StudioCanal S.A.S. (formerly known as Le Studio Canal+, Canal Plus, Canal+ Distribution, Canal+ D.A., Canal+ Production, and Canal+ Image and also known as StudioCanal International) is a French film production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world. The company is a unit of the Canal+ Group, owned by Vivendi. Background The company was founded in 1988 by Pierre Lescure as a spin-off of the Canal+ pay-TV network. The original function was to focus on French and European productions, but later made strategic deals with American production companies, such as Carolco Pictures. StudioCanal's most notable productions from its early years include Terminator 2: Judgment Day, JFK, Basic Instinct, Cliffhanger, Under Siege, Free Willy, and the original Stargate movie. In those days, it was known as either Le Studio Canal+ or simply Canal+. Other films the company financed include U-571, Bully, and Bridget Jones's Diary. StudioCanal also funded the last third of David Lynch's film Mulholland Drive. StudioCanal also financed French-language films, such as Brotherhood of the Wolf (which became the sixth-highest-grossing French-language film of all time in the United States) and Intimate Strangers (which is being remade by Hollywood-based Paramount Pictures). The biggest box office hits for StudioCanal have been Terminator 2: Judgment Day which grossed US$519 million, Basic Instinct which grossed US$352 million and The Tourist which grossed US$278 million worldwide. Film library StudioCanal acquired film libraries from studios that either became defunct or had merged with it over the years; as a result, the company's library is one of the largest in the world, with over 6,000 titles. StudioCanal owns the libraries of the following companies: Carolco Pictures, including: The Vista Organization Seven Arts (joint venture with New Line Cinema) Paravision International, including: Parafrance Films De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, including: Embassy Pictures Lumiere Pictures and Television (currently owned as a result of parent company Canal+ Group's acquisition of cinema operator UGC who acquired those companies, via Cannon Films), including: EMI Films, including: British Lion Films, including: Individual Pictures The 1947–1955 London Films library Anglo-Amalgamated, including: Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors Associated British Picture Corporation, including: ABC Weekend TV Associated British Productions British International Pictures Ealing Studios, including: Associated Talking Pictures and Associated British Film Distributors Pathé News Welwyn Studios Romulus Films Studio Ghibli (United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland only, excluding Earwig and the Witch) Miramax (most international home video releases; 2011–2020, rights now held