{"id":17372,"date":"2014-03-15T01:12:13","date_gmt":"2014-03-15T05:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/?p=17372"},"modified":"2014-04-21T14:45:29","modified_gmt":"2014-04-21T18:45:29","slug":"weinstein-company-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/2014\/03\/15\/weinstein-company-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Weinstein Company"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Roxy Silver<\/pre>\n
\"[1]<\/a>
[1]<\/a> The Weinstein Company Logo<\/p><\/div>\n
HISTORY<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
Brothers Bob<\/a> and Harvey<\/a> Weinstein founded Miramax Films<\/a> in 1979 and sold it to Disney<\/a>\u00a0in 1993. In 2005, they launched The Weinstein Company,<\/a> TWC, a multimedia and distribution company that encompasses Dimension Films<\/a>, a genre-label founded in 1993 by Bob Weinstein [2]<\/a>. TWC<\/a> and Dimension Films have released mainstream genre and specialty films [3]<\/a>. Recently the company has made a huge push in its television division.<\/p>\n
KEY EXECUTIVES
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\"Harvey\"<\/a>
[4]<\/a> Harvey Weinstein, Co-Chairman TWC<\/p><\/div>
\"[5]<\/a>
[5]<\/a> Bob Weinstein, Co-Chairman TWC & Dimension Films<\/p><\/div> <\/p>\n
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FINANCIALS
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TWC<\/a> is privately held. Box office wise, currently\u00a0TWC<\/a> is ranked 9th with 2.5% of the market share, grossing $69.1 million from its 8 films [6]<\/a>. This marks a decrease from the prior year in which TWC<\/a> ranked 8th with 4.5% market share, grossing $491.7 million while releasing 21 films [7]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
IN THEATERS
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\"[7]\"<\/a>
[8]<\/a>\u00a0Lee Daniels’ The Butler captures the story of a White House butler who served seven presidents through dramatic and changing times in American history.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cLee Daniels\u2019 The Butler\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/strong>The drama starring Forest Whitaker<\/a> and Oprah Winfrey<\/a> \u201cwas expected to do well, but we didn\u2019t expect to do this well,\u201d shared Erik Lomis<\/a>, President of Distribution for TWC. “The Butler” is the company\u2019s first No. 1 debut since 2009\u00a0[9] <\/a>with an opening weekend of $24.6 million on August 16, 2013 [10]<\/a>. The film has accumulated grosses of $116.6 million domestically and grossed $146.5 million internationally [11]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\"[12]\"<\/a>
[12]<\/a> Vampire Academy is based on a best selling series about two “mortal vampires” who attend a boarding school and have to protect each other from the terrible forces.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cVampire Academy\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
The highly anticipated fantasy film was a flop for TWC<\/a>. In attempt to imitate the success of box office hits like \u201cTwilight\u201d <\/a>and \u201cThe Hunger Games,\u201d<\/a> this young-adult\u00a0adaption didn’t compliment the best-selling book series as the box office sales attest: It premiered in theaters on February 7, 2014, reeling in $3.9 million during its opening weekend [13]<\/a>. The film has accumulated grosses of $7.79 million domestically and $7.6 million foreign, totaling $15.3 million worldwide [14]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\u00a0AWARDS SEASON<\/strong><\/p>\n
TWC<\/a> had an extremely successful year leading up to The Academy Awards<\/a>, but fell short with only 11 nominations compared to the 17 from the year before [15]<\/a>. Regardless, the three films nominated received wide recognition.<\/del><\/p>\n
\"[21]\"<\/a>
[16]<\/a> 20 Feet From Stardom<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201c20 Feet From Stardom\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
“Millions know their voices, but no one knows their names”- <\/em>\u201c20 Feet From Stardom\u201d<\/a> is a documentary that told the story of\u00a0Darlene Love <\/a>who backed up idols, Stevie Wonder<\/a>,\u00a0Frank Sinatra<\/a>,\u00a0Luther Vandross<\/a>\u00a0and Elvis Presley<\/a>.\u00a0The film shared her story of struggle of being feet away from the spotlight, but never making it\u00a0[17]<\/a>. This film was TWC\u2019s only Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature<\/a> [18]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\"[24]\"<\/a>
[19]<\/a> Philomena<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cPhilomena\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Philomena <\/a>captures the story of a mother searching for her son but instead finding his gay lover. The drama was nominated for Best Picture<\/a>, Best Original Score<\/a>, Best Actress<\/a>, and Best Adapted Screenplay<\/a>, but didn’t win any awards at the Oscars\u00a0<\/a>[20]<\/a>.\u00a0With an opening weekend of $128,435, to date the film combines $37.5 million domestic with $62.4 million foreign, netting TWC <\/a>$87.9 million [21]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\"[25]\"<\/a>
[22]<\/a> August: Osage County<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cAugust: Osage County\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n
The dark comedy based on a Pulitzer Prize<\/a> winning play portrays a dysfunctional family coming together after a death. Starring Meryl Streep<\/a> and Julia Roberts<\/a>, it was nominated for two Oscars[23]<\/a>. The film had a limited opening weekend of $179,302 in December 2013 and a wide opening of $7.1 million [24]<\/a>. The film has accumulated $37.7 million domestically and $34.7 million foreign, netting TWC<\/a> $52.4 million [24]<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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STRATEGICALLY TWC TAKES ON TV\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
A $370 million line of credit from Union Bank<\/a> helped TWC<\/a> enter the television market in 2013 [25]<\/a>.\u00a0TWC\u2019s<\/a> COO\u00a0David Glasser <\/a>explained, \u201cWe\u2019ve invested a lot in TV because we see it as a big part of our future.\u201d[26]<\/a>\u00a0Now in 2014 the future is here. Having TV under TWC’s<\/a> belt is an asset creating versatile operations, revenue, and a presence in the TV industry.<\/p>\n
\"Source:<\/a><\/p>\n
TWC<\/a> acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the Sky Italia<\/a> drama series, \u2018Gomorra<\/a>\u2019 from Beta Film<\/a>, an\u00a0international distributor [27]<\/a>.\u00a0Stefano Sollima<\/a> directed this series based on a bestselling novel about the Neapolitan crime administration Camorra<\/a>, and is set for release in 2015 [28]<\/a>. Harvey Weinstein <\/a>shares \u201cThis project caught our eye a while back for its world-class acting talent, as well as Sollima\u2019s abilities to craft a thriller like none other.\u201d [29]<\/a>\u00a0This acquisition benefits TWC with new innovative programming, and Beta Film<\/a> providing ‘Gomorra’ access into American homes.<\/p>\n
\"Source:<\/a><\/p>\n
With the buzz generated from “Netflix <\/a>Original Series,” TWC<\/a> is jumping in. The highly anticipated Weinstein Company drama ,“Marco Polo”<\/a>, is in production for Netflix<\/a> and will premiere nearing the end of 2014\u00a0[30]<\/a>.\u00a0Harvey Weinstein<\/a> reported, \u201cWe are proud to present a series that rivals some of the most successful films we\u2019ve ever made. We are excited to introduce him (Marco Polo) to the world.\u201d [31]<\/a><\/p>\n
\"Source:<\/a><\/p>\n
 <\/strong><\/strong>TWC<\/a>‘s recent partnership with media company Gannett<\/a> gives TWC an advantage with exclusive access to use Gannett’s expansive media library and retain distribution rights from Gannett’s television stations, newspapers, and digital assets [32]<\/a>. Weinstein’s President of Television Maryam Banikarim<\/a>, told Street Insider<\/a>, \u201cThis groundbreaking venture will allow us to discover and explore rich new narratives for a wide array of audiences.\u201d [33]<\/a><\/p>\n
COMING SOON TO THEATERS NEAR YOU<\/strong><\/p>\n
TWC<\/a> is continuing their Oscar<\/a> worthy slate of films this summer, staying true to their demographics and genres of past films. These soon-to-be hit films with A-list names will hopefully yield them success at the 2015 Oscar’s and in the box office.<\/p>\n
“The Giver”<\/strong><\/p>\n