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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | November 17, 1992; 32 years ago (1992-11-17) |
| Founders | Roger Birnbaum Joe Roth |
| Defunct | 1999; 26 years ago (1999) |
| Fate | Closed |
| Successor | Spyglass Entertainment |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Roger Birnbaum (chairman, CEO) Jonathan Glickman (president) |
| Products | Films |
Number of employees | 7 (1997) |
| Parent | The Walt Disney Studios |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3] | |
Caravan Pictures, Inc. was an American film production company atWalt Disney Studios, formed byRoger Birnbaum andJoe Roth that was active from November 17, 1992 to 1999. Caravan Pictures' films were distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution (now known asWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures since 2007).
While Disney would sign directors and talent to two- and three-picture deals, Caravan Pictures would work with talent based on the project being produced and not lock them into agreements. The production company's slate strategy was to commit to screenwriters as directors, put bankable actors in predictable roles, and low-budget movies with like breakthrough talent. The unit had greenlight authority up to $30 million with the expectation of producing 5 to 7 films a year and did not have salary caps. They also did not have its own full business and legal affairs departments,[2] and executives did not have titles until 1997.[3]
Caravan Pictures was founded byRoger Birnbaum andJoe Roth as a production company atDisney in 1992 to fill the Disney Studios' then-yearly 50 to 60 production and distribution slots. Caravan Pictures was given a five-year, 25-picture agreement with greenlight authority up to $30 million and an overhead budget of $3 million, and was expected to produce 5 to 7 films per year originally. After just releasing its first picture,The Three Musketeers, on Christmas Day 1993, Caravan Pictures expected to release 10 films in 1994, which could accelerate the end of the deal in 2 1/2 years instead of 5 years.[2] They were able to get the adaptation ofAngie, I Says that was in turnaround at20th Century Fox, where they have previously worked.[4] In 1993,Jonathan Glickman, who came from theUSC'sPeter Stark Program, joined Caravan Pictures as an intern.[3] In early 1994, Fox executive Riley Kathryn Ellis, of which was a close friend of Roth, joined the company.[5]
When three out of the next four films flopped at the box office, Roth promised to coverI Love Trouble cost overruns pegged at $15 million if it did poorly. It eventually flopped as well.[6]
Roth moved on to be Disney studio chief on August 24, 1994, leaving Birnbaum in charge.[1] Disney CEO Michael Eisner was so set on replacingJeffrey Katzenberg as Disney studio chief with Roth that he forgave the cost overrun debt and paid Roth $40 million of fees for 21 unproduced films under the deal.[6]
Caravan Pictures was restructured in September 1997 to expand production in quantity and television films. Glickman was promoted to president of Caravan Pictures at that time, which led Birnbaum to start giving out titles to executives.[3]
In August 1998, Birnbaum left Caravan Pictures to co-foundSpyglass Entertainment (withGary Barber, former vice chairman and COO ofMorgan Creek Productions) at Roth's prompting, in which Disney took an equity stake and signed a five-year distribution agreement. With Disney cutting its yearly production output, Roth recommended forming a self-financing production firm similar toNew Regency Productions. After Caravan Pictures' remaining three films were released, the company went inactive. The final production credited to Caravan Pictures is the 1999Walt Disney Pictures filmInspector Gadget; on a rather ironic note, if not a brief moment of foreshadowing, the Caravan Pictures logo at the end of the film shows the man walking as usual before sprouting a propeller from his hatá la Gadget and flying away offscreen, never to be seen again. Caravan Pictures' slate of movie projects and an initial financial advance of $10 million to $20 million against future overages were also contributed by Disney.[7]
| Title | Release date | Disney label released as | Notes | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Three Musketeers[2] | November 12, 1993 | Walt Disney Pictures | co-production withAvnet-Kerner Productions; first film | $30 million | $111 million |
| Angie[1] | March 4, 1994 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production with Morra-Brezner-Steinberg-Tenenbaum Productions | $26 million | $9.4 million |
| I Love Trouble[6] | June 29, 1994 | Touchstone Pictures | co-production withNancy Meyers/Charles Shyer Productions | $45 million | $61.9 million |
| Angels in the Outfield[6] | July 15, 1994 | Walt Disney Pictures | $24 million | $50.2 million | |
| A Low Down Dirty Shame | November 23, 1994 | Hollywood Pictures | $10 million | $29.4 million | |
| Houseguest | January 6, 1995 | Hollywood Pictures | $10.5 million | $26.3 million | |
| The Jerky Boys: The Movie | February 3, 1995 | Touchstone Pictures | $8 million | $7.5 million | |
| Heavyweights | February 17, 1995 | Walt Disney Pictures | $17.6 million | ||
| Tall Tale | March 24, 1995 | Walt Disney Pictures | $32 million | $11 million | |
| While You Were Sleeping[3] | April 21, 1995 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions | $17 million | $182 million |
| The Big Green | September 29, 1995 | Walt Disney Pictures | $12 million | $17.7 million | |
| Dead Presidents[3] | October 4, 1995 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withUnderworld Entertainment | $10 million | $24.1 million |
| Powder[3] | October 27, 1995 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withDaniel Grodnik Productions andRoger Birnbaum Productions | $9.5 million | $30.8 million |
| Before and After | February 23, 1996 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withSchroeder/Hoffman Productions | $35 million | $8.8 million |
| Celtic Pride | April 19, 1996 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions | $9.2 million | |
| First Kid | August 30, 1996 | Walt Disney Pictures | $15 million | $26.5 million | |
| The Rich Man's Wife | September 13, 1996 | Hollywood Pictures | $8.5 million | ||
| Metro | January 17, 1997 | Touchstone Pictures | $55 million | $74 million | |
| Grosse Pointe Blank[3] | April 11, 1997 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions, Roth/Arnold Productions and New Crime Entertainment | $15 million | $31 million |
| Gone Fishin' | May 30, 1997 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions | $53 million | $19.7 million |
| G.I. Jane[3] | August 22, 1997 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withScott Free Productions,Largo Entertainment,Roger Birnbaum Productions andMoving Pictures | $50 million | $97.1 million |
| RocketMan[3] | October 10, 1997 | Walt Disney Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions and Gold/Miller Management | $16 million | $15.4 million |
| Washington Square[3] | October 17, 1997 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions and Alchemy Filmworks | $15 million | $1.8 million |
| Six Days, Seven Nights[3] | June 12, 1998 | Touchstone Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions andNorthern Lights Entertainment | $70 million | $164.8 million |
| Simon Birch[3] | September 11, 1998 | Hollywood Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions andLaurence Mark Productions | $30 million | $18.2 million |
| Holy Man[3] | October 9, 1998 | Touchstone Pictures | co-production withRoger Birnbaum Productions | $60 million | $27 million |
| Inspector Gadget | July 23, 1999 | Walt Disney Pictures | co-production withAvnet/Kerner Productions,Roger Birnbaum Productions andDiC Entertainment; final film | $75 million | $134.4 million |
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