Short answers, pulled from the story.
StudioCanal UK, then trading as Optimum Releasing, made a restored print of The Third Man its first theatrical release, in July 1999. The film was licensed from Le Studio Canal+ and hit UK screens on the same weekend as the UK release of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
StudioCanal acquired Optimum Releasing in May 2006 for between £22 million and £25 million. The deal was made through StudioCanal's parent company, Vivendi's Canal+ Group, and represented StudioCanal's re-entry into an international distribution market.
Optimum Releasing was rebranded as StudioCanal UK in September 2011. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tyrannosaur, and Don't Be Afraid of the Dark were among the first films released under the new name.
StudioCanal UK sued Wild Bunch International in December 2022, alleging that WBI's Netflix deal for the Ghibli catalogue breached an agreement governing standalone streaming rights. WBI counter-sued, arguing the distribution deal allowed recouping expenses across all forms of distribution, not only theatrical.
As of 2023, the Elysian Film Group became the official distributor of Studio Ghibli films in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The transition coincided with the 2023 release of The Boy and the Heron.
After Pathé shut down its UK theatrical distribution operation in 2023, StudioCanal acquired the British distribution rights to Chicken Run (in partnership with DreamWorks Pictures), James and the Giant Peach, and The Magic Roundabout.