 | |
| Hollywood Pictures | |
| Company type | Label |
| Industry | Film |
| Founded | February 1, 1989; 36 years ago (1989-02-01) |
| Founder | Michael Eisner Jeffrey Katzenberg |
| Defunct | April 27, 2007; 18 years ago (2007-04-27) |
| Fate | Shut down, currently an in-name-only unit of Walt Disney Studios |
| Headquarters | 500 South Buena Vista Street,, U.S. |
| Products | Motion pictures |
| Parent | Walt Disney Studios |
| Divisions | Hollywood Pictures Home Entertainment |
Hollywood Pictures Company was an Americanfilm production label ofWalt Disney Studios, founded and owned byThe Walt Disney Company. Established on February 1, 1989, by Disney CEOMichael Eisner and studio chiefJeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood Pictures was founded to increase the film output of the Walt Disney Studios, and release films similar to those ofTouchstone Pictures. These films, featuring more mature themes, were targeted at adult audiences unlike the family-oriented productions of the studio's flagshipWalt Disney Pictures division. After years of hiatus, the label was closed on April 27, 2007. The studio's most commercially successful film wasM. Night Shyamalan'sThe Sixth Sense, which grossed over $670 million worldwide upon its release in 1999.[1]
Hollywood Pictures Corporation was incorporated on March 30, 1984,[2] and was activated on February 1, 1989. Ricardo Mestres was appointed the division's first president, moving fromDisney'sTouchstone Pictures. The division was formed to create opportunities for up-and-coming executives and to double Disney's feature-film output in order to fill the gap left by the contraction in the industry, which included the closure ofMGM/UA'sUnited Artists and financial problems atLorimar-Telepictures andDe Laurentiis Entertainment Group. With Touchstone aligned with Hollywood Pictures, the two Disney production divisions would share the same marketing and distribution staffs.[3] Hollywood Pictures was expected to be producing 12 films a year by 1991 and to share funding from theSilver Screen Partners IV.[4] The company's first release wasArachnophobia on July 18, 1990.[1]
On October 23, 1990, The Walt Disney Company formedTouchwood Pacific Partners to supplant theSilver Screen Partnership series as their movie studios' primary funding source.[5]
After the collapse of their then-recently renewed deal atParamount Pictures,Don Simpson andJerry Bruckheimer moved their production company to Hollywood Pictures on January 18, 1991.[6]
The division issued primarily inexpensive comedies for the first six years with a few box office flops, amongst themHoly Matrimony,Aspen Extreme,Super Mario Bros.,[7]Swing Kids,Blame It on the Bellboy,Born Yesterday andGuilty as Sin. The division only had one box office success,The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and one critical success,The Joy Luck Club, which did not outweigh the general anemic box office record of the division. On April 26, 1994, Mestres was forced to resign after the lackluster performance of the division. Mestres moved to long term production deal with the studio.[8]
On June 27, 1994,Michael Lynton was appointed as new division president after moving from theDisney Publishing Group, where he was senior vice president and oversaw domestic publishing units includingHyperion Books.[9] Mestres left Lynton a few potential hits: Robert Redford'sQuiz Show, the Sarah Jessica Parker-Antonio Banderas comedyMiami Rhapsody, andDangerous Minds, starring Michelle Pfeiffer.[7] In 1997, Lynton left for a position atPenguin Group.[10] When Lynton left, it was briefly transferred to a releasing-only entity, making pictures by third-parties, as well asCaravan Pictures, andCinergi, and its development slate was transferred toTouchstone Pictures, but David Vogel, who was president ofWalt Disney Pictures took on the studio by producing films again.[11] In 1998, the three units were transferred to the Buena Vista Motion Picture Group, and its development slate of projects by Hollywood Pictures, such asBicentennial Man, andThe Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was transferred to Touchstone.[12] By 2001, Hollywood Pictures had produced 80 films, but its operation had been phased out and its management was merged with that of the flagshipWalt Disney Pictures studio.[1]
After being dormant for five years, the brand was reactivated for low-budgetgenre films.[1] Films released by the repurposed Hollywood Pictures were two horror films:Stay Alive (released on March 24, 2006),[1] andPrimeval (released on January 12, 2007), and one thriller,The Invisible (released on April 27, 2007). After the latter release, Disney stopped producing and distributing under the label as it announced a focus on the company's core brands of Disney, Touchstone,ABC,ESPN, andPixar.[13]
| US Release date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| July 18, 1990 | Arachnophobia | co-production withAmblin Entertainment |
| August 17, 1990 | Taking Care of Business | co-production withSilver Screen Partners IV |
| February 1, 1991 | Run | |
| April 5, 1991 | The Marrying Man | |
| May 3, 1991 | One Good Cop | |
| July 26, 1991 | V.I. Warshawski | |
| January 10, 1992 | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | co-production withInterscope Communications andNomura Babcock & Brown |
| February 7, 1992 | Medicine Man | North and South American distribution only; co-production withCinergi Pictures |
| March 6, 1992 | Blame It on the Bellboy | co-production withSilver Screen Partners IV |
| April 3, 1992 | Straight Talk | co-production withTouchwood Pacific Partners I |
| April 24, 1992 | Passed Away | |
| May 22, 1992 | Encino Man | |
| July 17, 1992 | A Stranger Among Us | North American distribution only; co-production withTouchwood Pacific Partners I,Propaganda Films andSandollar Productions |
| September 18, 1992 | Sarafina![note 1] | U.S. distribution withMiramax Films only; produced by Distant Horizon,Vanguard Films andBBC |
| October 16, 1992 | Consenting Adults | co-production withTouchwood Pacific Partners I |
| December 4, 1992 | The Distinguished Gentleman | |
| January 22, 1993 | Aspen Extreme | |
| March 5, 1993 | Swing Kids | |
| March 26, 1993 | Born Yesterday | |
| April 16, 1993 | Blood In Blood Out | |
| May 28, 1993 | Super Mario Bros. | North and South American distribution only; produced byLightmotive,Allied Filmmakers andCinergi Productions |
| June 4, 1993 | Guilty as Sin | — |
| July 2, 1993 | Son in Law | |
| August 27, 1993 | Father Hood | |
| September 8, 1993 | The Joy Luck Club | Inducted into theNational Film Registry in 2020 |
| September 10, 1993 | Money for Nothing | — |
| December 25, 1993 | Tombstone | North and South American distribution only; produced byCinergi Pictures |
| January 7, 1994 | The Air Up There | co-production withInterscope Communications,PolyGram Filmed Entertainment,Nomura Babcock & Brown and Longview Entertainment |
| March 4, 1994 | Angie | co-production withCaravan Pictures |
| April 8, 1994 | Holy Matrimony | North American distribution only; co-production withInterscope Communications andPolyGram Filmed Entertainment |
| August 12, 1994 | In the Army Now | — |
| August 19, 1994 | Color of Night | North and South American distribution only; produced byCinergi Pictures |
| August 26, 1994 | Camp Nowhere | — |
| September 14, 1994 | Quiz Show | co-production withWildwood Enterprises andBaltimore Pictures |
| September 23, 1994 | Terminal Velocity | co-production withInterscope Communications,PolyGram Filmed Entertainment andNomura Babcock & Brown |
| October 21, 1994 | The Puppet Masters | — |
| November 11, 1994 | The Santa Clause | co-production withWalt Disney Pictures andOutlaw Productions |
| November 23, 1994 | A Low Down Dirty Shame | co-production withCaravan Pictures |
| January 6, 1995 | Houseguest | |
| January 27, 1995 | Miami Rhapsody | co-production with Cantaloupe Production |
| March 3, 1995 | Roommates | co-production withInterscope Communications,PolyGram Filmed Entertainment andNomura Babcock & Brown |
| March 31, 1995 | Funny Bones | — |
| April 21, 1995 | While You Were Sleeping | co-production withCaravan Pictures |
| April 28, 1995 | A Pyromaniac's Love Story | — |
| May 12, 1995 | Crimson Tide | co-production withDon Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films |
| June 30, 1995 | Judge Dredd | North and South American distribution only; produced byCinergi Pictures |
| August 11, 1995 | Dangerous Minds | co-production withDon Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films andVia Rosa Productions |
| September 8, 1995 | The Tie That Binds | North American distribution only; co-production withInterscope Communications andPolyGram Filmed Entertainment |
| September 8, 1995 | Unstrung Heroes | — |
| October 4, 1995 | Dead Presidents | co-production withCaravan Pictures and Underworld Entertainment |
| October 13, 1995 | The Scarlet Letter | North and South American distribution only; produced byCinergi Pictures,Lightmotive,Allied Stars and Moving Pictures |
| October 27, 1995 | Powder | co-production withCaravan Pictures |
| December 22, 1995 | Nixon | distribution in North and South America, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan only; produced byCinergi Pictures and Illusion Entertainment Group |
| December 29, 1995 | Mr. Holland's Opus | North American distribution only; co-production withInterscope Communications,PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and The Charlie Mopic Company |
| February 2, 1996 | White Squall | North American distribution only; co-production withLargo Entertainment andScott Free Productions |
| February 23, 1996 | Before and After | co-production withCaravan Pictures |
| April 19, 1996 | Celtic Pride | |
| May 24, 1996 | Spy Hard | — |
| May 31, 1996 | Eddie | North American distribution only; co-production withPolyGram Filmed Entertainment andIsland Pictures |
| June 7, 1996 | The Rock | co-production withDon Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films |
| August 9, 1996 | Jack | co-production withAmerican Zoetrope and Great Oaks Entertainment |
| September 13, 1996 | The Rich Man's Wife | co-production withCaravan Pictures |
| October 25, 1996 | The Associate | North American distribution only; co-production withInterscope Communications andPolyGram Filmed Entertainment |
| December 25, 1996 | Evita | North and Latin American and Spanish distribution only; produced byCinergi Pictures,RSO Films and Dirty Hands Productions |
| January 24, 1997 | Prefontaine | — |
| January 31, 1997 | Shadow Conspiracy | North and South American distribution only; produced byCinergi Pictures |
| April 11, 1997 | Grosse Pointe Blank | co-production withCaravan Pictures,Roger Birnbaum Productions and New Crime Productions |
| May 30, 1997 | Gone Fishin' | co-production withCaravan Pictures |
| August 1, 1997 | The Wrong Guy | direct-to-video; North American distribution only |
| August 22, 1997 | G.I. Jane | distribution in North and Latin America, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, the Benelux, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan only; co-production withCaravan Pictures,Scott Free Productions,Largo Entertainment, Roger Birnbaum Productions and Moving Pictures |
| October 17, 1997 | Washington Square | North American, U.K. and Irish distribution only; co-production withCaravan Pictures, Roger Birnbaum Productions and Alchemy Filmworks |
| December 25, 1997 | An American Werewolf in Paris | North American distribution only; produced by Cometstone Pictures |
| January 30, 1998 | Deep Rising | North and Hispanic American and French distribution only; co-production withCinergi Pictures |
| February 27, 1998 | An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn | North and Latin American distribution only; produced byCinergi Pictures |
| September 4, 1998 | Firelight | distribution in North America, the U.K., Ireland, Germany, Austria, Italy and Spain only; co-distributed byMiramax Films in North America; co-production with Carnival Films and Wind Dancer Productions |
| September 11, 1998 | Simon Birch | co-production withCaravan Pictures |
| August 6, 1999 | The Sixth Sense | distribution outside Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Portugal, South Africa, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Poland, Hungary and Japan only; co-production withSpyglass Entertainment andThe Kennedy/Marshall Company |
| September 17, 1999 | Breakfast of Champions[note 2] | North American distribution only; produced by Flying Heart Films |
| October 1, 1999 | Mystery, Alaska | — |
| US Release date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| February 4, 2000 | Gun Shy | distribution only; produced byFortis Films; international rights licensed to Buena Vista Film Sales |
| September 15, 2000 | Duets | distribution only; produced bySeven Arts Pictures andBeacon Pictures; international rights licensed to Buena Vista Film Sales |
| April 6, 2001 | Just Visiting | North American distribution only; produced byGaumont |
| March 24, 2006 | Stay Alive | North American distribution only; co-production withSpyglass Entertainment, Endgame Entertainment andWonderland Sound and Vision |
| January 12, 2007 | Primeval | co-production withPariah Entertainment |
| April 27, 2007 | The Invisible | distribution outside Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Israel, Poland, Hungary and the CIS only; co-production withSpyglass Entertainment |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
