Trimark Pictures

Last updated
Trimark Pictures
FormerlyVidmark Entertainment (1984–1989)
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Film
FoundedAugust 1984;40 years ago (1984-08)(as Vidmark Entertainment)
June 23, 1989;35 years ago (1989-06-23)(as Trimark Pictures)
Founder Mark Amin
DefunctMarch 12, 2001;23 years ago (2001-03-12)
FateMerged with Lionsgate
Headquarters Santa Monica, California,
Key people
Mark Amin (Chairman & CEO)
Products Motion Pictures
Parent Vidmark, Inc. (1985–1995)
Trimark Holdings (1995–2000)
Lionsgate (2000–2001)
Divisions Trimark Interactive [1]
Trimark Television
Kidmark Entertainment
Trimark Home Video
Subsidiaries CinemaNow (formerly)
Trimark Ultra Sports

Trimark Pictures was an American [1] production company that specialized in the production and distribution of television and home video motion pictures. [2] The company was formed in 1984 by Mark Amin as Vidmark Entertainment with Vidmark Inc. (later Trimark Holdings Inc.) established as the holding company. [3] As a small studio, Trimark produced and released theatrical, independent, television and home video motion pictures. The logo features a triangle with a profile of a tiger's head.

Contents

Among the company's many releases are Peter Jackson's 1992 film Dead Alive , which they chose to release theatrically due to Jackson's possessing a following. [4] They are well known for releasing films considered to be controversial for the time period, as in the case with the 1999 film Better Than Chocolate , as some newspapers refused to carry advertisements for the film that featured the word "lesbian" as part of a critic blurb. [5]

Background

Vidmark Entertainment was formed in August 1984 and began operating as a domestic home video distributor in early 1985. In April 1986, Vidmark Entertainment signed a deal with ABC Video Enterprises, to distribute six titles on videocassette. [6] In 1987, Vidmark began distributing and sub-licensing motion pictures for international distribution. That year, the company entered theatrical distribution and production with the acquisition of four films and completion of its first in-house productions, namely American Gothic , That's Adequate , Silent Memory and Born of Fire. [7]

Vidmark Entertainment entered motion picture production in 1988 with the feature Demonwarp.

Trimark picked up its first film, Warlock , a 1989 film starring Julian Sands which was a major theatrical hit with fans of such films. Trimark eventually made the sequel Warlock: The Armageddon in 1993. Trimark also saw success in other familiar film series the studio produced and distributed. Leprechaun , released in 1993 starring a young Jennifer Aniston and Warwick Davis as the sinister leprechaun grossed over $10 million during its theatrical run. One theatrical sequel and four direct to video sequels eventually followed. Other Trimark productions included The Dentist , a major hit on HBO, Return of the Living Dead III and Pinocchio's Revenge . Trimark also made the dramatic Eve's Bayou , starring Samuel L. Jackson, which received critical acclaim. Trimark also released the miniseries Storm of the Century on home video. On June 29, 1990, Vidmark Entertainment began trading on NASDAQ with the ticker symbol VDMK. [8]

On December 31, 1991, Vidmark acquired International Broadcast Systems, Ltd. for $1.6 million and renamed the company as Trimark Television. In June 1992, Vidmark, Inc. changed its name to Trimark Holdings, Inc. to reflect Trimark's diversification of its distribution streams. In March 1993, the company formed Trimark Interactive to expand into the emerging market for interactive software and multimedia. Trimark Interactive's assets were sold to Graphix Zone in March 1997.

In June 2000, Trimark was acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment for approximately $50 million in stock and cash including taking on $36 million in debt., [9] with Amin becoming the single largest shareholder of Lions Gate. Trimark was folded into Lions Gate on March 12, 2001.

In 2001, Mark Amin founded Sobini Films, and is its CEO.

In late 2017, Lionsgate launched a channel for Roku streaming players using the Vidmark name and a modified variant of their late 1980s logo, with Lionsgate-owned movies, including some from the original Vidmark and Trimark, amongst the selection. [10]

Filmography

YearTitleRelease DateDistributionNotes
TheatricalDirect to video
1988DemonwarpMarch 18NoYes
Body BeatNovember 30NoYes
1989 Going Overboard May 12YesNo
A Fool and His Money September 24YesNo
High Stakes November 17YesNo
1990The Sleeping CarFebruary 9NoYes
The Amityville Curse June 6NoYes
Solar Crisis July 14YesNo
SpiritsSeptember 15NoYesdistribution only;
produced by Cinema Group
Mob Boss September 16NoYesdistribution only;
produced by American Independent
Backstreet Dreams September 29YesNo
Frankenstein Unbound November 2YesNoco-production with 20th Century Fox
1991 Warlock January 11YesNo
Black Magic WomanApril 17NoYes
Servants of TwilightMay 31YesNo
Kickboxer 2 June 14YesNo
Whore October 4YesNo
Dolly Dearest October 18YesNo
And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird November 15YesNo
All-American Murder December 1NoYes
1992 Into the Sun January 31YesNo
The PsychicMay 20YesNo
InterceptorOctober 1YesNo
Prototype December 23NoYes
1993 Leprechaun January 8YesNo
Dead Alive February 12YesNo
American Kickboxer 2 August 4NoYes
Blink of an EyeAugust 26NoYes
Warlock: The Armageddon September 24YesNo
Thunder in Paradise September 27NoYes
Deadfall October 8YesNo
Return of the Living Dead III October 29YesNo
Philadelphia Experiment II November 12YesNo
Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow November 24NoYes
1994 Death Wish V: The Face of Death January 14YesNodistribution only;
produced by 21st Century Film Corporation
Silent Tongue February 25YesNo
Leprechaun 2 April 8YesNo
Return to Two Moon Junction May 11YesNo
Trading Mom May 13YesNo
Freefall May 25NoYesdistribution only;
produced by Nu Image
Love Is a Gun June 1NoYes
Curse of the Starving Class September 13NoYes
Criminal Passion September 21YesNo
Running FreeOctober 5NoYes
Frank and Jesse October 28YesNo
Dangerous Touch November 2NoYes
Hong Kong '97 November 9NoYes
Love and a .45 November 23YesNo
The Stoned Age December 5YesNo
Federal Hill December 9YesNo
1995 Payback January 10YesNo
Night of the Running Man January 19YesNo
Swimming with Sharks April 21YesNo
HeatseekerJune 27YesNo
Leprechaun 3 June 27NoYes
A Kid in King Arthur's Court August 11YesNoco-produced by Walt Disney Pictures
Separate Lives September 8YesNo
Kicking and Screaming October 6YesNo
The Doom Generation October 25YesNo
1996 Evolver February 10YesNoco-production with A Band Apart
True Crime March 12NoYes
Two Guys Talkin' About Girls June 18NoYesaka At First Sight
Crimetime August 4YesNo
Sometimes They Come Back... Again September 3NoYes
Pinocchio's Revenge October 7NoYes
The Dentist October 18NoYes
1997 Meet Wally Sparks January 31YesNo
Leprechaun 4: In Space February 25NoYes
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love February 28YesNo
Frankenstein and MeMarch 18NoYes
Nothing Personal April 25YesNo
Ripe May 2YesNo
Sprung May 16YesNo
Box of Moonlight July 25YesNo
First Love, Last Rites September 10YesNo
Trucks October 29NoYes
Eve's Bayou November 7YesNo
1998 Star Kid January 16YesNo
The Curve January 24YesNo
Chairman of the Board March 13YesNo
Chinese Box April 17YesNo
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss July 24YesNo
A Kid in Aladdin's Palace July 28NoYes
Carnival of Souls August 21YesNolimited release
Phoenix September 4YesNodistribution only;
produced by Lakeshore Entertainment
Cube September 11YesNo
Trance September 18YesNo
Slam October 7YesNo
The LandladyNovember 10NoYes
The Dentist 2 December 11NoYes
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows December 20NoYes
Another Day in Paradise December 30YesNo
1999 King Cobra April 27NoYes
The Sex Monster May 5YesNo
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn May 9NoYes
Twice Upon a Yesterday May 28YesNo
Diplomatic Siege June 10NoYes
Better Than Chocolate August 13YesNo
Sometimes They Come Back... for More September 7NoYes
Romance September 17YesNo
Atomic Train September 21NoYes
Warlock III: The End of Innocence October 12NoYes
Joe the King October 15YesNo
Tail Lights Fade December 3YesNo
Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying December 27NoYes
2000 Beautiful People February 18YesNo
Cut March 2NoYes
Leprechaun in the Hood March 28NoYes
The Last September April 21YesNo
Held Up May 12YesNo
Cord May 23NoYes
Flypaper June 27NoYes
History Is Made at Night July 11YesNo
The Perfect TenantJuly 25NoYes
AttractionSeptember 20NoYes
Uninvited Guest September 22NoYes
The Bogus Witch Project October 10NoYes
Faust: Love of the Damned October 12YesNo
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th October 17NoYes
After Alice October 24NoYes
The StepdaughterOctober 31NoYes
What's Cooking? November 17YesNo
The Sr. Francisville ExperimentDecember 5NoYes
South of Heaven, West of Hell December 15YesNo
XChange December 20NoYes
2001 Skipped Parts January 4YesNo
Killer Bud March 13NoYes
After the Storm March 20NoYes
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal May 13NoYes
Blood Surf June 26NoYes

List of distributed video games

Release DateTitlePlatformNotes
1994 National Lampoon's Blind Date Windows, Mac OS
November 23, 1994 Air Havoc Controller Windows
1995 The Hive Windows, PlayStation
1995 White Men Can't Jump Jaguar
Cancelled Warlock Jaguar

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References

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