Besson’s Movie Studio That Made ‘Taken’ Seeks U.S. Bankruptcy

EuropaCorp SA, the French movie studio founded by director Luc Besson, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. after releasing a string of recent flops and botching a change in how it distributes films.

Losses stemming from the decision to handle its own U.S. distribution and the poor performance of movies like ``The Circle,’' ``Their Finest’’ and ``Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’’ led to the studio’s downfall, according to papers filed May 17 in New York federal court.

EuropaCorp signed a creditor protection procedure last week in France that gives it six months to restructure its debt ...