Dark Castle Entertainment

Last updated
Dark Castle Entertainment
Company typeLabel
Industry Motion pictures
Founded1998;27 years ago (1998)
Founder
Headquarters
Beverly Hills, California [1]
Key people
  • Hal Sadoff
  • Norman Golightly
  • Douglas McClure
Products Motion pictures
Parent OEG Inc.
Website https://darkcastle.com

Dark Castle Entertainment is a film production label of OEG Inc. [2] [3] [4] [5] It was founded in 1998 originally as a film production company by producers Joel Silver & Gilbert Adler and filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, with most of its productions centered on horror films, the majority of which were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. [6] [7] [4]

Contents

History

1998–2003: Homage to William Castle, the early years

Dark Castle was founded in 1998 [8] by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler. [9] The Dark Castle name pays homage to William Castle, a horror filmmaker from the 1950s and 1960s. [6] When first formed, the goal of the company was to remake Castle's horror films. After two remakes, House on Haunted Hill [10] and Thirteen Ghosts , [11] they moved on to producing original material, [12] along with remakes of non-Castle films. [13]

2003–2013: More horror, action

Gothika , starring Halle Berry and Robert Downey Jr., was Dark Castle's first original film in 2003. [12] They followed it up with House of Wax , the company's first remake of a non-Castle film. [9] [14]

In 2008, the company moved beyond the horror genre to produce the action film RocknRolla . [15]

In 2009, Dark Castle released the psychological horror film Orphan . [16] The film grossed $80 million on a $20 million budget. [17] Later that year, the company produced its first martial arts film, Ninja Assassin . [18]

In 2010, they produced action film adaptions of The Losers based on the DC Vertigo comic of the same name, [19] and Unknown starring Liam Neeson, which grossed $136 million against its $30 million budget. [20]

After a long relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures as their main distributor, [6] Dark Castle began working with other distributors including Paramount Pictures [7] and Shudder/AMC. [4]

2015–present: New ownership and commercial success

Dark Castle, with its then-parent company Silver Pictures, were acquired by Daryl Katz of OEG Inc. in 2015. [2] [3] Hal Sadoff was named CEO. [2]

The company released its first film under OEG the following year, neo noir comedy crime movie The Nice Guys , starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. [21]

Next, Dark Castle produced black comedy crime film Suburbicon directed by George Clooney, written by the Coen Brothers, and starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore. [22] [23]

In 2018, Dark Castle produced Superfly , [24] a remake of the 1972 film Super Fly. [25]

Dark Castle continued to produce horror films, including Seance , starring Suki Waterhouse, [26] and the prequel to Orphan, Orphan: First Kill , starring Isabelle Fuhrman from the original movie. [27] In 2020, the company began producing television with the sci-fi horror series The Expecting. [28]

In 2023, the company filmed Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, [29] and financed the films Shell , starring Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson, and directed by Max Minghella, [30] and Last Breath , which is based on the documentary Last Breath and stars Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu. [31]

Filmography

Release dateFilmDirector(s)Distributor
October 29, 1999 House on Haunted Hill William Malone Warner Bros. Pictures [10]
October 26, 2001 Thirteen Ghosts Steve Beck [11] [32]

Warner Bros. Pictures/Sony Pictures

October 25, 2002 Ghost Ship Warner Bros. Pictures
November 21, 2003 Gothika Mathieu Kassovitz [33] Warner Bros. Pictures/Sony Pictures
May 6, 2005 House of Wax Jaume Collet-Serra [34]

Warner Bros. Pictures

April 5, 2007 The Reaping Stephen Hopkins [35] Warner Bros. Pictures
October 16, 2007 Return to House on Haunted Hill Víctor Garcia Warner Premiere [36]
October 8, 2008 RocknRolla Guy Ritchie Warner Bros. Pictures [37]
February 27, 2009 Echelon Conspiracy Greg Marcks After Dark Films [38]
July 24, 2009 Orphan Jaume Collet-Serra Warner Bros. Pictures [16]
September 11, 2009 Whiteout Dominic Sena [39] Warner Bros. Pictures
September 29, 2009 The Hills Run Red Dave Parker Warner Premiere [40]
November 25, 2009 Ninja Assassin James McTeigue Warner Bros. Pictures [18]
April 23, 2010 The Losers Sylvain White [19] Warner Bros. Pictures
June 4, 2010 Splice Vincenzo Natali [41] Gaumont/Warner Bros. Pictures
February 18, 2011 Unknown Jaume Collet-Serra [42] Warner Bros. Pictures
August 24, 2012 The Apparition Todd Lincoln [43] Warner Bros. Pictures
February 1, 2013 Bullet to the Head Walter Hill [44] Warner Bros. Pictures
February 19, 2013 The Factory Morgan O'Neill [45] Warner Bros. Pictures
August 30, 2013 Getaway Courtney Solomon [46] Warner Bros. Pictures
October 27, 2017 Suburbicon George Clooney Paramount Pictures [23]
October 5, 2020The Expecting Mary Harron Quibi [47]
May 21, 2021 Seance Simon Barrett RLJE Films [48]
August 19, 2022 Orphan: First Kill William Brent Bell Paramount Pictures [49]
February 21, 2025 Old Guy Simon West The Avenue [29]
February 28, 2025 Last Breath Alex Parkinson [50] Focus Features
October 3, 2025 Shell Max Minghella [51] Republic Pictures [52]
TBA The Zealot Vadim Perelman TBD

Lifetime grosses

YearFilmBudgetDomestic Box OfficeForeign Box OfficeTotalUS DVD salesTotal (with DVD sales)
1999House on Haunted Hill$37 million$40.8 million [53] $3.5 million (A)$44.4 millionN/AN/A
2001Thirteen Ghosts$42 million$41.7 million [54] $26.6 million [55] $68.5 millionN/AN/A
2002Ghost Ship$20 million$30.1 million [56] $38.2 million [56] $68.3 millionN/AN/A
2003Gothika$40 million$59.7 million [57] $81.7 million [57] $141.6 millionN/AN/A
2005House of Wax$40 million$32.1 million [58] $36.7 million [58] $68.8 millionN/AN/A
2007The Reaping$40 million$25.1 million [59] $37.6 million [59] $62.8 million$19.8 million [60] $82.6 million
2008RocknRolla$15 million$5.7 million [61] $20 million$25.7 million$7.4 million [62] $33.1 million
2009Orphan$20 million$41,596,251 [63] $36,741,122 [63] $78,337,373$12,250,443 [63] $90,587,816
2009Whiteout$35 million$10,275,638 [64] $7,565,229 [64] $17,840,867$3,192,934 [65] $21,033,801
2009Ninja Assassin$50 million$38,122,883 [66] $23,471,000$61,593,883$13,841,623 [67] $75,435,506
2010The Losers$25 million$23,591,432 [68] $5,385,903$28,977,335$6,462,496 [69] $35,439,831
2010Splice$30 million$17,010,170 [70] $6,964,022$23,974,192$3,695,686$27,669,878
BudgetOverall TotalUS DVD SalesTotal
$374 million$646 million$62.9 million$708 million

(A) Indicates minimum, as that is only two countries totals merged.

References

  1. ↑ "Dark Castle Entertainment | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
  2. 1 2 3 Hipes, Partick (April 27, 2015). "Joel Silver Teams With Financier Daryl Katz, Launches New Company; Hal Sadoff CEO". Deadline.
  3. 1 2 Fisher, Eric (April 6, 2023). "The Next Chapter for Daryl Katz and OEG". NHL.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Hipes, Patrick (February 25, 2021). "Simon Barrett-Helmed Horror Pic 'Seance' Scores U.S. Deal Via RJLE Films And Shudder; IFC Films Scare up Right To 'Werewolves Within' – Film Briefs". Deadline.
  5. ↑ "Norman Golightly".
  6. 1 2 3 Garrahan, Matthew (December 17, 2006). "The Matrix: Recapitalised". Financial Times.
  7. 1 2 Chapman, Wilson (July 13, 2022). "'Orphan: First Kill' Trailer: Isabelle Fuhrman Rerturns as Esther in Long-Awaited Horror Prequel". Variety.
  8. ↑ Caddell, Ian (March 28, 2007). "Dark Castle strikes out on its own". The Georgia Straight.
  9. 1 2 Roxborough, Scott (December 7, 2021). "Egyptian Star Mohamed Karim, Dark Castle Team on Horror Film 'Book of Chaos'(Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter.
  10. 1 2 Carver, Benedict (January 14, 1999). "Oh, the horror!". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29.
  11. 1 2 Valle, Avi (August 13, 2023). "Thirteen Ghosts Set to be Revived as New 13-Part Spook Filled Series". Movie Web.
  12. 1 2 Craft, Dan (November 29, 2003). "Lunatics running this wacko movie asylum". p. D8 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Guthrie, Luna (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era". Collider.
  14. ↑ Guthrie, Luna (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era". Collider.
  15. ↑ Stone, Jay (September 10, 2008). "Ritchie swept away by films". p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 Rodriguez, Rene (October 30, 2009). "Modest little picture's a frightful romp". p. 20G – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Donnelly, Matt (November 2, 2020). "'Orphan' Prequel Enlists Isabelle Fuhrman to Reprise Role of Esther (Exclusive)". Variety.
  18. 1 2 Fritz, Ben (November 30, 2009). "'Blind Side' No. 2 but takes spotlight from 'New Moon'". p. 20G – via Newspapers.com.
  19. 1 2 Debruge, Peter (April 21, 2010). "The Losers". Variety.
  20. ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (June 29, 2021). "'Unknown' Series Sequel To Movie In Works At TNT With Liam Neeson Producing, Jaume Collet-Serra Directing". Variety.
  21. ↑ "The Nice Guys". Dark Castle.com.
  22. ↑ Truitt, Brian (October 24, 2017). "Review:George Clooney's messy 'Suburbicon' disappoints as a retro dark comedy". USA Today.
  23. 1 2 Rooney, David (September 2, 2017). "'Suburbicon': Film Review". Hollywood Reporter.
  24. ↑ "Superfly". Dark Castle.com.
  25. ↑ McNary, Dave (May 25, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Sony Opening Crime Thriller 'Superfly' Two Days Earlier". Variety.
  26. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (October 22, 2019). "Suki Waterhouse To Star In Horror 'Seance' For Dark Castle Entertainment, HanWay & Ingenious – AFM". Deadline.
  27. ↑ D’Alessandro, Anthony (November 6, 2020). "Rossif Sutherland Joins eOne &Dark Castle's Horror Prequel 'Orphan: First Kill'". Deadline.
  28. ↑ Grater, Tom (June 12, 2020). "Olivia Munn To Star In & Produce Action Pic 'Replay' -Cannes". Deadline.
  29. 1 2 Stephan, Katcy (March 12, 2024). "The Avenue Lands North American Rights to 'Old Guy' (Exclusive)". Variety.
  30. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (February 5, 2024). "Arian Moayed, Este Haim, Lionel Boyce, Ziwe & More Join Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson & Kaia Gerber In Max Minghella's Thriller 'Shell'(Exclusive)". Yahoo News.
  31. ↑ "Last Breath". Dark Castle.com.
  32. ↑ Germain, David (October 25, 2002). "'Ghost Ship' best left on the sea floor". p. D4 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ Rooney, David (November 16, 2003). "Gothika". Variety.
  34. ↑ Guthrie, Luna (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era". Collider.
  35. ↑ Hart, Hugh (April 1, 2007). "Real scare for cast of 'Reaping'". SF Gate.
  36. ↑ Garcia, Víctor (2007-10-16), Return to House on Haunted Hill (Crime, Fantasy, Horror), Amanda Righetti, Cerina Vincent, Erik Palladino, Warner Premiere, Dark Castle Entertainment, BUFO
  37. ↑ "WarnerBros.com | Rocknrolla | Movies". www.warnerbros.com.
  38. ↑ Leydon, Joe (March 2, 2009). "Eschelon Conspiracy". Variety.
  39. ↑ Sena, Dominic (2009-09-11), Whiteout (Action, Crime, Mystery), Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, StudioCanal
  40. ↑ Parker, Dave (2009-09-29), The Hills Run Red (Horror, Mystery, Thriller), Sophie Monk, Tad Hilgenbrink, William Sadler, Warner Premiere, Dark Castle Entertainment, Fever Dreams, retrieved 2024-04-17
  41. ↑ D’arcy, David (January 25, 2010). "Splice". Screen Daily.
  42. ↑ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  43. ↑ Lincoln, Todd (2012-08-24), The Apparition (Horror, Thriller), Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton, Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, StudioCanal
  44. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (June 10, 2011). "Joel Silver's Dark Castle Boards Sylvester Stallone Action Film". Hollywood Reporter.
  45. ↑ O'Neill, Morgan (2013-06-01), The Factory (Crime, Mystery, Thriller), John Cusack, Dallas Roberts, Vincent Messina, Dark Castle Entertainment, Mel's Cite du Cinema, Silver Pictures
  46. ↑ Foundas, Scott (August 28, 2013). "Film Review: 'Getaway". Variety.
  47. ↑ Collis, Cork (October 5, 2020). "A pregnancy turns terrifying in trailer horror show The Expecting". Entertainment Weekly.
  48. ↑ Mack, Andrew (February 26, 2021). "Simon Barrett's Seance Heading to Shudder And RLJE Films". Screen Anarchy.
  49. ↑ Goff, Oscar (August 19, 2022). "Review"Orphan: First Kill (2022) Dir. William Brent Bell". Boston Hassle.
  50. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 6, 2022). "Hot Cannes Package: Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Djimon Hounsou In 'Last Breath,' Alex Parkinson's Narrative Remake of His Harrowing Docu". Deadline.
  51. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (May 4, 2023). "Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson & Kaia Gerber To Star In Thriller 'Shell' For Director Man Minghella, Automatik & Black Bear International – Cannes Market Hot Package". Deadline.
  52. ↑ Marc, Christopher (September 3, 2025). "'Shell' Trailer: Elisabeth Moss & Kate Hudson Star In Max Minghella's Comedic Wellness Slasher Arriving October 3". The Playlist. Retrieved September 3, 2025.
  53. ↑ House on Haunted Hill (1999)
  54. ↑ Thirteen Ghosts (2001)
  55. ↑ Thirteen Ghosts (2001) - International Box Office Results
  56. 1 2 Ghost Ship (2002)
  57. 1 2 Gothika (2003)
  58. 1 2 House of Wax (2005)
  59. 1 2 The Reaping (2007)
  60. ↑ The Reaping DVD (2007)
  61. ↑ RocknRolla (2008)
  62. ↑ RocknRolla DVD (2008)
  63. 1 2 3 Orphan (2009)
  64. 1 2 Whiteout (2009)
  65. ↑ Whiteout DVD (2009)
  66. ↑ Ninja Assassin(2009)
  67. ↑ Ninja Assassin DVD (2009)
  68. ↑ The Losers (2009)
  69. ↑ The Losers DVD (2010)
  70. ↑ Splice (2010)
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