current and library content in distribution). Projects are produced in-house by STUDIOCANAL or through its worldwide network of production companies, including 2e Bureau, Flab, Kissman and Pernel in France; Birdie Pictures, Urban Myth Films, Strong Film & Television and Sunny March TV in the UK; Bambú Producciones and Te Espero en Marte in Spain; Lailaps Films and STUDIOCANAL Series in Germany; Opus TV in Poland; Sam Productions in Denmark; Dingie in Belgium; and The Picture Company in the United States.

canalplusgroup.com/en/group/content-production-distribution-and-other

CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
Elvire Charbonnel, elvire.charbonnel@canal-plus.com
Karima Mhoumadi, karima.mhoumadi@canal-plus.com