Research into distribution companies.

Here is some research looking into distribution companies, this will help me determine who may or may not produce/distribute our film.

 Mainstream

Dreamworks
According to IMDB.com, DreamWorks have never produced a British film, which are usually distributed by Walt Disney. They have produced over ten films that (at the box-office) have succeeded $100 million in gross. Dreamworks also specialise in animation through Dreamworks SKG.

However due to Dreamworks specialty in animation and lack of British films, they would not produce our film.


20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox Pictures generally handles American made films, they are owned by the Rupert Murdoch News Corporation. However they have a subsidiary known as Fox Searchlight that handle independent and British films.

20th Century Fox are unlikely to produce a small scale British film like ours.

Fox Searchlight

Fox Searchlight Pictures, is a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox, part of the Fox Entertainment Group. They generally produce and specialise in British, independent and foreign films. They cover the aspects that 20th Century Fox do not.

Fox Searchlight might possibly produce and/or distribute Happily Ever After

Benjy has also researched more companies:

New Line Cinema

New Line Cinema is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner Bros. in 2008

It is not a film studio which would produce a film like Happily Ever After.

Universal

Universal Studios Inc. (also known as Universal Pictures), is an American motion picture studio, owned by Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal, and is one of the six major movie studios. It is one of the longest-lived motion picture studios to be located outside of Hollywood.

It is possible that Universal would produce our film but it is more likely that they would produce it through the subsidiary Working Title

Warner Bros

One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, and DC Entertainment

It is possible Warner Bros would produce our film solely because generally their target audience is the same as ours. Also the range of different types of film produced by Warner Bros is wide.

Working Title

Working Title Films is a British film production company, based in London owned by Universal Studios. The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. It produces feature films and several television productions.

Judging by the films it has previously produced (According to IMDB), the target audience that Working Title genrally make films for, and the fact that it is a British Subsidiary of a major Mainstream American production company, working title is probably the most likely company to produce Happily Ever After.

 Independent

I have not researched a large amount of independent companies, partly because their aren't many but also because my film is a mainstream Rom-Com blockbuster.

Artificial Eye
Artificial Eye is a British film distributor, specialising in foreign-language and art house films for cinema and home entertainment.

It would not produce our film.

BBC Films

BBC Films is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including An Education, StreetDance 3D, Fish Tank, Stage Beauty, A Cock and Bull Story, Nativity! and Match Point.

I would not produce a mainstream romantic comedy like Happily ever After

Channel 4 
Film4 Productions is a British film production company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The company has been responsible for backing a large number of films made in the United Kingdom.

Because it produced The Inbetweeners Movie, it is possible that it would produce Happily Ever After

Studio Canal 
StudioCanal  is a French-based production (as StudioCanal S.A.) and distribution (as StudioCanal Images S.A.) company that owns the third-largest film library in the world.

It is possible that it would play a part in the production of our film if we were to work with Working Title as the two companies have worked together on comedy films in the past.

Conclusion

After researching into existing Rom-Coms and their production & distribution companies, we have determined that our film would be produced by a British subsidiary of a mainstream American company like Notting Hill which was produced by Working Title - a British subsidiary of Universal Pictures.