Hollywood Pictures

Hollywood Pictures Company was an American film production label of The Walt Disney Studios, a business segment of The Walt Disney Company.

Not to be confused with the overall film industry known as "Hollywood", Cinema of the United States.
Hollywood Pictures Company
TypeLabel
IndustryFilm
FateDormant
FoundedFebruary 1, 1989 (1989-02-01)
DefunctApril 27, 2007 (2007-04-27)
Headquarters500 South Buena Vista Street,
Burbank, California
,
United States
ProductsMotion pictures
ParentThe Walt Disney Studios

While then-Disney CEO, Michael Eisner, at first intended Hollywood Pictures to be a full-fledged studio, like Touchstone Pictures. In later years its operations had been scaled back and its management was merged with that of the flagship Walt Disney Pictures studio.

Its most profitable film was M. Night Shyamalan's film The Sixth Sense, which grossed over $600 million worldwide upon its 1999 release.[1]

History

Hollywood Pictures Company was incorporated on March 30, 1984 [2] and was activated on February 1, 1989. Ricardo Mestres was appointed the division's first president, moving from Disney's Touchstone 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 closure of MGM/UA's United Artists and financial problems at Lorimar-Telepictures and De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. With Touchstone aligned with Hollywood, the two Disney Studio production divisions would share the same marketing and distribution staffs. Hollywood was expected to be producing 12 films a year by 1991 and to share funding from the Silver Screen Partners IV.[3] The company's first release was Arachnophobia in 1990.[1]

On October 23, 1990, The Walt Disney Company formed Touchwood Pacific Partners I to supplant the Silver Screen Partnership series as their movie studios' primary funding source.[4]

After the collapse of their just-renewed deal at Paramount Pictures, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer moved their production company to Hollywood Pictures in January 1991.[5]

The division issued primarily inexpensive comedies for the first six years with a few box office flops films, amongst them Holy Matrimony, Aspen Extreme, Super Mario Bros.,[6] Swing Kids, Blame It on the Bellboy, Born Yesterday and Guilty 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 out weigh 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.[7]

On June 27, 1994, Michael Lynton was appointed as new division president after moving from the Disney Publishing Group, where he was senior vice president and oversaw domestic publishing units including Hyperion Books.[8] Mestres left Lynton a few potential hits: Robert Redford's Quiz Show, the Sarah Jessica Parker-Antonio Banderas drama Miami Rhapsody, and Dangerous Minds, starring Michelle Pfeiffer.[6] In 1997, Lynton left for a position at Penguin Group.[9] By 2001, Hollywood Pictures had produced 50 films, but its operation had been phased out.[1]

After being dormant for five years, the brand was re-activated for low-budget genre films.[1] The first film released by the resurrected Hollywood were the three horror films—Stay Alive (released on March 24, 2006),[1] Primeval (released on January 12, 2007), and The Invisible (April 27, 2007). Around that time, Disney stopped releasing under the label in 2007 as the company announced a focus on its core brand names from its main film studio, Touchstone (until 2016), ABC, ESPN, and Pixar.[10]

Filmography
US Release date Title Co-Production With
July 18, 1990 Arachnophobia Amblin Entertainment
August 17, 1990 Taking Care of Business Silver 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 Interscope Communications and Nomura Babcock & Brown
February 7, 1992 Medicine Man Cinergi Pictures; US and German distribution
March 6, 1992 Blame It on the Bellboy Silver Screen Partners IV
April 3, 1992 Straight Talk Touchwood Pacific Partners I
April 24, 1992 Passed Away
May 22, 1992 Encino Man
July 17, 1992 A Stranger Among Us Touchwood Pacific Partners I, Propaganda Films, and Sandollar Productions
September 18, 1992 Sarafina! Miramax Films, Distant Horizon, Vanguard Films and BBC
October 16, 1992 Consenting Adults Touchwood 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. Lightmotive, Cinergi Pictures and Allied Filmmakers; US distribution only
June 4, 1993 Guilty as Sin
July 2, 1993 Son in Law
August 27, 1993 Father Hood
September 8, 1993 The Joy Luck Club
September 10, 1993 Money for Nothing
December 25, 1993 Tombstone Cinergi Pictures; US distribution only
January 7, 1994 The Air Up There Interscope Communications, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Nomura Babcock & Brown
March 4, 1994 Angie Caravan Pictures
April 8, 1994 Holy Matrimony Interscope Communications and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
August 12, 1994 In the Army Now
August 19, 1994 Color of Night Cinergi Pictures
August 26, 1994 Camp Nowhere
September 14, 1994 Quiz Show
September 23, 1994 Terminal Velocity Interscope Communications, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Nomura Babcock & Brown
October 21, 1994 The Puppet Masters
November 23, 1994 A Low Down Dirty Shame Caravan Pictures
January 6, 1995 Houseguest
January 27, 1995 Miami Rhapsody
March 3, 1995 Roommates Interscope Communications, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Nomura Babcock & Brown
March 31, 1995 Funny Bones
April 21, 1995 While You Were Sleeping Caravan Pictures
April 28, 1995 A Pyromaniac's Love Story
May 12, 1995 Crimson Tide Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
June 9, 1995 Dangerous Minds Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Via Rosa Productions
June 30, 1995 Judge Dredd Cinergi Pictures, USA distribution
September 8, 1995 The Tie That Binds Interscope Communications and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
September 8, 1995 Unstrung Heroes
October 4, 1995 Dead Presidents Caravan Pictures and Underworld Entertainment
October 13, 1995 The Scarlet Letter Cinergi Pictures
October 27, 1995 Powder Caravan Pictures
December 22, 1995 Nixon Cinergi Pictures
December 29, 1995 Mr. Holland's Opus Interscope Communications and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment; US distribution only
February 2, 1996 White Squall Largo Entertainment and Scott Free Productions; US distribution only
February 23, 1996 Before and After Caravan Pictures
April 19, 1996 Celtic Pride
May 24, 1996 Spy Hard
May 31, 1996 Eddie PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Island Pictures
June 7, 1996 The Rock Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
August 9, 1996 Jack American Zoetrope
September 13, 1996 The Rich Man's Wife Caravan Pictures
October 25, 1996 The Associate Interscope Communications and Polygram Filmed Entertainment
December 25, 1996 Evita Cinergi Pictures
January 24, 1997 Prefontaine
January 31, 1997 Shadow Conspiracy Cinergi Pictures; US distribution only
April 11, 1997 Grosse Pointe Blank Caravan Pictures and Roger Birnbaum Productions
May 30, 1997 Gone Fishin' Caravan Pictures
August 22, 1997 G.I. Jane Caravan Pictures, Largo Entertainment, Scott Free Productions and Roger Birnbaum Productions
October 17, 1997 Washington Square Caravan Pictures, Roger Birnbaum Productions and Alchemy Filmworks
December 25, 1997 An American Werewolf in Paris Cometstone Pictures
January 30, 1998 Deep Rising Cinergi Pictures
February 27, 1998 An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn
September 4, 1998 Firelight Carnival Films, Wind Dancer Productions and Miramax Films
September 11, 1998 Simon Birch Caravan Pictures and Roger Birnbaum Productions
August 6, 1999 The Sixth Sense Spyglass Entertainment and The Kennedy/Marshall Company
September 17, 1999 Breakfast of Champions Summit Entertainment
October 1, 1999 Mystery, Alaska
February 4, 2000 Gun Shy Fortis Films
September 15, 2000 Duets Seven Arts Pictures and Beacon Pictures
April 6, 2001 Just Visiting Gaumont Film Company; US distribution only
March 24, 2006 Stay Alive Spyglass Entertainment and Endgame Entertainment; US distribution only (distributed by Universal Pictures in UK)
January 12, 2007 Primeval Pariah Entertainment
April 27, 2007 The Invisible Spyglass Entertainment

See also

References
  1. Breman, Phil. "Film/TV Companies: Hollywood Pictures". About.com. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  2. Russel, Irwin E. "Articles of Incorporation of Hollywood Pictures Corporation". Business Entity Search. California Secretary of State. Retrieved June 3, 2019.
  3. Cieply, Michael (December 2, 1988). "Disney Forms New Film Unit in Plan to Double Output". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  4. "Disney, Japan Investors Join in Partnership : Movies: Group will become main source of finance for all live-action films at the company's three studios". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. October 23, 1990. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
  5. Masters, Kim; Pond, Steve (January 18, 1991). "`Top Gun' Team at Disney". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 25, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  6. Eller, Claudia (August 17, 1994). "A Stranger in a Strange Land Is Hollywood Pictures' New Player". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  7. Welkos, Robert W. (April 27, 1994). "Mestres Out as President of Disney Unit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  8. "Company Town : Hollywood Pictures Gets New President". Los Angeles Times. June 14, 1994. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  9. "AOL Taps Lynton". Los Angeles Times. Times Wire Services. January 6, 2000. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  10. Fixmer, Fixmer (April 25, 2007). "Disney to Drop Buena Vista Brand Name, People Say (Update1)". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
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