As it turns out, Montreal-based prodco Zone3 is still part of the top group of Canadian production companies.

Owing to an error on Playback’s part in our Annual Report on Independent Production (May 12 issue), Zone3 was ranked the sixth-biggest prodco in the country based on production and development spending in 2007, when in fact it placed fifth with $46.3 million, up slightly from the year before. That puts the company, half of whose volume is in the magazine/lifestyle/reality genre, as the top producer in Quebec – as has been the case for several years – and behind only Insight Film Studios, Shaftesbury Films, Nelvana Studios and Blueprint Entertainment in Canada overall.

Zone3 is also the producer of the sci-fi comedy feature sequel Dans une galaxie près de chez vous 2, which, by May 15, had taken in more than $1.6 million at the Quebec box office.

‘2007 was one of our biggest years in terms of volume,’ says company creative VP Michel Bissonnette. ‘And that is because we were producing in all television genres. We had 12 new shows on TV. We did a lot of magazine and comedy shows and youth programming – that is a lot in one year. It also reflects the fact that we invested a lot more in development in 2006.’

Zone3 TV shows include the variety shows Infoman and Le moment de vérité and the comedy series Le coeur a ses raisons and Histoires de filles.

Bissonnette expects the company to continue to grow.

‘We want to expand into English Canada,’ he says. ‘But instead of opening an office [there], we plan to keep overhead down by partnering with an existing production company in Toronto. We have a lot of formats we are producing for the Quebec market that could be interesting for English Canada.’

With files from Cheryl Binning

Top Canadian production companies, based on production and development spending in 2007

1. Insight Film Studios – $179,261,070
2. Shaftesbury Films – $68,536,494
3. Nelvana Studios – $60,000,000 (Playback estimate)
4. Blueprint Entertainment – $58,421,711
5. Zone3 – $46,300,000

*Information provided by the companies themselves unless otherwise noted