Hollywood Pictures

Not to be confused with the overall film industry known as "Hollywood", Cinema of the United States.

Hollywood Pictures Company

Trade name	Hollywood Pictures
Company type	Label
Industry	Film
Founded	February 1, 1989;35 years ago (1989-02-01)
Founder	Michael Eisner Jeffrey Katzenberg
Defunct	April 27, 2007;17 years ago (2007-04-27)
Fate	Defunct
Headquarters	500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California , U.S.
Products	Motion pictures
Parent	Walt Disney Studios
Divisions	Hollywood Pictures Home Entertainment

Hollywood Pictures Company was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Established in 1989, by Disney CEO Michael Eisner and studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, Hollywood Pictures was founded to increase the film output of the Walt Disney Studios, and release films similar to those of Touchstone Pictures. These films, featuring more mature themes, were targeted at adult audiences unlike the family-oriented productions of the studio's flagship Walt Disney Pictures division. After years of hiatus, the label was closed in 2007. The studio's most commercially successful film was M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense , which grossed over $670 million worldwide upon its release in 1999. ^[1]

History

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 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 the closure of MGM/UA's United Artists and financial problems at Lorimar-Telepictures and De 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 the Silver Screen Partners IV. ^[4] The company's first release was Arachnophobia on July 18, 1990. ^[1]

On October 23, 1990, The Walt Disney Company formed Touchwood Pacific Partners to supplant the Silver Screen Partnership series as their movie studios' primary funding source. ^[5]

After the collapse of their then-recently renewed deal at Paramount Pictures, Don Simpson and Jerry 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 them Holy Matrimony , Aspen Extreme , Super Mario Bros. , ^[7] 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 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 the Disney Publishing Group, where he was senior vice president and oversaw domestic publishing units including Hyperion Books. ^[9] Mestres left Lynton a few potential hits: Robert Redford's Quiz Show , the Sarah Jessica Parker-Antonio Banderas comedy Miami Rhapsody , and Dangerous Minds , starring Michelle Pfeiffer. ^[7] In 1997, Lynton left for a position at Penguin Group. ^[10] When Lynton left, it was briefly transferred to a releasing-only entity, making pictures by third-parties, as well as Caravan Pictures, and Cinergi, and its development slate was transferred to Touchstone Pictures, but David Vogel, who was president of Walt 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 as Bicentennial Man , and The 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 flagship Walt Disney Pictures studio. ^[1]

After being dormant for five years, the brand was reactivated for low-budget genre films. ^[1] Films released by the repurposed Hollywood Pictures were two horror films: Stay Alive (released on March 24, 2006), ^[1] and Primeval (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, and Pixar. ^[13]

Filmography

1990s

US Release date	Title	Notes
July 18, 1990	Arachnophobia	co-production with Amblin Entertainment
August 17, 1990	Taking Care of Business	co-production with 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	co-production with Interscope Communications and Nomura Babcock & Brown
February 7, 1992	Medicine Man	co-production with Cinergi Pictures; US and German distribution
March 6, 1992	Blame It on the Bellboy	co-production with Silver Screen Partners IV
April 3, 1992	Straight Talk	co-production with Touchwood Pacific Partners I
April 24, 1992	Passed Away
May 22, 1992	Encino Man
July 17, 1992	A Stranger Among Us	co-production with Touchwood Pacific Partners I, Propaganda Films and Sandollar Productions
September 18, 1992	Sarafina! [note 1]	co-production with Miramax Films, Distant Horizon, Vanguard Films and BBC; U.S. distribution only
October 16, 1992	Consenting Adults	co-production with 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.	produced by Lightmotive and Allied Filmmakers; North American distribution with Cinergi Pictures 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	Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2020
September 10, 1993	Money for Nothing
December 25, 1993	Tombstone	co-production with Cinergi Pictures; North and Latin American distribution only
January 7, 1994	The Air Up There	co-production with Interscope Communications, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Nomura Babcock & Brown
March 4, 1994	Angie	co-production with Caravan Pictures
April 8, 1994	Holy Matrimony	co-production with Interscope Communications and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
August 12, 1994	In the Army Now
August 19, 1994	Color of Night	co-production with Cinergi Pictures
August 26, 1994	Camp Nowhere
September 14, 1994	Quiz Show
September 23, 1994	Terminal Velocity	co-production with Interscope Communications, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Nomura Babcock & Brown
October 21, 1994	The Puppet Masters
November 11, 1994	The Santa Clause	co-production with Walt Disney Pictures and Outlaw Productions
November 23, 1994	A Low Down Dirty Shame	co-production with Caravan Pictures
January 6, 1995	Houseguest
January 27, 1995	Miami Rhapsody	co-production with Cantaloupe Production
March 3, 1995	Roommates	co-production with Interscope Communications, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Nomura Babcock & Brown
March 31, 1995	Funny Bones
April 21, 1995	While You Were Sleeping	co-production with Caravan Pictures
April 28, 1995	A Pyromaniac's Love Story
May 12, 1995	Crimson Tide	co-production with Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
June 30, 1995	Judge Dredd	co-production with Cinergi Pictures; North and Latin American distribution only
August 11, 1995	Dangerous Minds	co-production with Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films and Via Rosa Productions
September 8, 1995	The Tie That Binds	co-production with Interscope Communications and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
September 8, 1995	Unstrung Heroes
October 4, 1995	Dead Presidents	co-production with Caravan Pictures
October 13, 1995	The Scarlet Letter	co-production with Cinergi Pictures
October 27, 1995	Powder	co-production with Caravan Pictures
December 22, 1995	Nixon	co-production with Cinergi Pictures; distribution in North and Latin America, German-speaking Europe and Japan only
December 29, 1995	Mr. Holland's Opus	co-production with Interscope Communications and PolyGram Filmed Entertainment; North American distribution only
February 2, 1996	White Squall	co-production with Largo Entertainment and Scott Free Productions; North American distribution only
February 23, 1996	Before and After	co-production with Caravan Pictures
April 19, 1996	Celtic Pride
May 24, 1996	Spy Hard
May 31, 1996	Eddie	co-production with PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Island Pictures
June 7, 1996	The Rock	co-production with Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films
August 9, 1996	Jack	co-production with American Zoetrope
September 13, 1996	The Rich Man's Wife	co-production with Caravan Pictures
October 25, 1996	The Associate	co-production with Interscope Communications and Polygram Filmed Entertainment
December 25, 1996	Evita	co-production with Cinergi Pictures; North and Latin American and Spanish distribution only
January 24, 1997	Prefontaine
January 31, 1997	Shadow Conspiracy	co-production with Cinergi Pictures; North American distribution only
April 11, 1997	Grosse Pointe Blank	co-production with Caravan Pictures and Roger Birnbaum Productions
May 30, 1997	Gone Fishin'	co-production with Caravan Pictures
August 1, 1997	The Wrong Guy	direct-to-video; North American distribution only
August 22, 1997	G.I. Jane	co-production with Caravan Pictures, Largo Entertainment, Scott Free Productions and Roger Birnbaum Productions; distribution in North America, France, German-speaking Europe, Spain, the Benelux, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan only
October 17, 1997	Washington Square	co-production with Caravan Pictures, Roger Birnbaum Productions and Alchemy Filmworks
December 25, 1997	An American Werewolf in Paris	co-production with Cometstone Pictures; North American distribution only
January 30, 1998	Deep Rising	co-production with Cinergi Pictures
February 27, 1998	An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn
September 4, 1998	Firelight	co-production with Carnival Films and Wind Dancer Productions
September 11, 1998	Simon Birch	co-production with Caravan Pictures and Roger Birnbaum Productions
August 6, 1999	The Sixth Sense	co-production with Spyglass Entertainment and The Kennedy/Marshall Company
September 17, 1999	Breakfast of Champions [note 2]	co-production with Summit Entertainment
October 1, 1999	Mystery, Alaska

2000s

US Release date	Title	Notes
February 4, 2000	Gun Shy	co-production with Fortis Films
September 15, 2000	Duets	co-production with Seven Arts Pictures and Beacon Pictures
April 6, 2001	Just Visiting	co-production with Gaumont Film Company; North American distribution only
March 24, 2006	Stay Alive	co-production with Spyglass Entertainment and Endgame Entertainment; North American distribution only
January 12, 2007	Primeval	co-production with Pariah Entertainment
April 27, 2007	The Invisible	co-production with Spyglass Entertainment

See also

• List of Walt Disney Pictures films
• List of Touchstone Pictures films

Notes

1. Owned by Miramax, with distribution currently handled by Paramount Pictures
2. Owned by Films We Like, with U.S. distribution rights licensed to Shout! Studios

References

1. Breman, Phil. "Film/TV Companies: Hollywood Pictures". About.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. 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. Harmetz, Aljean (1988-12-02). "COMPANY NEWS; Disney Expansion Set; Film Output to Double". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-02-17.
4. Cieply, Michael (December 2, 1988). "Disney Forms New Film Unit in Plan to Double Output". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
5. "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.
6. 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.
7. Eller, Claudia (August 17, 1994). "A Stranger in a Strange Land Is Hollywood Pictures' New Player". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
8. Welkos, Robert W. (April 27, 1994). "Mestres Out as President of Disney Unit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
9. "Company Town : Hollywood Pictures Gets New President". Los Angeles Times. June 14, 1994. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
10. "AOL Taps Lynton". Los Angeles Times. Times Wire Services. January 6, 2000. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
11. Cox, Dan (1997-09-09). "Vogel: H'wood star". Variety. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
12. Cox, Dan (1998-07-17). "One Mouse House". Variety. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
13. Fixmer, Fixmer (April 25, 2007). "Disney to Drop Buena Vista Brand Name, People Say (Update1)". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 28 November 2012.