This article is about the parent and film company. For the film production subsidiary, see Amblin Entertainment. For the television production subsidiary, see Amblin Television.
On the same day as the company's formation, Amblin Partners announced that it entered into a five-year distribution deal with Universal Pictures by which the films would be distributed and marketed by either the main Universal banner or its specialty label, Focus Features.[4][8]The Girl on the Train was the first film released under the deal.[9]Mister Smith Entertainment, which began its international distribution deal with DreamWorks in August 2012,[10] continued to handle distribution sales for Amblin Partners in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.[5]
On October 9, 2016, Amblin Partners struck a deal with China's Alibaba Pictures, in which Alibaba acquired a minority equity stake in the company and would handle marketing, distribution support, and merchandising of Amblin Partners films in China in addition to co-financing Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures films worldwide.[1][11] On February 15, 2017, Comcast's Universal acquired a minority stake in Amblin Partners,[12] strengthening the relationship between Universal and Amblin,[2] and reuniting a minority percentage of the DreamWorks Pictures label with its former DreamWorks Animation division, which Comcast acquired the year prior in 2016.
On December 18, 2017, Amblin Partners signed a music publishing deal with BMG Rights Management, covering music from its films and television series.[13]
Transfer of eOne's stake
On August 22, 2019, Hasbro announced that it would acquire Entertainment One for at least $4billion. The acquisition was completed on December 30, 2019, resulting in the toy company inheriting Entertainment One's stake in Amblin Partners.[14]
On November 30, 2020, Amblin Partners renewed its distribution deal with Universal, which continued to be an equity stake holder.[15] That same month however, Participant terminated its equity stake in Amblin Partners, ending its relationship with the company.[15]
On June 21, 2021, Amblin Partners signed a multi-year deal to produce "multiple new feature films per year" for Netflix.[16]
On November 17, 2022, Hasbro announced that was selling part of Entertainment One's television and film business not directly supporting their Branded Entertainment strategy, which included their stake in Amblin Partners.[17][18] In March 2023, Deadline reported that Lionsgate (which Hasbro attempted to acquire in 2017), Fremantle, and Universal's former co-financing partner, Legendary Entertainment were among bidders for the assets of Entertainment One.[19] The following month, it was reported Lionsgate, Legendary, and GoDigital Media Group were among the potential buyers, with Fremantle dropping out of contention following an increase in the selling price, which was beyond what the company was willing to pay for the assets.[20] On April 20, 2023, it was reported that Hasbro was in talks with Throop, whose bid was backed by CVC Capital Partners, on the possibility of buying the company back.[21]
On July 11, 2023, Amblin Partners announced it entered a partnership with its distributor, Universal, where Universal will co-finance Amblin's productions, as Amblin announced it would lay off 20% of its staff.[22] In the same month Deadline reported that Lionsgate was a frontrunner to acquire Entertainment One, with Legendary and GoDigital still among the potential buyers and Throop attempting to launch another bid for the company after his previous attempt with CVC failed.[23]
On August 3, 2023, Lionsgate announced it would acquire Entertainment One from Hasbro for $500million, with the transaction closed on December 27, 2023.[24]
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