 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion picture |
| Founded | April 2, 1998; 27 years ago (1998-04-02) |
| Founder | Matt Wall Patrick Gunn |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Ryan Kavanaugh (president) |
| Owner | UltraV Holdings[1] |
| Parent |
|
Rogue (originallyRogue Pictures) is an American independentproduction company founded in 1998 by Matt Wall and Patrick Gunn, originally started off as a genre film label of theUniversal-affiliated independent film studio October Films and was based inUniversal City, California. It was known to produceaction, non-action,thriller, andhorror films.
It was owned byOctober Films from 1998 to 1999, after which it was merged withGramercy Pictures to formUSA Films until its original defunct year of 2000. In 2004, Rogue was revived byFocus Features, which retained the studio until 2009, when it was acquired byRelativity Media. In June 2012, Rogue and Relativity Media sold 30 of their films to Manchester Library Company,[2] which was acquired by Vine Alternative Investments in April 2017.[3]
On April 2, 1998, Rogue Pictures was formed as a division of theUniversal Pictures' independent film labelOctober Films, led by Patrick Gunn and Matt Wall, in order to release genre films to compete withMiramax'sDimension Films label. Rogue's theatrical releases, much in the same manner like Dimension did, would be handled by its parent company October Films, with video and television sales handled by October Films' parent company Universal, and all foreign sales would be handled by fellow Universal subsidiaryGood Machine.[4]
One of the first film projects/script acquisitions greenlit by Rogue was the filmCherry Falls, while the first acquisition by October via the Rogue label was the filmOrgazmo, althoughPolyGram Video handled the video rights of the film.[5] The genre's predecessor was the October Films-affiliated production label Mad Dog Pictures, which was designed to release genre films.[6] The Rogue name was dropped in 2000 after October Films was absorbed intoUSA Films following the merger withGramercy Pictures.[7]
In 2004, the name and branding was revived as part of the Universal-ownedFocus Features, with a goal of "high-quality suspense, action, thriller and urban features with mainstream appeal and franchise potential".[8] The revived Rogue Pictures would be led by the same team who led the Focus Features group, rather than having its own dedicated staff.[9]
In 2005, Universal expanded the company's operations to become a stand-alone division with a new goal of releasing ten films annually.[10] Later that year, Universal and Rogue signed a deal with newly formedIntrepid Pictures to produce, co-finance, and distribute films for five years.[11] In 2007, distribution and marketing of Rogue Pictures films were moved to Universal in company-wide shifts to accommodate Focus Features, putting Rogue Pictures under greater control of the parent company.[12]
In 2008,Relativity Media approached Universal about buying the company, a move described in the entertainment media as "bold."[13] The following year, Relativity completed acquisition of the company. At the time of purchase, Rogue Pictures had more than two dozen titles in its library, four upcoming films, and more than thirty projects in development.[14] This deal was part of Relativity Media reupping its agreement with Universal Pictures that would extend until 2015, and Universal would retain a distribution stake in future Rogue films.[15] On May 7, 2009, Relativity decided to turn the Rogue branding into a consumer brand that was used by the studio.[16]
| Title | Release Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Division ofOctober Films /Universal Pictures | ||
| Orgazmo | October 23, 1998 | U.S. distribution only; produced byMDP Worldwide and Kuzui Enterprises |
| Thick as Thieves | January 28, 1999 | distribution only; rights now owned bySamuel Goldwyn Films |
| Trippin' | May 12, 1999 | distribution only; produced byBeacon Pictures |
| Boricua's Bond | June 21, 2000 | distributed by USA Films |
| Cherry Falls | October 20, 2000 | co-production with Industry Entertainment and Fresh Produce Company; distributed by USA Films |
| Subsidiary ofFocus Features | ||
| Shaun of the Dead | September 24, 2004 | North American distribution only; produced byStudioCanal,Working Title Films andBig Talk Productions; international distribution handled byUniversal Pictures |
| Seed of Chucky | November 12, 2004 | co-production with David Kirschner Productions and La Sienega Productions |
| Assault on Precinct 13 | January 19, 2005 | co-production withWhy Not Productions, Liaison Films and Biscayne Pictures |
| Unleashed | May 13, 2005 | North American distribution only; produced byEuropaCorp, Danny the Dog, Ltd., TF1 Films, Qian Yang International, Current Entertainment andCanal+ |
| Cry Wolf | September 16, 2005 | co-production with Hypnotic |
| House of Voices | October 18, 2005 | North American distribution only |
| Dave Chappelle's Block Party | March 3, 2006 | distribution only; produced by Bob Yari Productions, Pilot Boy, Kabuki Brothers Films and Partizan Films |
| Waist Deep | June 23, 2006 | co-production withIntrepid Pictures,Radar Pictures and RSVP Productions |
| Fearless | September 22, 2006 | North American distribution only; produced by Hero China International |
| The Return | November 10, 2006 | co-production withIntrepid Pictures, Raygun and Biscayne Pictures |
| Altered | December 19, 2006 | direct-to-video |
| American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile | December 19, 2006 | |
| The Hitcher | January 19, 2007 | co-production withIntrepid Pictures andPlatinum Dunes |
| Hot Fuzz | April 20, 2007 | North American distribution only; produced byStudioCanal,Working Title Films andBig Talk Productions; international distribution handled byUniversal Pictures |
| Balls of Fury | August 29, 2007 | co-production withIntrepid Pictures andSpyglass Entertainment |
| American Pie Presents: Beta House | December 26, 2007 | direct-to-video |
| Doomsday | March 14, 2008 | co-production withIntrepid Pictures,Crystal Sky Pictures and Scion Films |
| The Strangers | May 30, 2008 | co-production withIntrepid Pictures,Vertigo Entertainment andMandate Pictures |
| Subsidiary ofRelativity Media | ||
| The Unborn | January 9, 2009 | co-production withUniversal Pictures,Platinum Dunes and Phantom Four Films |
| The Last House on the Left | March 13, 2009 | co-production withUniversal Pictures,Craven/Maddalena Films,Crystal Lake Entertainment, Scion Films and Midnight Entertainment |
| Fighting | April 24, 2009 | co-production withUniversal Pictures, and Misher Films |
| A Perfect Getaway | August 7, 2009 | co-production withQED International |
| MacGruber | May 21, 2010 | co-production withUniversal Pictures, andMichaels/Goldwyn |
| Catfish | September 17, 2010 | |
| My Soul to Take | October 8, 2010 | co-production with Corvus Corax |
| Skyline | November 12, 2010 | co-production withHydraulx Entertainment, Transmission and Rat Entertainment |
| The Warrior's Way | December 3, 2010 | North American distribution only; produced by Boram Entertainment |
| Season of the Witch | January 7, 2011 | co-production withAtlas Entertainment |
| Take Me Home Tonight | March 4, 2011 | co-production withImagine Entertainment; distributed by Relativity Media in the United States andUniversal Pictures internationally |
| Limitless | March 18, 2011 | co-production withVirgin Produced |
| Cost of a Soul | May 20, 2011 | |
| Shark Night | September 2, 2011 | U.S. distribution only; produced by Incentive Filmed Entertainment,Sierra Pictures,Next Entertainment and Silverwood Films |
| Movie 43 | January 25, 2013 | co-production withVirgin Produced,GreeneStreet Films andCharles B. Wessler Entertainment |
| The Disappointments Room | September 9, 2016 | co-production withLos Angeles Media Fund, Media Talent Group and Demarest |
| Independent company | ||
| The Strangers: Prey at Night | March 9, 2018 | distributed byAviron Pictures |
| Subsidiary ofRelativity Media | ||
| Violet | October 29, 2021 | |