Thomas Benski, former CEO and co-founder of Gangs of London producer Pulse Movies, has introduced new London, New York, Paris and Los Angeles-based enterprise Lumina.
The brand new firm is billed as a “well-capitalized expertise & IP-led media group” backed by a primary spherical of funding in mid-eight figures, with buyers together with Magnus Rausing’s BFK, Charles Dorfman’s Dorfman Media Holdings and SVS Holdings.
“The present media panorama is in flux, and we imagine that is the best time to construct future dealing with corporations. Drawing from our wealthy previous expertise, we’re constructing within the current to form the long run,” mentioned Benski.
“With content material on the coronary heart of the whole lot at present, I strongly imagine expertise, manufacturers and IP are the multipliers. Our thesis is that there’s a huge alternative to decouple the IP creation course of by constructing studios and manufacturing corporations round main expertise,” he mentioned.
It will assist them personal extra of their work and construct lengthy lasting corporations that take away pointless and costly layers within the course of of making IP. With capital and strategic enter we imagine within the decentralized United Artist mannequin for at present,” he mentioned.
Lumina has already partnered with Oman Sy and Louis Leterrier for the brand new European studio, Carrousel Studios led by CEO Cecile Gaget, and Yann Demange’s Wayward Movies (’71, High Boy).
On the Youngsters and Household vertical, it has backed award-winning gaming studio Creators Corp (2023 WEBBY winner) in addition to Bafta-winning Youngsters IP enterprise – Strike.
It has additionally invested in client manufacturers like Metier, DAACI and simply closed on their greatest funding to this point on a globally acknowledged energetic put on model quickly to be introduced.
Lumina has additionally launched a brand new multi-disciplinary movie studio, Magna Studios, led by Marisa Clifford and Davud Karbassioun which has scaled in a short time with tasks in manufacturing throughout Branded, Documentaries and Scripted.
Sy, co-founder of Carrousel, certainly one of Lumina’s corporations mentioned: “on the coronary heart of this partnership, Louis, Thomas and I noticed a giant alternative in constructing an bold talent-led enterprise that may leverage the present market dynamics. Lumina & Thomas not solely carry capital however a strategic and operational strategy that gives artists like us the sources and experience to exit and notice our ambitions at a time when expertise is simply too typically not on the desk to profit from a tasks’ long-term success.”
The Lumina launch mentioned the corporate’s strategy would mix monetary funding and the sources of a worldwide studio, and be strategically organized in 4 verticals: expertise pushed studios, manufacturing, children & household, and client.
It added that its funding technique would leverage an in depth investor community and inventive and storytelling experience, combining these strengths with sturdy monetary backing, operational self-discipline, and entrepreneurial observe file.
Moreover, by self-financing movie and TV tasks, it mentioned Lumina and its companions would be capable to obtain higher artistic and monetary autonomy, enabling them to form ventures with daring, modern imaginative and prescient and invaluable IP.
Benski is drawing on his expertise constructing Pulse into a worldwide main multi-disciplinary studio that garnered accolades throughout all of its output and realized vital scale.
Pulse had revenues of greater than $150m and greater than 150 employees by the point Benski and Clifford exited in 2021. Their earlier tasks embody Gangs of London (Sky/AMC), Beastie Boys Story (Apple), PIG (Neon), The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (Netflix) and Lewis Capaldi: How I’m Feeling Now (Netflix).
In an bold projection, the corporate mentioned it aimed be worthwhile in its first 12 months of operations, delivering greater than $55 million in income throughout the group, and that it had already began producing its first IP and long-form tasks which can ship early subsequent 12 months and be introduced shortly.
Lumina has additionally secured funding for an IP battle chest that may allow the manufacturing of a variety of excessive worth movie and TV tasks over the approaching years throughout its group corporations.
Magnus Rausing of BFK, certainly one of Lumina’s buyers, mentioned: “Lumina’s collective information in investing and working companies makes them the best platform for pioneering a brand new strategy that each helps expertise to create and personal invaluable IP whereas driving innovation throughout its corporations – creatively, strategically and technologically. I used to be in search of a automobile to construct a media and leisure footprint and Lumina is totally the proper platform given its ingenious mannequin so I’m excited to assist it grow to be a defining participant within the ecosystem.”
