Medusa Film

Medusa Film S.p.A.

Company type	Società per azioni (S.p.A.)
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	1964 (1964)
Founder	Felice Colaiacomo Franco Poccioni
Headquarters	Rome, Italy
Products	Feature films
Parent	Mediaset
Website	medusa.it

Medusa Film S.p.A. is an Italian film production and distribution company owned by Mediaset. It is one of the top film producers and distributors in the country.^[1]

Medusa Distribuzione S.p.A. was founded by Felice Colaiacono and Franco Poccioni in 1964.^[2] Initially only focused on distribution, thanks to executive producer Franco Rossellini, in the 1970s the company began collaborating with other production companies, including Devon Film and Luciano Martino's Dania Film, and co-produced successful genre films and comedies. In 1983, Poccioni became the sole administrator of the company.^[3][4]

In July 1986, Reteitalia, a subsidiary of Silvio Berlusconi's Fininvest, acquired a 49% ownership interest in Medusa.^[5][6] Two years later, in 1988, Reteitalia took full ownership of the company, however, the following year, Medusa was subsequently absorbed into Penta Film.^[7][8]

In 1995, Penta Film was dissolved and Medusa Film was restored.^[9][10][11] Carlo Bernasconi was appointed president, and the company resumed operations in 1996.^[12][13] In 1999, Medusa announced that it would begin producing its own films.^[14][15] That year, Riccardo Tozzi signed a five-year contract to produce films for the company.^[16] Following the death of Bernasconi in 2001, Marina Berlusconi was appointed president of Medusa.^[17]

In 2002, Variety reported that Medusa Film was the second leading film distributor in Italy, holding 14% of the country's total market share.^[18] In 2005, the European Audiovisual Observatory reported that Medusa was the fourth leading film distributor in Italy, holding 10.3% of the country's total market share.^[19]

In July 2007, Medusa Film was sold to Mediaset,^[20][21] and Pier Silvio Berlusconi was appointed to its board of directors.^[22] In November 2012, Medusa sold its home video division to Warner Bros. Italia.^[23]