 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion pictures |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States Burbank, California, United States |
Key people | Nick Savva (GM), Jeff Stabenau (co-founder) |
| Services | Digital Distribution |
| Parent | Giant Interactive LLC |
| Subsidiaries | Drafthouse Films,Tribeca Films |
| Website | Giant Pictures |
Giant Pictures is an American independentfilm distribution company founded by Nick Savva and Jeff Stabenau with offices inNew York City andLos Angeles. The company releases feature films, documentaries[1] and series onstreaming platforms, with an emphasis on flexibility and customization for filmmakers.[2] Giant Pictures owns and operates specialty theatrical label,Drafthouse Films.[3] Giant is the distribution and technology partner of theTribeca Festival.
Founded in New York City in 2017 by Nick Savva, who had previously worked indigital distribution for theTribeca Festival,[4] the company was initially launched under the name Streaming Plus. Its first film release wasNewness directed byDrake Doremus, which the company had acquired following its world premiere at the 2017Sundance Film Festival.[5]
Initially asubsidiary of Giant Interactive, a technology services company owned bypost production entrepreneur, Jeff Stabenau,[6] Giant Pictures focused on distribution to streaming platforms[7] includingAppleTV,Vudu,Prime Video,Netflix,Tubi,The Roku Channel,Pluto TV andPeacock.[8]
In 2020, in order to expand its global digital distribution efforts, Giant Pictures split fromGiant Interactive, although the companies maintained a close relationship as technology partners.[9] Subsequently, the company built various apps andchannels[10][11] on platforms such asThe Roku Channel,[12]XUMO,LG,Vizio andPlex.[13] By 2022, Giant Pictures was releasing upwards of 40 new feature films annually and had more than 1,000 titles under management via content partnerships with numerous independent studios.[14][15]
In February 2023, it was reported byDeadline.com that Giant Pictures had acquired American theatrical and VOD rights toA House Made Of Splinters, one of the 2023Oscar nominees for Best Documentary Feature.[16] Subsequently, Giant released the film ondigital platforms includingApple TV andPrime Video. A theatrical release was announced at selectAlamo Drafthouse theaters beginning in March 2023.
May 2023 saw the release of feature documentary,Nuclear Now, directed byOliver Stone, which Giant co-released along with two of its studio partners, Abramorama andParticipant Media.[17] The film makes the case for nuclear power as a vital energy solution in the face of climate change.[18]
Following a collaboration on the re-release of the cult 1980s genre movieAction USA,[19] in early 2021 Giant Pictures signed a sales representation deal withAustin, Texas–based distribution label,Drafthouse Films, for the acclaimed films in its catalog.[20] Subsequently, the Drafthouse titles were made available on multiple streaming platforms including Tubi,[21]Kanopy,[22]Shudder andHulu.[23] In March 2022, Giant Pictures acquired Drafthouse Films with Nick Savva serving as Drafthouse Films' new CEO andAlamo Drafthouse founderTim League becoming chairman.[24]
The first two films to be released by the newly acquired company wereNr. 10, directed byAlex Van Warmerdam andMasking Threshold, directed byJohannes Grenzfurthner.[25] Both films had a close association with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas and its related media companies, having premiered atFantastic Fest then playing atAlamo Drafthouse locations, followed by streaming releases on the Alamo On Demand platform and through Giant Pictures.[26]
In August 2021, Giant Pictures partnered with theTribeca Festival to createThe Tribeca Channel, a free, ad-supported movie streaming channel in the United States and Canada.[27]
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the movieA Bronx Tale in September 2023, Giant Pictures produced a4K digitalrestoration of the film on behalf ofTribeca Enterprises.[28] The digital coloring process was handled atGoldcrest Post in New York and was overseen personally by director,Robert De Niro.[29] The restoration took 9 months to complete. To accompany the re-release of the film onUHDBlu-ray, Giant created bonus features including new interviews with De Niro, as well writer and star,Chazz Palminteri. In June 2023, the Tribeca Festival, which De Niro founded along with the film's producer,Jane Rosenthal, premiered the 4K restored version with a special 30th anniversary screening at New York City'sBeacon Theater.[30]
In January 2024,Tribeca Enterprises and Giant Pictures partnered on an American distribution label calledTribeca Films,[31] to manage the distribution of high-quality independent films from thefilm festival circuit on streaming platforms.[32] The label aimed to focus on U.S. transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) and advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) with the opportunity for distribution across Giant Pictures’ streaming infrastructure, as well as on the Tribeca Channel. Tribeca Films set a goal of acquiring 25 titles per year from festivals likeSundance,Berlin,SXSW,Cannes,Toronto International Film Festival, as well as the Tribeca Festival. Trade publication,Indiewire, wrote of the initiative: "As the market has changed and made it harder for filmmakers to find homes for their festival movies, even with so many more options available, having one more buyer in the market should be good news for any indie filmmakers".[33]
| Title | Release date |
|---|---|
| Newness | 11/3/2017 |
| Mr. Roosevelt | 12/26/2017 |
| What We Started | 3/23/2018 |
| White Boy | 5/29/2018 |
| They Remain | 5/29/2018 |
| Pressing On: The Letterpress Film | 6/19/2018 |
| Time Trap | 11/13/2018 |
| Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. | 12/11/2018 |
| American Gospel: Christ Alone | 1/5/2019 |
| 306 Hollywood | 3/5/2019 |
| In Reality[34] | 4/2/2019 |
| Tater Tot & Patton | 5/4/2019 |
| Ghost Light[35] | 6/18/2019 |
| Love, Antosha | 11/12/2019 |
| Skid Row Marathon | 11/19/2019 |
| Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks[36] | 9/24/2019 |
| Cabaret Maxime[37] | 3/3/2020 |
| She's Allergic to Cats[38] | 4/7/2020 |
| The Panama Papers | 5/26/2020 |
| Volition[39] | 7/10/2020 |
| Watson | 7/14/2020 |
| Feels Good Man | 9/4/2020 |
| My Darling Vivian | 12/8/2020 |
| Action USA[40] | 1/8/2021 |
| #Like | 1/26/2021 |
| Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know[41] | 2/2/2021 |
| The Delicacy | 6/1/2021 |
| River's End: California's Next Water War[42] | 9/20/2021 |
| Death of Nintendo | 10/5/2021 |
| The Snail and the Whale | 10/5/2021 |
| The End of the Storm | 11/2/2021 |
| See You Next Christmas | 11/9/2021 |
| Salt in My Soul[43] | 1/25/2022 |
| The Hunt for Planet B | 3/8/2022 |
| Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey[44] | 5/10/2022 |
| Being BeBe | 6/7/2022 |
| Mission: JOY Finding Happiness in Troubled Times | 6/7/2022 |
| Dinner in America | 6/7/2022 |
| The Bridge of San Luis Rey: Remastered | 6/14/2022 |
| Turbo Cola | 6/14/2022 |
| Dark Cloud | 6/28/2022 |
| The Skeleton's Compass | 9/6/2022 |
| Elizabeth Windsor | 9/13/2022 |
| A House Made of Splinters | 2/21/2023 |
| Messwood | 4/18/2023 |
| Nuclear Now | 4/28/2023 |
| All Man: The International Male Story | 6/2/2023 |
| A Bronx Tale (30th Anniversary Edition) | 9/12/2023 |
| A Disturbance in the Force | 12/5/2023 |
| Everything in Between | 2/6/2024 |
| Absolute Dominion | 5/9/2025 |
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