Davis Entertainment

This article is about the American production company. For the French independent production company, see Davis Films.

Davis Entertainment

On-screen logo used since 2010
Company type	Film and television production company
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	1984;40 years ago (1984)
Founder	John Davis
Headquarters	United States
Products	Motion pictures and television programs

Davis Entertainment (also known as Davis Entertainment Company) is an American independent film and television production company, founded by John 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 at 20th Century Studios, although it also produces projects for all studios and mini-majors.

History

The company was founded in 1984 by filmmaker John Davis and it was incorporated in Nevada 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 with Predator , a co-production with Lawrence Gordon Productions and Silver Pictures, and a series of other films that were planned for release by 20th Century Fox. It was decided that it would be done independently with co-investors, and it would help anticipate the expansion of telefilms and sitcoms. ^[1]

On February 18, 1987, Davis Entertainment partnered with Mark 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 launched Catapult Entertainment, Inc. to produce its interactive video games. ^[3] That same year, Davis Entertainment Company signed a production deal with 20th Century Fox to develop feature films. ^{[4] [5]}

In 1995, Davis Entertainment launched its art-house division Davis Entertainment Classics, ^[6] which was subsequently renamed Davis Entertainment Filmworks in 2002. ^[7] In 1998, Davis Entertainment struck a deal with 20th 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 with Sony Pictures Television to develop television shows for platforms, broadcast, cable and streaming. ^[10]

Filmography

Theatrical films

1980s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Notes
1987	Predator [11]	John McTiernan	20th Century Fox	co-production with Lawrence Gordon Productions and Silver Pictures
	Three O'Clock High	Phil Joanou	Universal Pictures	uncredited; co-production with Aaron 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 and United Artists

1990s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Notes
1990	The Last of the Finest	John Mackenzie	Orion Pictures
	Predator 2	Stephen Hopkins	20th Century Fox	co-production with Gordon Company and Silver Pictures
1991	Shattered	Wolfgang Petersen	MGM/UA Distribution Co.	co-production with Capella International, Palace Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1992	Fortress	Stuart Gordon	Dimension Films Columbia Pictures	co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures
	Storyville	Mark Frost	20th Century Fox
1993	The Firm	Sydney Pollack	Paramount Pictures	Mixed
	The Thing Called Love	Peter Bogdanovich
	Grumpy Old Men [11]	Donald Petrie	Warner Bros.
1994	Gunmen	Deran Sarafian	Dimension Films LIVE Entertainment
	Richie Rich	Donald Petrie	Warner Bros.	co-production with The Harvey Entertainment Company and Silver Pictures
1995	The Hunted	J.F. Lawton	Universal Pictures	co-production with Bregman/Baer Productions, Inc.
	Waterworld	Kevin Reynolds		co-production with Gordon Company and Licht/Mueller Film Corporation
	Grumpier Old Men	Howard Deutch	Warner Bros.
	The Grass Harp	Charles Matthau	Fine Line Features	co-production with Alliance Communications
1996	Denise Calls Up	Hal Salwen	Sony Pictures Classics	co-production with Skyline Entertainment Partners, Dark Matters Productions, J. Thomas Harris Productions and Alliance Communications
	The Chamber	James Foley	Universal Pictures	co-production with Imagine Entertainment
	Daylight	Rob Cohen		co-production with Joseph M. Singer Entertainment
	Courage Under Fire	Edward Zwick	20th Century Fox	co-production with Fox 2000 Pictures, Joseph M. Singer Entertainment and Friendly Films
1997	Out to Sea	Martha Coolidge		co-production with Friendly Films
1998	Dr. Dolittle	Betty Thomas		co-production with Joseph M. Singer Entertainment and Friendly Films
1999	Dudley-Do-Right	Hugh Wilson	Universal Pictures	co-production with Jay Ward Productions and Joseph M. Singer Entertainment

2000s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Notes
2001	Heartbreakers [11]	David Mirkin	MGM Distribution Co.	co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Winchester Films
	Dr. Dolittle 2	Steve Carr	20th Century Fox
	Behind Enemy Lines	John Moore
2002	Life or Something Like It	Stephen Herek		co-production with Aei Entertainment, Regency Enterprises and New Regency
2003	Daddy Day Care	Steve Carr	Sony Pictures Releasing	co-production with Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios
	Paycheck	John Woo	Paramount Pictures	co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Lion Rock Productions
2004	Garfield [11]	Peter Hewitt	20th Century Fox	co-production with Paws, Inc.
	I, Robot	Alex Proyas		co-production with Mediastream IV, Laurence Mark Productions and Overbrook Films
	Alien vs. Predator	Paul W.S. Anderson		co-production with Brandywine Productions, Impact Pictures and Stillking Films
	First Daughter	Forest Whitaker		co-production with Regency Enterprises and New Regency
	Fat Albert	Joel Zwick
	Flight of the Phoenix	John Moore
2006	When a Stranger Calls	Simon West	Sony Pictures Releasing	co-production with Screen Gems
	Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties	Tim Hill	20th Century Fox	co-production with Paws, Inc.
	Eragon	Stefen Fangmeier
2007	Norbit	Brian Robbins	Paramount Pictures	co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Tollin/Robbins Productions
	Daddy Day Camp	Fred Savage	Sony Pictures Releasing	co-production with TriStar Pictures and Revolution Studios
	The Heartbreak Kid	Farrelly brothers	Paramount Pictures	co-production with DreamWorks Pictures, Radar Pictures and Conundrum Entertainment
	Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem	Strause brothers	20th Century Fox	co-production with Brandywine Productions and Dune Entertainment
2008	The Express: The Ernie Davis Story	Gary Fleder	Universal Pictures	co-production with Relativity Media

2010s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Notes
2010	Marmaduke	Tom Dey	20th Century Fox	co-production with Dune Entertainment and Regency Enterprises
	Predators	Nimród Antal		co-production with Dune Entertainment and Troublemaker Studios
	Gulliver's Travels	Rob Letterman		co-production with Dune Entertainment
2011	Mr. Popper's Penguins	Mark Waters
	A Little Bit of Heaven	Nicole Kassell	Millennium Entertainment	co-production with The Film Department
2012	Chronicle	Josh Trank	20th Century Fox	co-production with Dune Entertainment
2014	Devil's Due	Matt Bettinelli-Olpin Tyler Gillett		co-production with Radio Silence Productions and TSG Entertainment
2015	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	Guy Ritchie	Warner Bros. Pictures	co-production with RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Ritchie/Wigram Productions and Turner Entertainment Co.
	Victor Frankenstein	Paul McGuigan	20th Century Fox	co-production with TSG Entertainment
	Joy	David O. Russell		co-production with Annapurna Pictures, TSG Entertainment and Fox 2000 Pictures
2017	Ferdinand	Carlos Saldanha		co-production with Blue Sky Studios and 20th Century Fox Animation
2018	Game Night	John Francis Daley Jonathan Goldstein	Warner Bros. Pictures	co-production with New Line Cinema, Access Entertainment and Aggregate Films
	The Predator	Shane Black	20th Century Fox	co-production with TSG Entertainment
2019	Shaft	Tim Story	Warner Bros. Pictures	co-production with Netflix and New Line Cinema
	Dolemite Is My Name	Craig Brewer	Netflix

2020s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Notes
2021	Jungle Cruise	Jaume Collet-Serra	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures	co-production with Walt Disney Pictures, Seven Bucks Productions and Flynn Picture Company
2022	Prey [12]	Dan Trachtenberg	Hulu	co-production with 20th Century Studios and Lawrence Gordon Productions
2024	Harold and the Purple Crayon [13]	Carlos Saldanha	Sony Pictures Releasing	co-production with Columbia Pictures and TSG Entertainment
	Uglies [14]	McG	Netflix	co-production with Anonymous Content, Industry Entertainment, YRF Entertainment and Wonderland Sound and Vision

Upcoming

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Notes	Status
2025	Flight Risk [15]	Mel Gibson	Lionsgate	co-production with Icon Productions and Hammerstone Studios	Post-production [16]
	Predator: Badlands [17]	Dan Trachtenberg	20th Century Studios		Post-production
TBA	The Pickup [18]	Tim Story	Amazon MGM Studios	co-production with The Story Company and Eddie Murphy Productions	Post-production
	All of Me [19]	TBA	Universal Pictures		In development
	It Takes a Thief [20]
	Song Sung Blue [21]	Craig Brewer	Focus Features		Filming
	Summertime [22]	TBA	Sony Pictures Releasing	co-production with Screen Gems and Westbrook Studios	In development
	Untitled George Clinton biopic [23]		Amazon MGM Studios
	Untitled Jungle Cruise sequel [24] [25]		Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures	co-production with Walt Disney Pictures, Seven Bucks Productions and Flynn Picture Company
	Vertigo [26]		Paramount Pictures	co-production with Team Downey

Direct-to-video films

1990s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Notes
1990	Enid Is Sleeping	Maurice Phillips	Live Home Video	co-production with Vestron Pictures

2000s

Year	Title	Director	Distributor	Notes
2000	The Settlement	Mark Steilen	MTI Home Video	co-production with CineTel 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 with The Animation Picture Company and Paws, Inc.
2008	Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief	Craig Shapiro
	Garfield's Fun Fest	Mark A.Z. Dippé		co-production with The Animation Picture Company and Paws, Inc.
2009	Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts	Alex Zamm
	Garfield's Pet Force	Mark A.Z. Dippé Kyung Ho-Lee		co-production with The Animation Picture Company and Paws, Inc.

Television movies

1990s

Year	Title	Director	Network	Notes
1990	Curiosity Kills	Colin Bucksey	USA Network	co-production with MTE
	Dangerous Passion	Michael Miller	ABC	co-production with Stormy Weather Productions and Carolco Pictures
	Silhouette	Carl Schenkel	USA Network	co-production with Faye Dunaway Productions and MTE
1992	Wild Card	Mel Damski		co-production with MTE
1993	The Last Outlaw	Geoff Murphy	HBO	co-production with HBO Pictures
	Voyage	John Mackenzie	USA Network	co-production with ITC 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 with MTE
1997	Asteroid	Bradford May	NBC	co-production with NBC Studios
	Volcano: Fire on the Mountain [27]	Graeme Campbell	ABC	co-production with Pacific Motion Pictures and World International Network
1998	Miracle at Midnight	Ken Cameron		co-production with Walt Disney Television
1999	The Jesse Ventura Story	David Jackson	NBC	co-production with NBC Studios

2000s

Year	Title	Director	Network	Notes
2000	Little Richard	Robert Townsend	NBC	co-production with Fox 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

2010s

Year	Title	Director	Network	Notes
2011	Locke & Key	Mark Romanek	Fox	television pilot; co-production with 20th Century Fox Television, DreamWorks Television and K/O Paper Products
2017	Behind Enemy Lines [28]	McG		television pilot; co-production with 20th Century Fox Television and Temple Hill Entertainment

2020s

Year	Title	Director	Network	Notes
2020	Echo [29]	TBA	NBC	pilot order; co-production with Universal Television

Television series

2010s

Year	Title	Creators	Network	Notes
2013–2023	The Blacklist	Jon Bokenkamp	NBC	co-production with Open 4 Business Productions, Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television
2013	Ironside	based on the 1967 series by: Collier Young developed by: Michael Caleo		co-production with Post 109, Yellow Brick Road Productions and Universal Television
2015	The Player	John Rogers John Fox		co-production with Kung Fu Monkey Productions, Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television
2015–2017	Dr. Ken	Jared Stern Ken Jeong John Fox	ABC	co-production with Old Charlie Productions, ABC Studios and Sony Pictures Television
2016–2018	Timeless	Eric Kripke Shawn Ryan	NBC	co-production with Kripke Enterprises, MiddKid Productions, Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television
2017	The Blacklist: Redemption	Jon Bokenkamp John Eisendrath Lukas Reiter J. R. Orci		co-production with John Eisendrath Productions, Flatwater Scribe, Open 4 Business Productions, Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television
2018	Alex, Inc.	Matt Tarses based on StartUp podcast by: Gimlet Media, Inc.	ABC	co-production with Two Soups Productions, ABC Studios and Sony Pictures Television
2018–2024	Magnum, P.I.	based on the 1980 TV series by: Donald P. Bellisario Glen A. Larson developed by: Peter M. Lenkov Eric Guggenheim	CBS/NBC	co-production with 101st Street Entertainment, Perfect Storm Entertainment, Universal Television and CBS Studios

2020s

Year	Title	Creators	Network	Notes
2021–present	The Equalizer	based on the 1985 TV series by: Michael Sloan Richard Lindheim developed by: Queen Latifah Richard Lindheim	CBS	co-production with Flavor Unit Entertainment, Martin Chase Productions, Milmar Pictures (seasons 1—2), Wilson Avenue (season 3), Shattered Glass (season 3), Universal Television and CBS Studios
2021	Rebel	Krista Vernoff	ABC	co-production with ABC Signature, Sony Pictures Television and Trip The Light Productions
2022	Blockbuster	Vanessa Ramos	Netflix	co-production with Universal Television, Foe Paws and Shark vs. Bear Productions

Highest-grossing films

Highest-grossing films

Rank	Title	Year	Domestic gross	Notes
1	I, Robot	2004	$144,801,023	co-produced by Overbrook Entertainment
2	Dr. Dolittle	1998	$144,156,605	co-produced by Friendly Films
3	Jungle Cruise	2021	$116,987,516	co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures, Flynn Picture Company and Seven Bucks Productions
4	Dr. Dolittle 2	2001	$112,952,899
5	Daddy Day Care	2003	$104,297,061	co-produced by Revolution Studios
6	Norbit	2007	$95,673,607	co-produced by DreamWorks Pictures and Tollin/Robbins Productions
7	Waterworld	1995	$88,246,220	co-produced by Gordon Company and Licht/Mueller Film Corporation
8	Ferdinand	2017	$84,410,380	co-produced by Blue Sky Studios
9	Alien vs. Predator	2004	$80,282,231	co-produced by Brandywine Productions
10	Garfield: The Movie	2004	$75,369,589	co-produced by Paws, Inc.

References

1. "John Davis Forms Prod. Outfit For Mid-To-Hi Budget Actioneers". Variety . 1986-05-21. p. 17.
2. "Davis, Lester Pair For Action Films". Variety . 1987-02-18. p. 31.
3. "Company Town : In the Name of the Son : John Davis Is Working to Make His Own Mark". Los Angeles Times. 1994-06-07. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
4. McNary, Dave (2005-09-23). "Davis reups deal at Fox". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
5. Abrams, Rachel (2011-04-12). "Fox ankles Fox for Davis Entertainment". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
6. "Davis cranks up Classics arm". Variety. 1995-05-22. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
7. Harris, Dana (2002-01-15). "Davis redubs indie banner". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
8. Hontz, Jenny (1998-10-20). "Davis, Fox ink TV pact". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
9. Schneider, Michael (2007-10-24). "John Davis takes Fox TV deal". Variety. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
10. "'The Blacklist' Producers Ink First Look Deal at Sony TV (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
11. Kinsey, Michelle (June 5, 2004). "Hometown cat Garfield's movie opens next week". The Star Press. Vol. 105, no. 362. Muncie, Indiana. pp. 1, 6 – via Newspapers.com. Note - the link provided is to part two of the article; part one is located here.
12. "Predator 5 in the works from 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg". 20 November 2020.
13. "Zachary Levi to Star in Sony's Live-Action 'Harold and the Purple Crayon' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter . 1 February 2021.
14. Kroll, Justin (September 29, 2020). "Joey King To Star And Exec Produce Netflix's Adaptation of 'Uglies' With McG Directing". Deadline. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
15. Grobar, Matt (January 4, 2024). "'Flight Risk': Topher Grace & Michelle Dockery Join Mark Wahlberg In Mel Gibson-Helmed Lionsgate Thriller". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
16. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 20, 2024). "Lionsgate Dates Dave Bautista & Mark Wahlberg Movies For Fall; Gerard Butler's 'Den Of Thieves: Pantera' For 2025". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 21, 2024.
17. D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 22, 2024). "Marvel Studios' 'Blade' Removed From 2025 Release Schedule, Disney Dates 'Predator: Badlands' Instead". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on October 22, 2024. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
18. Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 29, 2023). "Amazon Studios Wins 'The Pick Up' Package In 7-Figure Deal; Eddie Murphy Eyeing Star Role & Tim Story To Direct Kevin Burrows-Matt Mider Spec". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
19. Borys Kit (September 11, 2012). "'All of Me' Remake in the Works at DreamWorks". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
20. Justin Kroll (October 30, 2013). "Universal Turning 1970s Series 'It Takes a Thief' into Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
21. Shanfeld, Ethan (14 October 2024). "Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson to Star in 'Song Sung Blue' Musical Film About Neil Diamond Tribute Band". Variety . Retrieved 14 October 2024.
22. Matt Grobar (September 22, 2021). "'Summertime': Will Smith Song In Works As Screen Gems Musical Feature From Westbrook Studios & Davis Entertainment". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
23. Mike Fleming Jr. (March 31, 2022). "Eddie Murphy To Play Godfather Of Funk George Clinton In Biopic". Deadline Hollywood . Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved April 1, 2022.
24. Keegan, Prosser (August 1, 2021). "Jungle Cruise: Dwayne Johnson Meeting With Disney to Discuss Sequel". Comic Book Resources . Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
25. Kit, Borys (August 30, 2021). "'Jungle Cruise' Sequel in the Works at Disney (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
26. Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 23, 2023). "Paramount Sets Remake Of Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' As Potential Robert Downey Jr-Starrer; Steven Knight To Write Script & Davis Entertainment To Produce With Team Downey". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved March 24, 2023.
27. Reich, Kenneth (March 3, 1997). "Mammoth Area Avoids Fallout From 'Volcano'". Los Angeles Times. Vol. CXVI, no. 90 (Valley ed.). pp. F9, F15 – via Newspapers.com. Note - Link to second part of the article.
28. Andreeva, Nellie (15 September 2015). "'Behind Enemy Lines' Series Adaptation Of Movie Thriller Set At Fox As Put Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
29. Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (January 22, 2020). "NBC Picks Up Drama Pilots 'At That Age' & 'Echo'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved February 9, 2020.

Further reading

• McDougal, Dennis (January 21, 1992). "Hollywood TV producers claim rights to secret KGB intelligence files". Democrat and Chronicle. Vol. 160, no. 21 (Metro/East ed.). Rochester, New York. Los Angeles Times. p. 13C – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Box office grosses for Davis Entertainment releases (The Numbers)