Montreal: Christian Larouche, executive vp with distributor Films Lions Gate, has launched Christal Films, a new production and distribution company created in partnership with Lions Gate.

Christal will distribute Quebec and European acquisitions as well as Lions Gate movies in the Quebec market. Lions Gate distrib staff in Quebec, about 30 employees, will move to the new company.

Some dozen theatrical releases are on Christal’s 2001 slate including Louis Saia’s Les Boys iii, Genevieve Lefebvre’s and Andre Melancon’s Le Ciel sur la tete, and two potential French blockbusters, Asterix et Obelix 2, starring Gerard Depardieu, and the Francis Veber comedy Le Placard.

Larouche is both producer and distrib on the highly anticipated Jean Beaudin thriller Le Collectionneur, adapted from the best-selling Christine Brouillet novel. It’s slated to go into production next month.

Larouche (L’Homme Ideal, Elvis Gratton II: Miracles a Memphis) joined Cinepix – Andre Link’s and John Dunning’s legendary movie company – as distribution director in 1982. Cinepix’s distribution activities expanded with the launch of Cinepix Film Properties (C/FP Distribution) in the early 1990s. In ’97, c/fp became the cornerstone of a new Canadian distribution company, Lions Gate Films, headed by Link, and a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Lions Gate Entertainment.

Christal’s latest release, Pierre Falardeau’s 15 Fevrier 1839, has box-office receipts of $359,554 after three weeks.

Larouche is the distrib for Quebec’s three all-time top-grossing movies, Les Boys I & II and Miracle a Memphis, representing more than $15 million in combined receipts, and has been the top importer of French movies, with a box-office take ranging from $2.4 million to $1.2 million for Cyrano, Asterix, Diner des cons, Indochine and last year’s Taxi 2. *