The company was founded in October 1998, and began operation as Optimum Releasing in May 1999.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tyrannosaur, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, The Awakening, and W.E.

[6] In December 2022, the company sued Wild Bunch International over their British/Irish Studio Ghibli contract, citifying that Wild Bunch International's deal with Netflix for the Ghibli catalogue breached an agreement over standalone streaming rights where Wild Bunch claimed that "non-internet" steaming platforms "don't exist".

[7] As of 2023 with the release of The Boy and the Heron, Elysian Film Group officially took over as Ghibli's distributor in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

StudioCanal UK distributed the release of the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black (2024), directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson who previously did Fifty Shades Of Grey (2015).