Constantin Film AG is a German film production company based inMunich. The company, which belongs to Swiss media conglomerate Highlight Communications AG, is a large independent German maker and distributor of productions.[10]
In October 2021, Constantin films formed a partnership withUpgrade Productions, which aims to develop and produce quality local-language productions for a worldwide audience, in collaboration withBron Releasing, which became its sales and distribution arm.
Constantin FilmverleihGmbH was founded in West Germany on 1 April 1950 byPreben Philipsen andWaldfried Barthel [de], who would later become the head of publicity for the company. It was originally the country's national distributor of films produced byColumbia Pictures andUnited Artists. Throughout the 1950s, Constantin distributed both popular and art-house films from several nations as well as medium-budgeted domestic films.
Constantin Filmverleih was renamed toConstantin Film GmbH on 21 September 1964, and on 1 July 1965,Bertelsmann Publishing became the majority shareholder of Constantin. They attempted to increase output without increasing investment that resulted in the demise of many of the studio's popular film series, investment in sex films, and a stronger emphasis on releasing films from other nations rather than shooting their own. Bertelsmann sold its shares in 1969.[15]: 86–87 The "old" Constantin Film GmbH was eventually declared bankrupt in October 1977.[16]
Founded in 1978 byBernd Eichinger, with Bernd Schaefers,[17] asNeue Constantin Film after acquiring the assets of the bankrupt "old" Constantin Film GmbH the previous year, Constantin Film developed into the first German film distributor with its own production company in just six years, with production activities extending to the international market. In 1986, theKirch Group (at the time Europe's biggest film and TV license traders) acquired a minority stake in Neue Constantin Film. Eichinger retained one of the company's leading executives and a major shareholder to his death in 2011.[18]
In the following years, Constantin Film fixed its position on the international movie market by establishing various production subsidiaries across Europe in 1996. At the end of the 1990s, Constantin Film acquired majority stakes in the film production companies Olga Film GmbH, Engram Pictures and MOOVIE GmbH.
In August 1999, EM.TV & Merchandising acquired a 25% stake in Constantin Film alongside its 51% stake in Olga Film, marking EM.TV's entry into the feature film business and increasing their family entertainment business.[19]
A month later in September 1999, the company then went public on the German stock market asConstantin Film AG. Deutsche Börse placed the Constantin Film share on the selection index Nemax 50 in March 2000. In 2000, the company partnered with American producerPropaganda Films to start ProCon Films, the venture was quickly dissolved in October 2001.[20][21]
Constantin Film AG foundedRat Pack Filmproduktion GmbH with producer Christian Becker and his team in 2001. The Swiss Highlight Communications AG (a strategy and finance holding with the operative segments of film and sports and event marketing) acquired 23 percent of the capital stock of Constantin Film AG from Kirch Beteiligungs GmbH und Co. KG and from diversified holdings for the first time in 2002. In 2003, the board of Constantin Film AG embarked on a new strategic path for the company: the traditional business areas of production and distribution were expanded to include the three areas of license trading, home entertainment exploitation and increased TV service production (especially TV entertainment). Constantin Film AG also acquired 61 percent of the shares in KirchMedia Entertainment GmbH (now renamed Constantin Entertainment GmbH), one of the market leaders in German show and entertainment production. The stake was increased to 100 percent in 2005.
At the end of 2009, the listing of Constantin Film AG expired; all the shares were transferred to Highlight Communications after a squeeze-out. As of 7 October 2009, Constantin Film was no longer listed at theFrankfurter Börse.
In January 2017 Bernhard Burgener was appointed chairman of the supervisory board, withMartin Moszkowicz as chairman of the executive board. In this capacity, Moszkowicz is responsible for the company's film business, including worldwide production and distribution, world sales, marketing and publicity as well as corporate communication and legal affairs.[22]
Oliver Berben joined the Constantin Film AG Managing Board on 1 January 2017. The newly-created division TV, Entertainment and Digital Media concentrates the development and manufacture of all national and international productions of the company that are not intended for cinema exploitation. Berben founded the MOOVIE GmbH in 1996, which became a subsidiary of Constantin Film AG in 1999.
In June 2018, Constantin Film had announced that they had acquiredMunich-based drama television production company Hager Moss Film.[23]
In January 2019, Berben assumed the position of "managing director production" of Constantin Film Production GmbH, at the same time continuing his work as a producer.[24]
On 12 October 2021, formerDisney Plus and Netflix executive Matt Brodlie and former president ofSierra/Affinity Jonathan Kier co-founded Upgrade Productions, based inLos Angeles. The new company also formed a partnership with Bron Releasing, aiming to develop and produce quality local-language productions for a worldwide audience. It would finance projects in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Japan.[25] In November 2021, Bron appointed Kier as president of Bron sales, marketing and distribution arm[26]
In October 2021, theWriters Guild of America West advised its members not to work for the company due it not being a signatory to the 2020 Minimum Basic Agreement.[27] However, the company said that it had paid all WGA fringe payments, which had been accepted by the WGA.[28]
In July 2023,Netflix and Constantin signed an exclusive long-term partnership.[29]
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