Celador is a British film production company founded in 1983 that produces films, television shows, and radio content. It started as an independent company but was later owned by Complete Communications before Celador bought itself back. Celador is known for popular productions like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and Slumdog Millionaire. As a small production house, it relies on freelance workers and partnerships with other companies to fund projects. While relatively small compared to Hollywood studios, some of Celador's films have found commercial success internationally.
2. Ownership
• Celador is a film production company that was originally formed as
an independent company. It was founded by Paul Smith and Jasper
Carrot in 1983. It was then taken over by Complete
Communications, which were bought out by Shareholders including
Paul Smith and Jasper Carrot.
• When Celador was under the ownership of Complete
Communications, the company expanded in its radio productions.
• Complete communications tried to sell Celador to 2waytraffic,
however Celador became successful enough to buy itself out.
• After Disney aired Who wants to be a millionaire without Celadors
permission, Celador claimed £177 million from them.
3. Operating model
• Celador is a small production company compared to something legitimate as Hollywood. It works
by using freelance staff in a project by project basis , including directors and actors.
• Celador funded The Descent by using co-funding and partnerships. It worked with a company called
Pathe in order for the film to be produced. Co-funding and partnership is where similar companies
do deals with each other.
• Films in the UK can get money for their films productions in a variety of ways, such as:
• Initial capitalisation, which is where companies use a fund to produce their movie, coming from a
bank loan or even personal finance.
• Project capitalisation, which is where you attract companies to fund the film from a particular
project.
• Distribution fees- This is where a company tries to fund a project by selling the project to a
distributor before it’s been made.
• Licensing- This is where a production company has deals with bigger and more successful
production companies - in return for a fee. If the big production company decides to refuse
the offer, the small company can offer another company to invest into the production.
4. Products
• Celador has been responsible for very popular productions
such as ‘Who wants to be a millionaire? and ‘Slumdog
Millionaire’.
• Some of the television shows that Celador have launched are:
All about me, The Detectives, Winning lines, you are what you
eat and winning lotteries.
• Films they have produced consist of: The Descent, Dirty pretty
things, Separate lies and The Scouting Book for Boys.
• Celador has also been responsible for producing radio stations
such as The Breeze Network, Sam FM and Fire station.
5. Market position/ competitors
• Celador is a relatively small production company that has produced
seven films in ten years.
• The descent which was produced by Celador had a budget of £3.5
million and grossed at $57 million.
• When comparing Celador to DNA films (another UK production
company) , it is not as successful. DNA produced 20 films, whereas
Celador has produced 11 films. DNA films produced ‘Dredd’ where
the budget was $45 million and the profit was $41.5 million.
• Sony pictures entertainment is a globally successful production
company that has been involved in producing Spiderman 2, which
had a budget of $200 million and grossed at $783 million. The profit
was $583 million. It is also involved in its own franchise of
technology. Celador are a UK production company where Sony is a
Hollywood production company, proving more successful.