 | |
| Formerly | Touchstone Films (1984–1986) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Label[1] |
| Industry | Motion pictures |
| Founded | February 15, 1984; 41 years ago (1984-02-15) |
| Founder | Ron W. Miller |
| Headquarters | 500 South Buena Vista Street,, U.S. |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Sean Bailey[2] (2010–present) |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Parent | Walt Disney Studios |
Touchstone Pictures was an Americanfilm distribution label ofWalt Disney Studios, founded and owned byThe Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured more mature themes targeted at adult audiences than typicalWalt Disney Pictures films.[3][4] As such, Touchstone was merely apseudonym label for the studio and did not exist as adistinct business operation.[1]
Established on February 15, 1984,[5] by then-Disney CEORon W. Miller asTouchstone Films, Touchstone operated as an active film production division of Disney during the mid 1980s through the early 2010s, releasing a majority of the studio's PG-13 and R-rated films. In 2009, Disney entered into a five-year, thirty-picture distribution deal withDreamWorks Pictures under which DreamWorks' productions would be released through the Touchstone banner; the label then distributed DreamWorks' films from 2011 to 2016.[6][7] Following the release of DreamWorks'The Light Between Oceans (2016), the Touchstone label was retired.
Due to the increased public assumption that Disney films were aimed at children and families, films produced by Walt Disney Productions began to falter at the box office.[5] This began in 1975 with the release ofEscape to Witch Mountain and its1978 sequel. In late 1979, Walt Disney Productions releasedThe Black Hole, a science-fiction movie that was the studio's first production to receive aPG rating (the company, however, had already distributed via Buena Vista Distribution its first PG-rated film,Take Down, almost a year before the release ofThe Black Hole).[8]
Over the next few years, Disney experimented with more PG-rated fare, such as the horror-mysteryThe Watcher in the Woods, the spy-themed comedyCondorman,[citation needed] and theParamount Pictures co-produced fantasy epicDragonslayer. With Disney's 1982 slate of PG-rated films, which included the thriller dramaNight Crossing and the science-fiction filmTron, the company lost over $27 million.Tron was considered a potentialStar Wars-level success by the production company.
In late 1982, Disney vice president of production Tom Wilhite announced that they would produce and release more mature films under a new brand. Wilhite elaborated toThe New York Times: "We won't get into horror or exploitive sex, but using a non-Disney name will allow us wider latitude in the maturity of the subject matter and the edge we can add to the humor." He stated that one of the first films that would be released under this new brand wasTrenchcoat, a comedy caper starringMargot Kidder andRobert Hays;[9] however, the new brand had not yet been created by the time of the film's release in March 1983, so it was instead released by Walt Disney Productions, but with no production company credited in the released prints.
Disney registered a loss of $33 million in 1983, resulting primarily from such films as the adaptation ofRay Bradbury's horror-fantasy novelSomething Wicked This Way Comes, the horror-comedyThe Devil and Max Devlin starringElliott Gould andBill Cosby, and the dramasTex andNever Cry Wolf, the latter a PG release that featuredmale nudity, which did well as the studio downplayed the film's association with the Disney brand.[5]
Touchstone Films was founded by then-Disney CEORon W. Miller on February 15, 1984, as a label for their PG films, with an expected three to four movies released under the label. Touchstone Films' first film wasSplash, a huge hit that grossed $68 million at the domestic box office that year. Touchstone Films was a brand chosen from over 1,200 potential names; the runner-up name was "Silver Wind".[5][10][11] Incoming Disney CEOMichael Eisner and film chiefJeffrey Katzenberg considered renaming the label to "Hollywood Pictures", which went on to becomea separate Disney film label on February 1, 1989.[12]
In 1986,Down and Out in Beverly Hills was another early success for Touchstone and was Disney's first R-rated film. It was followed in 1987 by Disney's first PG-13-rated film,Adventures in Babysitting. Disney increased the momentum with additional PG-13 and R-rated films withRuthless People (1986),Outrageous Fortune (1987),Tin Men (1987), and other top movies.[10] In April 1986, Touchstone films were licensed toShowtime/The Movie Channel for five years, starting in 1987.[13]
Touchstone Films was renamedTouchstone Pictures after the release ofRuthless People in 1986. With Touchstone films, Disney moved to the top of box office receipts, beating out all the othermajor film studios by 1988.[10] On April 13, 1988, Touchstone became a unit of Walt Disney Pictures under newly appointed president Ricardo Mestres.[14] On October 23, 1990, Disney formedTouchwood Pacific Partners I to supplant theSilver Screen Partners partnership series as their movie studios' primary funding source.[15]
With several production companies getting out of film production or closing shop by December 2, 1988, the Walt Disney Studios announced the formation of the Hollywood Pictures division, which would only share marketing and distribution with Touchstone, to fill the void. Mestres was appointed president of Hollywood.[12] On July 27, 1992, Touchstone agreed to an exclusive, first-look production and distribution agreement withMerchant Ivory Productions for three years.[16]
Following the success of the Disney-branded PG-13-ratedPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003 and other films that in the 1980s and 1990s would have been released as Touchstone orHollywood Pictures films, Disney weighed distribution of films more toward Disney-branded films and away from Touchstone, though (before 2016) not entirely disbanding them as it continued to use the Touchstone label for R and most PG-13-rated fare.[1] In 2006, Disney limited Touchstone's output to two or three films in favor of Walt Disney Pictures titles due to an increase in film industry costs.[17] Disney indicated scaling back on using multiple brands in 2007 with the renaming of Touchstone Television toABC Television Studio in February and the outright elimination of theBuena Vista brand in April.[18][16] On January 14, 2010,Sean Bailey was appointed president of live-action production at Walt Disney Studios, overseeing all films produced byWalt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures.[2]
In 2009, Disney entered into a distribution deal withDreamWorks Studios and repurposed Touchstone as a distribution label for DreamWorks films.[7][19] Disney provided $100 million in financing to DreamWorks productions and an additional $75 million credit line if DreamWorks could not get additional equity funding. In January 2012, Disney was reportedly in the early stages of considering Touchstone's fate, including a possible sale.[20]
Following Disney's decision not to renew their long-standing deal withJerry Bruckheimer Films in 2013, producerJerry Bruckheimer revealed that he insisted on revitalizing the Touchstone label for production. Disney was uninterested, with studio chairmanAlan Horn admitting that Touchstone's output had been reduced to only distributing DreamWorks' films as those films were in the label's interest.[21] In addition to DreamWorks' films, Touchstone also released non-Disney-branded animated films such asGnomeo & Juliet,The Wind Rises, andStrange Magic.[22]
By the end of the DreamWorks deal in August 2016, Disney had distributed 14 of DreamWorks' original 30-picture agreement, with thirteen through Touchstone.[23][24] The deal ended withThe Light Between Oceans being the final theatrical film released by Disney under the Touchstone banner.Universal Pictures then replaced Disney as DreamWorks' distributor.[25][26] Disney retained thefilm rights to these DreamWorks films in perpetuity as compensation for the studio's outstanding loan.[27]
Following the release ofThe Light Between Oceans, the label became defunct. Since then, several other Disney divisions have produced or are developing television series and films based on previous Touchstone properties—such asTurner & Hooch,High Fidelity,Three Men and a Baby,Sister Act, andReal Steel—forDisney+ andHulu.[28][29][30][31]
Some well-known Touchstone Pictures releases includeBeaches,Turner & Hooch,Splash,The Color of Money,Down and Out in Beverly Hills,Good Morning, Vietnam,Who Framed Roger Rabbit,Dead Poets Society,Dick Tracy,Pretty Woman,Sister Act,Ed Wood,Up Close & Personal,The Waterboy,The Insider,The Royal Tenenbaums,Sweet Home Alabama,The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,The Prestige,The Help,War Horse,Lincoln, andBridge of Spies. Its highest-grossing film release isArmageddon. Although animated films produced by Walt Disney Studios are primarily released by Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone's animated releases include the original theatrical release ofThe Nightmare Before Christmas,Gnomeo & Juliet,The Wind Rises, andStrange Magic. Six Touchstone films have received nominations for theAcademy Award for Best Picture:Dead Poets Society,The Insider,The Help,War Horse,Lincoln, andBridge of Spies.[32]
Through Touchstone, Disney's firstR-rated film,Down and Out in Beverly Hills, was released on January 31, 1986, and was a box office success.Ruthless People followed on June 27, 1986, and was also very successful. Both of these pictures starredBette Midler, who had signed a six-picture deal with Disney and became a major film star again with these hits as well asBeaches andOutrageous Fortune.
One of the most notable producers of Touchstone films wasJerry Bruckheimer, who had a production deal with Disney from 1993 to 2014.[33][34] Touchstone films produced by Bruckheimer includeThe Ref,Con Air,Armageddon,Enemy of the State,Gone in 60 Seconds,Coyote Ugly, andPearl Harbor. Bruckheimer also produced several other films released under the Disney and Hollywood Pictures labels.
Releases from Touchstone were distributed theatrically byWalt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and through home media platforms byBuena Vista Home Entertainment (branded as "Touchstone Home Entertainment") (now20th Century Home Entertainment).[35]
| Rank | Title | Year | Box office gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Signs | 2002 | $227,966,634 |
| 2 | Armageddon | 1998 | $201,578,182 |
| 3 | Pearl Harbor | 2001 | $198,542,554 |
| 4 | Lincoln | 2012 | $182,207,973 |
| 5 | Pretty Woman | 1990 | $178,406,268 |
| 6 | The Help | 2011 | $169,708,112 |
| 7 | Wild Hogs | 2007 | $168,273,550 |
| 8 | Three Men and a Baby | 1987 | $167,780,960 |
| 9 | The Proposal | 2009 | $163,958,031 |
| 10 | The Waterboy | 1998 | $161,491,646 |
| 11 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | 1988 | $154,112,492 |
| 12 | Sister Act | 1992 | $139,605,150 |
| 13 | Ransom | 1996 | $136,492,681 |
| 14 | Bringing Down the House | 2003 | $132,716,677 |
| 15 | Sweet Home Alabama | 2002 | $127,223,418 |
| 16 | Good Morning, Vietnam | 1987 | $123,922,370 |
| 17 | The Village | 2004 | $114,197,520 |
| 18 | Enemy of the State | 1998 | $111,549,836 |
| 19 | Phenomenon | 1996 | $104,636,382 |
| 20 | Dick Tracy | 1990 | $103,738,726 |
| 21 | Gone in 60 Seconds | 2000 | $101,648,571 |
| 22 | Con Air | 1997 | $101,117,573 |
| 23 | Gnomeo & Juliet | 2011 | $99,967,670 |
| 24 | Dead Poets Society | 1989 | $95,860,116 |
| 25 | Unbreakable | 2000 | $95,011,339 |
| Rank | Title | Year | Box office gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armageddon | 1998 | $553,709,788 |
| 2 | Pretty Woman | 1990 | $463,406,268 |
| 3 | Pearl Harbor | 2001 | $449,220,945 |
| 4 | Signs | 2002 | $408,247,917 |
| 5 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | 1988 | $351,500,000 |
| 6 | The Proposal | 2009 | $317,375,031 |
| 7 | Ransom | 1996 | $309,492,681 |
| 8 | Real Steel | 2011 | $299,268,508 |
| 9 | Lincoln | 2012 | $275,293,450 |
| 10 | The Village | 2004 | $256,697,520 |
| 11 | Wild Hogs | 2007 | $253,625,427 |
| 12 | Enemy of the State | 1998 | $250,649,836 |
| 13 | Unbreakable | 2000 | $248,118,121 |
| 14 | Gone in 60 Seconds | 2000 | $237,202,299 |
| 15 | Dead Poets Society | 1989 | $235,860,116 |
| 16 | Sister Act | 1992 | $231,605,150 |
| 17 | Con Air | 1997 | $224,012,234 |
| 18 | Flightplan | 2005 | $223,387,299 |
| 19 | The Help | 2011 | $216,639,112 |
| 20 | King Arthur | 2004 | $203,567,857 |
| 21 | Need for Speed | 2014 | $203,277,636 |
| 22 | Gnomeo & Juliet | 2011 | $193,967,670 |
| 23 | The Waterboy | 1998 | $185,991,646 |
| 24 | Sweet Home Alabama | 2002 | $180,622,424 |
| 25 | War Horse | 2011 | $177,584,879 |
Touchstone Television served as Touchstone Pictures' counterpart label for television programming, producing television series includingThe Golden Girls,Blossom,Home Improvement,Ellen,My Wife and Kids,Scrubs,Monk,Lost,Desperate Housewives,Grey's Anatomy, andCriminal Minds. In 2007, the company was renamed ABC Studios as part of a move by Disney to re-align its studios around core brands such as ABC.[18]
On August 10, 2020, Disney announced that it would revive the Touchstone Television brand as a renaming ofFox 21 Television Studios as part of its phase-out of the "Fox" brand from the studios itacquired from21st Century Fox. At the same time, the existing ABC Studios merged with the previous iteration of ABC Signature Studios to formABC Signature.[37][38]
However, on December 1, 2020, Disney announced the revived Touchstone Television label would be folded into20th Television.[39] Subsequently, on October 1, 2024, Disney announced that ABC Signature would also be folded into 20th Television.[40]
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007; 18 years ago (2007) |
| Founder | Richard Berger  |
| Defunct | 2008; 17 years ago (2008) |
| Parent | Disney Interactive Studios |
By the end of 2007, Disney'svideo game subsidiaryBuena Vista Games had begun to produce material under its own short-lived Touchstone imprint. As is the case with its motion picture and television counterparts, Touchstone Interactive merely acted as a brand label ofDisney Interactive and not its own entity. The only title it released was theTurok video game in 2008.[41]
In the early 1990s, after having pulled their comic licenses fromGladstone Publishing and begun to create comics based on Disney properties themselves through theDisney Comics label, the company additionally considered an expansion into the burgeoning adult comics market (the expansion also includedHollywood Comics, modeled after Hollywood Pictures, andVista Comics, offering stories based on Disney's superhero and adventure films). FormerDC Comics editor Art Young led the nascent effort, which was aided by his contacts within the British and American comic markets. The new label was dubbedTouchmark Comics, echoing the Touchstone brand used for films and television.[42] Proposed titles includedEnigma byPeter Milligan andSebastian O byGrant Morrison. The brand got as far as a promotional booklet given out at the 1991San Diego Comic-Con.[43]
Before the idea could progress further, however, the so-called "Disney Implosion" (the result of poor sales and aggressive overexpansion) forced the company to cut back on its comic book ambitions, and Touchmark was scrapped.[44] Young subsequently returned to DC and helped launch theVertigo imprint in 1993, using many of the intended projects from Touchmark.[45] Now as Marvel Comics.
Film projects in various stages of production include: "The BFG," and "The Light Between Oceans," scheduled for release by Disney in 2016.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
