Legacy Releasing

Last updated
Legacy Releasing
Company type Independent
Industry film distribution
Founded1996
United States
Founder Mark Borde
Defunct1999
FateMerged and consolidated into Warner Home Video
Headquarters California

Legacy Releasing was an independent film distribution company based in California. It was founded in 1996 by Mark Borde and J. David Williams, veterans in the motion picture industry.

Contents

The company's first two releases, Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored and Robert Wuhl's Open Season , were shown at the Cannes Film Festival the same year it was established. [1] Afterwards, it became a leader in independent distribution, releasing an average of 15 films per year.

Notable films from the company included Little Men, Wedding Bell Blues , The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain , Shiloh (and its sequel, Shiloh Season ), and an animated version of Pippi Longstocking .

None of Legacy's output was successful financially. Its highest-grossing film, When We Were Colored, took close to $2.3 million at the U.S. box office. However, the home video business was booming at the time and was the economic engine of this company. [2]

In 1999, Legacy went out of business, and was successfully merged and consolidated into Warner Home Video. Borde went on to become co-president of another company, the short-lived Independent Artists. [3] As of 2006, Legacy's official site (legacyfilms.com) no longer exists.

Borde is now the head of Freestyle Releasing. [4] Williams is now the CEO of Marble Arch Entertainment. [5]

Filmography

TitleRelease DateDistributing Partner
Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored January 26, 1996 Republic Pictures
Open Season May 3, 1996 Republic Pictures
A Season in Purgatory May 5, 1996 Republic Pictures
Rumpelstiltskin May 17, 1996 Republic Pictures
Lover's Knot July 12, 1996 Cabin Fever Entertainment
Killer: A Journal of Murder September 6, 1996 Republic Pictures
Somebody to Love September 27, 1996 Cabin Fever Entertainment
Cadillac Ranch October 10, 1996 BMG Independents
Santa with Muscles November 8, 1996 Cabin Fever Entertainment
Adrenalin: Fear the Rush November 29, 1996 Dimension Films
The Wind in the Willows December 16, 1996 GoodTimes Entertainment
Shiloh April 27, 1997 Warner Bros.
Wedding Bell Blues June 13, 1997 BMG Independents
Digging to China July 16, 1997
The Swan Princess: Escape from Castle Mountain July 18, 1997 Warner Bros.
Columbia TriStar (currently)
Pippi Longstocking August 22, 1997 Warner Bros.
Love Always October 10, 1997
Kiss & Tell October 17, 1997 Republic Pictures
Grizzly Mountain October 31, 1997 LIVE Entertainment/Hemdale Communications
The Only Thrill March 6, 1998
A Rat's Tale March 20, 1998 Warner Bros.
Eden March 27, 1998 BMG Independents
Little Men May 8, 1998 Warner Bros.
Plump Fiction May 15, 1998 Rhino Entertainment
The Mighty Kong June 16, 1998 Warner Bros.
Hands on a Hard Body: The Documentary July 10, 1998
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie October 16, 1998 GoodTimes Entertainment
Thursday November 13, 1998 PolyGram Filmed Entertainment
Eight Days a Week February 26, 1999
Clubland April 16, 1999
Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season July 2, 1999 Warner Bros.
Simon Sez September 24, 1999 Columbia Pictures
Trois February 11, 2000 Rainforest Films
Family Tree April 21, 2000 WarnerVision Entertainment

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References

  1. "Cannes 96 - News". www.filmfestivals.com. Archived from the original on 23 April 1997. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  2. "Legacy All Time Box Office Results". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  3. PDF biography of Borde, the company's founder
  4. "Mark Borde | Freestyle Releasing". Archived from the original on 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  5. "Management". Archived from the original on 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2017-10-16.