Columbia Pictures

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Matthew Fernandes

By Matthew Fernandes

Columbia Pictures Logo – Columbia Pictures [1]

Columbia Pictures is a major film production and distribution studio, and primary wing of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. The company is a leading division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. With a history spanning nearly 100 years Columbia has produced over 3,500 films, many among them classics [23].

Columbia Pictures Logo Transformation

Columbia, Screen Gems and Sony Picture Entertainment Logos [4]

Columbia’s History

Beginnings

Harry Cohn [2]

Columbia has a long history, beginning in 1922 with producers Harry Cohn, Jack Cohn and Joe Brandt [2].

Joe Brandt [2]

Jack Cohn [2]

They had originally called the company CBC, but changed the name to Columbia in 1922. They produced their first film More to Be Pitied Than Scorned that same year [2].

Film Poster [3]

Capra and the 30s

In 1924, the company really began to expand with the debut of director Frank Capra [2]. Capra directed such classic films during the ’30s as It Happened One Night (1934), which gained Columbia Pictures its first Best Picture Academy Award. [2]

Frank Capra: Director [2]

Fast-forward: 1980s-present

Columbia grew quickly following Capra’s success, earning several academy awards, becoming one of the first major studios to invest in television [2], and launching Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment. In 1982, the company established an impressive television library with Columbia TriStar Television [2]. The next year, Columbia formed TriStar Pictures with CBS and HBO [2].

In 1989 the Sony Corporation purchased Columbia Pictures Corporation, bringing Columbia into its entertainment division. [2] Since then, the company has had several major successes. They continue to dominate, but more as a film distributor and production studio for Sony’s major films [20]. The executives for Sony and Columbia Pictures provide key leadership.

Executives

Michael Lynton [5]

Though not a direct member of the Columbia Pictures executive team, Michael Lynton is the CEO of Sony Entertainment, as well as the Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. As chairman, overseeing Columbia’s operations. [5]

Doug Belgrad – sonypictures.com [6]

Since 2008, Doug Belgrad has served as the president of Columbia Pictures [6]. Since then, he has overseen some of Columbia’s most recent successes such as Captain Phillips and This is the End.

Hannah Minghella – sonypictures.com [7]

Hannah Minghella serves as Columbia’s President of Production, having joined the company in 2005 and receiving a promotion to her current position in 2010 [7].

Together, Columbia’s management has guided the company through varied amounts of success [5]. Columbia works directly under Sony Picture Entertainment for its productions distribution, distribution deals, and financial ventures.

Financials

Columbia is privately traded, so current financial data is unavailable [21]. However, Box Office Mojo estimates that Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment have earned over $1 billion in gross sales this year, and controlled 11.5 percent of the market share [22]. Despite some recent successes, Columbia Pictures experienced some criticism. According to a recent Bloomberg article, Sony Corporation has hired Bain and Co. to manage $100 million in spending cuts that are meant to improve Sony Pictures Entertainment. The article attributes some of the changes to After Earth and White House Down two recent film releases by Columbia [23].

2013: Snapshot

Like many major production studios, Columbia has many projects in development at any given time, though it has worked mainly as production house and distribution company for Sony over the past few years. The following releases are projects that the company has either released in the past year or recently put into development.

White House Down: Box Office Disappointment

White House Down was one of Columbia’s major releases for the summer. This action thriller stars Channing Tatum a cop who must save his daughter and the United Stated President (played by Jamie Foxx) from an unknown terrorist group. [8]

Film picture – [9]

According to Box Office Mojo, the film brought in over $200 million, but had a production budget of over $150 million [9]. This was surprising given that the film released during the summer and had the makings of a blockbuster. The movie had to compete with a similar film called Olympus Has Fallen starring Morgan Freeman and Gerard Butler, which might have caused a divide in film audiences over which movie to see. Columbia Pictures and Sony might be able to salvage some profit with a home entertainment release since they will most likely retain the rights, but this film seems like a missed opportunity for Columbia Pictures.

Cloudy With Chance of Meatballs 2: A Strong Success

This past fall, Columbia Pictures managed the theatrical release for Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2. The new film is the sequel to Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, a popular animated film that Columbia Pictures released in 2009 in conjunction with several other studios [11].

This second installment has been a success relative to the summer mishap of White House Down, earning almost $200 million worldwide compared to a budget of $78 million [10]. Columbia Pictures will most likely benefit from a profitable DVD release as well, bringing in more profit after the film closes in theaters.

Captain Phillips

Film Poster [17]

One of Columbia Picture’s most recent leases is Captain Phillips the suspense thriller based on the actual hijacking of Maersk Alabama, which was captured by Somalian pirates in 2009 [12]. Tom Hanks plays the eponymous character Captain Richard Phillips, giving the film some major star power.

Film Photo [12]

The film has done well since its October release nearly doubling its budget of $55 million [13]. Despite critical success for the film, a recent New York Post article criticized it for portraying a false story.

The actual crew of the film has spoken out against the portrayal of Captain Phillips, which they claim to be completely false [14]. The film does not seem to be suffering from this poor press, however. If the film receives any Oscars, it will probably have another wave of sales after its eventual DVD release.

Future Projects

RoboCop

This film is a recreation of the 1987 sci-fi film of the same name. The story follows Alex Murphy, a cop who becomes a machine-human soldier after experiencing a nearly fatal injury [16].

Film Poster [16]

RoboCop Trailer 2013

RoboCop Trailer Photo [15]

The film has some well-known actors, but the real appeal is film’s name itself. Given the popularity of the original character and the film’s President’s Day weekend release date, RoboCop should draw huge audiences for Columbia Pictures.

New Acquisitions

Columbia Pictures has recently been listed as a production studio for some of Sony Picture Entertainment’s most recent acquisitions. One of the most notable acquisitions is Annie, for which Sony gained the film distribution rights this year [18]. The film version of the classic musical is set to release next year.

Columbia has also started developing projects based on the popular novels The Rosie Project and Tomorrow And Tomorrow [19]. Both of these projects are still in development, but will join the slate of films that Columbia is set to produce for the coming year, including The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and RoboCop [18].

Despite some of the financial criticism that Columbia Pictures received for some of its more recent box office disappointments, it is still one of the dominant film studios. And given some of the high-profile film’s on Columbia’s slate for the coming year, it will most likely retain its position as a major entertainment entity.

References

[1] Columbia Pictures logo

[2] Sony Pictures – History of Columbia Pictures

[3] More to be Pitied Than Scorned Film Poster

[4] Transformation of Columbia Logo

[5] Michael Lynton Profile

[6] Doug Belgrad Profile

[7] Hannah Minghella Profile

[8] White House Down Official Site

[9] White House Down Movie Data

[10] Cloudy With a Chance of Meatball 2 Movie Data

[11] Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs IMDB

[12] Captain Phillips Movie Official Website

[13] Captain Phillips Movie Data

[14] “Crew Members Deny Captain Phillips Heroism” – New York Post

[15] RoboCop Official Trailer

[16] RoboCop IMDb

[17] Captain Phillips IMDb

[18] Columbia Pictures Film Distribution List IMDb

[19] Sony Acquires The Rosie Project

[20] Columbia Profi le Business Week

[21] Google Finance For Columbia Pictures

[22] Studio Market Shares

[23] Sony Corporation Divisions – Columbia TriStar

Columbia/TriStar Pictures

Posted on September 18, 2012 by kkwon01

by Kevin Kwon

Contact Information: 10202 West Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 United States.

Phone: (310) 244-4000 Fax: (310) 280-1509

Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/

QUICK PROFILE AND HISTORY

Columbia/Tristar Pictures, also known as the Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group or more recently, Sony Tristar Group, serves as a part of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is the film and television division of Sony Corporation. Columbia/Tristar Pictures is responsible for the marketing, licensing, and promotion of its products. The company boasts an impressive library of over 3,500 movies and twelve films that received Best Picture Academy Awards. A total of three studios makes up Columbia/Tristar Pictures which are: Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, and Sony Pictures Classics. Each of these three studios serves a special purpose; Columbia Pictures specializes in large budget films, Sony Pictures Classics focuses on both foreign and domestic independent films, while Screen Gems is more like a mix of the two.¹

Although founded in 1924, Columbia Pictures was only purchased by Sony for 3.4 billion USD in 1989. The purchase was an unprecedented event and it became the largest acquisition by a Japanese company at that time. Soon after, Sony had moved Columbia to its permanent home in Culver City, California.²In 1998, Sony merged its own TriStar Pictures into its Columbia Pictures division which resulted in a single production company. The reason for this merger, as stated by John Calley, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment at the time, was because Sony wanted to “focus on producing a larger number of pictures with greater efficiency and less rivalry.”³

For a more detailed look at the company’s history, you can visit here.

KEY EXECUTIVES

Michael Lynton, image courtesy of
www.sonypictures.com

Michael Lynton – Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. CEO of Sony Corporation of America. CEO of Sony Entertainment, Inc.⁴Amy Pascal – Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.⁴

Douglass Belgrad, image courtesy of www.awn.com

Jeff Blake – Vice Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.⁴

Steven N. Bersch – President of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.⁴Douglass Belgrad – President of Columbia Pictures.⁴Hannah Minghella – President of Production for Columbia Pictures.⁴Clinton Culpepper – President of Screen Gems.⁴Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom – Co-Presidents and Co-Founders of Sony Picture Classics.⁵

COLUMBIA TRISTAR PICTURES IN LATE 2012

August

August 29, 2012 – Sony Pictures Entertainment along with EON Productions, MGM Studios, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced their plan to make October 5, 2012, the official and globally celebrated James Bond Day.

Image courtesy of www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com

On this special day, fans of the Bond franchise all over the world will be able to experience numerous events such as a live auction charity with Bond related items, a concert with timeless Bond themes, and Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007, a new documentary from a joint effort between Columbia Pictures, MGM Pictures, Passion Pictures, and Red Box Films. This mega James Bond event not only celebrates the franchise’s 50^th anniversary, but also creates hype and awareness toward the upcoming Bond film from Columbia Pictures, Skyfall. Director Sam Mendes’ Skyfall is one of Columbia Pictures’ most anticipated films in 2012.⁶

September

September 27, 2012 – Although it was already widely known that the upcoming Bond film, Skyfall, was going to be released in IMAX, more news regarding the movie’s relationship with IMAX was revealed. On September 27, 2012, Columbia Pictures announced through the official 007’s Twitter feed that the movie will be released a day early in IMAX theaters. It was also mentioned that the day early release was exclusive to IMAX theaters in the States.⁷ The studio is building great hype for its upcoming Bond film and expects loyal fans of the franchise to experience the movie in IMAX a day early.

Hotel Transylvania poster, image courtesy of www.imdb.com

September 28, 2012 – Columbia Pictures released the animation feature, Hotel Translyvania. The budget for the film amounted to $85 million. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, Hotel Translyvania benefited from a strong voice acting cast made up of talents such as Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Selena Gomez. The movie enjoyed the greatest debut ever for a Columbia Pictures animation feature at $42.5 million in opening weekend, a record that was previously held by The Smurfs at $35.6 million.⁸ In total, the film earned a worldwide gross of $296.6 million and a domestic gross of $143 million.⁹

October

Here Comes the Boom poster, image courtesy of www.imdb.com

October 12, 2012 – Columbia Pictures released, Here Comes the Boom, a movie directed by Frank Coraci. Actor Kevin James stars as a biology teacher who enters the world of mixed martial arts in order to raise money for his struggling school. The movie falls under the Comedy genre, but fails to garner enough laughs from both the fans and the studio. In its debut, Here Comes the Boom, only earned about $3.63 million which marked the worst opening in Kevin James’ career. Altogether, the movie made about $42 million domestically and $53.6 million worldwide.¹⁰

October 26, 2012 – The highly anticipated, Skyfall, is released in many foreign markets which includes but is not limited to the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, and Belgium. The United States will have to wait another two weeks before Skyfall is shown in theaters. On top of high reviews from critics, the film dominated the markets it was introduced in. In the UK, Skyfall, broke the record for a Saturday theater attendance as well as becoming the 2^nd highest grossing film in its opening weekend with a total of #32.3 million made. The film from Columbia Pictures claimed first place in every market it was introduced in during that opening weekend.¹¹

November

Skyfall poster, image courtesy of www.forbes.com

November 11, 2012 – Columbia Pictures finally released, Skyfall, the 23^rd Bond film in its domestic debut on November 9, 2012. The movie enjoyed tremendous success internationally, and it did not disappoint domestically during its opening weekend. Director Sam Mendes’ Skyfall with its impressive cast featuring Daniel Craig as Bond, set the highest opening weekend record ever domestically in Bond film history with a total gross of $88.4 million. This is a tremendous increase from the two previous Bond films, Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale, that both featured Daniel Craig as the beloved spy. Also, Skyfall, was shown in IMAX theaters on Thursday due to its early release and made $2.2 million outside the $88.4 million total weekend gross.¹² In total (up to December 7, 2012), Skyfall, earned a domestic gross of $249 million and a worldwide gross of $872.4 million. In only twelve days since release, Skyfall, took its place as the highest-grossing Bond film of all time.¹³ The highly successful Skyfall owes part of its success to the great marketing team in Columbia Pictures. The team was responsible for creating awareness and hype up to the film’s release worldwide. During the 2012 London Olympics, an event that was watched by millions, Bond made a spectacular appearance in the opening ceremonies. People who witnessed the opening ceremonies could not forget the image of Bond and the Queen jumping out of a plane to join the festivities. Bond’s appearance during the opening ceremonies made people realize again how awesome the iconic spy really is. On top of that event, Adele’s song for the movie was supposedly “leaked,” which added to the hype for the film. The song was well received and reached high rankings in billboard charts all over the world.¹⁴

December

December 3, 2012 – In the upcoming sequel to, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Dane DeHaan who is famous for his role in the movie, Chronicle, is cast as Harry Osborn.

Dane DeHaan, image courtesy of www.mtv.com

Harry Osborn is a huge character in the Spider-Man universe and serves as a friend to Peter Parker as well as an enemy. Director Marc Webb who directed, The Amazing Spider-Man, is also working on the sequel. He revealed Dane DeHaan’s role as Harry Osborn via Twitter. The Spider-Man franchise is significantly and financially important to Columbia Pictures and Sony reserves all rights to the franchise on film despite the character belonging to the company, Marvel, which is now owned by Disney.¹⁵

2012 WRAP UP

Columbia/Tristar Pictures enjoyed massive success in 2012 with titles such as: Skyfall, The Amazing Spider-Man, Men in Black 3, Hotel Transylvania, Resident Evil: Retribution, Underworld: Awakening, and 21 Jump Street. The Amazing Spider-Man enjoyed the 2^nd largest success after Skyfall with a total gross of $754 million worldwide. The third movie in its franchise, Men in Black 3, followed behind with a total gross of $624 million worldwide. Columbia/Tristar Pictures has the number one market share in North America. There is still one more major film to be released in 2012 which is, Zero Dark Thirty, a film by Kathryn Bigelow. The movie will be released on December 19, 2012.¹⁶

References

1. Hoovers Inc. (2012). Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from Hoovers.com:
http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Columbia_TriStar_Motion_Picture_Group.9a3fb312ea9f08a6.html

2. Sony Pictures Entertainment. (2006). Sony Pictures History. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from Sony Pictures Entertainment Museum: http://www.sonypicturesmuseum.com/studio/history/1

3. Matzer, M. (1998). Sony Is Combining Its TriStar, Columbia Units – Los Angeles Times. Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from:
http://articles.latimes.com/1998/mar/31/business/fi-34433

4. Senior Management Team. (2012). Sony Pictures. Retrieved October 5, 2012, from:
http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/management.html

5. About Us. (2012). Sony Classics. Retrieved October 15, 2012, from: http://www.sonyclassics.com/about-us/bio-tom-bernard.php

6. James Bond Day Set For October 5. (2012). MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved November 2, 2012, from:
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/08/29/james-bond-day/

7. Billington, A. (2012). Bond’s ‘Skyfall’ Now Set to Open in US IMAX Theaters One Day Early | FirstShowing.net.FirstShowing.net. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from: http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/bonds-skyfall-now-set-to-open-in-us-imax-theaters-one-day-early/

8. Subers, R. (2012). Weekend Report: ‘Hotel Transylvania’ Scares Up New September Record – Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3536&p=.htm

9. Hotel Transylvania (2012) – Box Office Mojo. (2012). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=hoteltransylvania.htm

10. Here Comes the Boom (2012) – Box Office Mojo. (n.d.). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=herecomestheboom.htm

11. Segars, F. (2012). Foreign Box Office: ‘Skyfall’ Blasts Off Overseas With Massive $78.6 Million. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from: www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foreign-box-office-skyfall-blasts-383848

12. Subers, R. (2012). Weekend Report: ‘Skyfall’ Scores Best Bond Debut Ever – Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3565&p=.htm

13. Skyfall (2012) – Box Office Mojo. (2012).Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bond23.htm

14. Marks, J. (2012). Sony’s marketing team sets up ‘Skyfall’ as one of the best Bond movies ever – West Palm Beach Marketing | Examiner.com. Welcome to Examiner.com | Examiner.com. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from:
http://www.examiner.com/article/sony-s-marketing-team-sets-up-skyfall-as-one-of-the-best-bond-movies-ever

15. ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ Casts Dane DeHaan As Harry Osborn – Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV.com. (2012).New Music Videos, Reality TV Shows, Celebrity News, Top Stories | MTV. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1698274/amazing-spiderman-2-dane-dehaan.jhtml

16. SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT SCORES BIGGEST YEAR EVER AT GLOBAL BOX OFFICE, PASSING $4 BILLION FOR FIRST TIME IN STUDIO HISTORY AS SKYFALL™ BECOMES THE BIGGEST BOND OF ALL TIME. (2012).Sony Pictures. Retrieved December 4, 2012, from:
http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/press_releases/2012/11_12/111812_skyfall.html

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Columbia Pictures

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