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Corus Entertainment Acquires Majority Stake in Aircraft Pictures

Deal with Oscar-nominated animation studio bolsters company’s expansion into the global kids and family entertainment market.

Corus Entertainment Inc. has purchased a majority stake in Academy and Emmy Award-nominated production company Aircraft Pictures Limited, founded in 2005 by Canadian producing team Anthony Leo and Andrew Rosen. The deal marks an important investment in supporting Aircraft Pictures and Corus’ growth ambitions in producing quality kids and family-focused entertainment for the global marketplace. 

“Bringing Aircraft Pictures’ demonstrated creative capabilities and entrepreneurial talents into the Corus orbit will help to accelerate our strategy of expanding our global content business,” commented Corus Entertainment EVP of Content & Corporate Strategy Colin Bohm. “We are thrilled to be in business with two of the most respected producers in the industry.”

Aircraft Pictures produced the Oscar-nominated animated feature film The Breadwinner in 2017; the Emmy Award nominated live-action series Holly Hobbie; the popular trilogy of family-friendly television movies based on the Gordon Korman “Bruno & Boots” novels, which first aired on YTV in 2017; and the recently announced animated series Summer Memories. The studio has a robust slate of family-friendly scripted projects that are poised to capitalize on market demand for that genre. Corus’ investment will bolster Aircraft Pictures’ capacity for developing, financing, and producing premium content, with a focus on international co-productions.

“Andrew and I are truly fortunate to work with outstanding creative talent, exceptional co-producing partners and distributors and world-class broadcast and streaming platforms,” remarked Aircraft Pictures co-president Anthony Leo. “As we plan to grow the company in new and exciting ways, the additional resources that this landmark step provides will increase the value Aircraft Pictures can extend to our partners exponentially.”

“Having worked with Corus for many years achieving tremendous success with the Bruno & Boots films, we’re looking forward to turning this exciting partnership into a legacy of family-friendly content that resonates with audiences around the world,” added Aircraft Pictures co-president Andrew Rosen.

This investment builds on Corus’ growing content business, with Aircraft Pictures joining studio Nelvana, publisher Kids Can Press, and Corus Studios, each of which brings best-in-class content to leading platforms such as Nickelodeon, Discovery, the CW, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

Source: Corus Entertainment Inc.

Debbie Diamond Sarto's picture

Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.