 On-screen logo used since 2010 | |
| Company type | Film andtelevision production company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1984; 41 years ago (1984) |
| Founder | John Davis |
| Headquarters | , United States |
| Products | Motion pictures Television programs |
Davis Entertainment (also known asDavis Entertainment Company) is an American independentfilm andtelevisionproduction company, founded byJohn Davis in 1984.
Davis's three divisions–feature film, independent film, and television–develop and produce film and television projects for the major studios, independent distributors, networks and cable broadcasters. The company itself has enjoyed a long-standing first-look production deal at20th Century Studios, although it also produces projects for all studios and mini-majors.
The company was founded in 1984 by filmmakerJohn Davis and it was incorporated inNevada on December 2, 1985. The company was officially established on May 21, 1986, in order to produce mid-to-high budget action films that were financed entirely by a studio, starting withPredator, a co-production withLawrence Gordon Productions andSilver Pictures, and a series of other films that were planned for release by20th Century Fox. It was decided that it would be done independently with co-investors, and it would help anticipate the expansion oftelefilms and sitcoms.[1]
On February 18, 1987, Davis Entertainment partnered withMark L. Lester of his Mark Lester Films company in order to handle the development of action-adventure films which were produced by the company, directed by Mark L. Lester, and it was independently financed by the two companies. The films that were made by the Lester/Davis alliance had ranked in the $5–10 million range, and would expect the co-venture to handle the production of two films before the yearend.[2]
In 1994, it launched its first foray into interactive games, and launchedCatapult Entertainment, Inc., intended to produce a modem that would link video game players by telephone lines; this would end up becoming theXBAND.[3] That same year, Davis Entertainment Company signed a production deal with20th Century Fox to develop feature films.[4][5]
In 1995, Davis Entertainment launched its art-house divisionDavis Entertainment Classics,[6] which was subsequently renamedDavis Entertainment Filmworks in 2002.[7] In 1998, Davis Entertainment struck a deal with20th Century Fox Television to produce television shows for its networks, both broadcast and cable.[8]
In 2007, Michael Dorman joined its television division. At the same time, they signed a development pact with Fox Television Studios to produce series for television.[9]
In 2011, John Fox, a former employee of 20th Century Fox, joined the company.[5] In 2013, it signed a deal withSony Pictures Television to develop television shows for platforms, broadcast, cable and streaming.[10]
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Predator[11] | John McTiernan | 20th Century Fox | co-production withLawrence Gordon Productions andSilver Pictures |
| Three O'Clock High | Phil Joanou | Universal Pictures | uncredited; co-production withAaron Spelling Productions | |
| 1988 | License to Drive | Greg Beeman | 20th Century Fox | co-production with Licht/Mueller Productions |
| 1989 | Little Monsters | Richard Alan Greenberg | MGM/UA Distribution Co. | co-production with Licht/Mueller Productions,Vestron Pictures andUnited Artists |
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Jungle Cruise | Jaume Collet-Serra | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | co-production withWalt Disney Pictures,Seven Bucks Productions andFlynn Picture Company |
| 2024 | Harold and the Purple Crayon[12] | Carlos Saldanha | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production withColumbia Pictures |
| 2025 | Flight Risk[13] | Mel Gibson | Lionsgate | co-production withIcon Productions, Hammerstone Studios, Flight Risk Films and Media Capital Technologies |
| The Pickup[14] | Tim Story | Amazon MGM Studios | co-production with The Story Company and Eddie Murphy Productions | |
| Predator: Badlands[15] | Dan Trachtenberg | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | co-production with20th Century Studios andLawrence Gordon Productions |
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Song Sung Blue[16] | Craig Brewer | Focus Features | Post-production | |
| TBA | 72 Hours | Tim Story | Netflix | co-production withSony Pictures, Hartbeat Productions, Counterbalance Entertainment, and The Story Company | Filming |
| All of Me[17] | TBA | Universal Pictures | In development | ||
| It Takes a Thief[18] | |||||
| Summertime[19] | Sony Pictures Releasing | co-production withScreen Gems andWestbrook Studios | |||
| UntitledGeorge Clinton biopic[20] | Amazon MGM Studios | ||||
| UntitledJungle Cruise sequel[21][22] | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | co-production withWalt Disney Pictures,Seven Bucks Productions andFlynn Picture Company | |||
| Vertigo[23] | Paramount Pictures | co-production withTeam Downey | |||
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Enid Is Sleeping | Maurice Phillips | Live Home Video | co-production withVestron Pictures |
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Settlement | Mark Steilen | MTI Home Video | co-production withCineTel Films, Dosgmile Pictures and JeanRoy Entertainment |
| Labor Pains | Tracy Alexson | USA Home Entertainment | uncredited; co-production with Dogsmile Pictures and Prosperity Pictures | |
| 2006 | Dr. Dolittle 3 | Rich Thorne | 20th Century Home Entertainment | |
| 2007 | Garfield Gets Real | Mark A.Z. Dippé | co-production withThe Animation Picture Company andPaws, Inc. | |
| 2008 | Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief | Craig Shapiro | ||
| Garfield's Fun Fest | Mark A.Z. Dippé | co-production withThe Animation Picture Company andPaws, Inc. | ||
| 2009 | Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts | Alex Zamm | ||
| Garfield's Pet Force | Mark A.Z. Dippé Kyung Ho-Lee | co-production withThe Animation Picture Company andPaws, Inc. |
| Year | Title | Director | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Curiosity Kills | Colin Bucksey | USA Network | co-production withMTE |
| Dangerous Passion | Michael Miller | ABC | co-production with Stormy Weather Productions andCarolco Pictures | |
| Silhouette | Carl Schenkel | USA Network | co-production with Faye Dunaway Productions andMTE | |
| 1992 | Wild Card | Mel Damski | co-production withMTE | |
| 1993 | The Last Outlaw | Geoff Murphy | HBO | co-production withHBO Pictures |
| Voyage | John Mackenzie | USA Network | co-production withITC Entertainment, Quinta Communications and USA Pictures | |
| 1994 | This Can't Be Love | Anthony Harvey | CBS | co-production with World International Network and Pacific Motion Pictures |
| One Christmas | Tony Bill | NBC | co-production with Karpf Productions | |
| Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story | Oz Scott | |||
| New Eden | Alan Metzger | Sci-Fi Channel | co-production withMTE | |
| 1997 | Asteroid | Bradford May | NBC | co-production withNBC Studios |
| Volcano: Fire on the Mountain[24] | Graeme Campbell | ABC | co-production with Pacific Motion Pictures and World International Network | |
| 1998 | Miracle at Midnight | Ken Cameron | co-production withWalt Disney Television | |
| 1999 | The Jesse Ventura Story | David Jackson | NBC | co-production withNBC Studios |
| Year | Title | Director | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Little Richard | Robert Townsend | NBC | co-production withFox Television Studios |
| 2001 | Sunk on Christmas Eve | Bill Jardine | National Geographic Channel | |
| 2005 | Nadine in Date Land | Amie Steir | Oxygen | co-production with Departure Studios |
| Life Is Ruff | Charles Haid | Disney Channel | co-production with Salty Pictures | |
| 2007 | Jump In! | Paul Hoen | co-production with Hop, Skip and Jump Productions |
| Year | Title | Director | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Locke & Key | Mark Romanek | Fox | television pilot; co-production with20th Century Fox Television,DreamWorks Television andK/O Paper Products |
| 2017 | Behind Enemy Lines[25] | McG | television pilot; co-production with20th Century Fox Television andTemple Hill Entertainment | |
| 2019 | Dolemite Is My Name | Craig Brewer | Netflix | limited theatrical release |
| Year | Title | Director | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Echo[26] | TBA | NBC | pilot order; co-production withUniversal Television |
| 2022 | Prey[27] | Dan Trachtenberg | Hulu | co-production with20th Century Studios andLawrence Gordon Productions |
| 2024 | Uglies[28] | McG | Netflix | co-production withAnonymous Content, Industry Entertainment, YRF Entertainment andWonderland Sound and Vision |
| 2025 | Predator: Killer of Killers[29] | Dan Trachtenberg | Hulu | co-production with20th Century Studios,20th Century Animation andLawrence Gordon Productions |
| Year | Title | Creators | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–2025 | The Equalizer | based on the 1985 TV series by: Michael Sloan Richard Lindheim developed by: Queen Latifah Richard Lindheim | CBS | co-production withFlavor Unit Entertainment, Martin Chase Productions, Milmar Pictures (seasons 1—2), Wilson Avenue (season 3), Shattered Glass (season 3),Universal Television andCBS Studios |
| 2021 | Rebel | Krista Vernoff | ABC | co-production withABC Signature,Sony Pictures Television and Trip The Light Productions |
| 2022 | Blockbuster | Vanessa Ramos | Netflix | co-production withUniversal Television, Fat Paws and Shark vs. Bear Productions |
| 2024 | Laid | based on the 2011 Australian TV series by: Marieke Hardy Kirsty Fisher developed by: Nahnatchka Khan Sally Bradford McKenna | Peacock | co-production withUniversal Television, Porchlight Films,All3Media International, That's Bananas and Fierce Baby Productions |
| Year | Title | Creators | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | Blank Slate[30] | Dean Georgaris John Fox | NBC | co-production withUniversal Television |
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