Hollywood Pictures was an American

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...

. Established on February 1, 1989, by then-Disney CEO

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film s ...

and then-studio chief

Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg (; born December 21, 1950) is an American filmmaker, animator, and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney, he was a co-founder and C ...

, Hollywood Pictures was founded to increase the film output of the Walt Disney Studios, and release films similar to those of

Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...

, that featured mature themes targeted to adult audiences than those produced by the studio's flagship

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios unit ...

division. After years of hiatus, the label was shuttered on April 27, 2007. Hollywood Pictures' most commercially successful film was

M. Night Shyamalan Manoj Nelliyattu M. Night Shyamalan ( ; born August 6, 1970) is an Indian-American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for making original films with contemporary supernatural plots and twist endings. He was born in Mahé, India, and raise ...

's ''

The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient ( Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released ...

'', which grossed over $670 million worldwide upon its 1999 release.

History

Hollywood Pictures Corporation was incorporated on March 30, 1984 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 closure of MGM/UA's

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stu ...

and financial problems at

Lorimar-Telepictures Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation was an entertainment company established in 1985 with the merger of Lorimar Productions, Inc. and Telepictures Corporation. Headquartered at the former Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (now Sony Pictures Studios) ...

and

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) was an entertainment production company and distribution studio founded by Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis. The company is notable for producing '' Manhunter'', '' Blue Velvet'', the horror films '' ...

. With Touchstone aligned with Hollywood, the two Disney production divisions would share the same marketing and distribution staffs. Hollywood was expected to be producing 12 films a year by 1991 and to share funding from the Silver Screen Partners IV. The company's first release was ''

Arachnophobia Arachnophobia is a specific phobia brought about by the irrational fear of spiders and other arachnids such as scorpions. Signs and symptoms People with arachnophobia tend to feel uneasy in any area they believe could harbour spiders or that ...

'' on July 18, 1990. 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. After the collapse of their then-recently renewed deal at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

, Don Simpson and

Jerry Bruckheimer Jerome Leon Bruckheimer (born September 21, 1943) is an American film and television producer. He has been active in the genres of action, drama, fantasy, and science fiction. His films include '' Flashdance'', ''Top Gun'', '' The Rock'', '' ...

moved their production company to Hollywood Pictures on January 18, 1991. The division issued primarily inexpensive comedies for the first six years with a few box office flops, amongst them '' Holy Matrimony'', ''

Aspen Extreme ''Aspen Extreme'' is a 1993 American drama film written and directed by Patrick Hasburgh. The plot is about two ski buddies, T.J. Burke (Paul Gross) and Dexter Rutecki (Peter Berg), who move from Brighton, Michigan to Aspen, Colorado to seek a b ...

'', '' Super Mario Bros.'', ''

Swing Kids The Swing Youth (german: Swingjugend) were a group of jazz and swing lovers in Germany formed in Hamburg in 1939. Primarily active in Hamburg and Berlin, they were composed of 14- to 21-year-old Germans, mostly middle or upper-class student ...

'', ''

Blame It on the Bellboy ''Blame It on the Bellboy'' is a 1992 comedy film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Dudley Moore, Bryan Brown, Patsy Kensit, Richard Griffiths, Andreas Katsulas, and Bronson Pinchot. The plot is about a case of mistaken identity ...

'', '' Born Yesterday'' and ''

Guilty as Sin ''Guilty as Sin'' is a 1993 American legal thriller film written by Larry Cohen, directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by Martin Ransohoff. It stars Rebecca De Mornay and Don Johnson, and was produced by Hollywood Pictures. Plot Jennifer Ha ...

''. 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. On June 27, 1994,

Michael Lynton Michael Mark Lynton (born January 1, 1960) is a businessman and current chairman of Snap Inc. He previously served as chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In 2017, Lynton stepped down as CEO of Sony Entertainment to becom ...

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. Mestres left Lynton a few potential hits: Robert Redford's ''

Quiz Show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, s ...

'', the Sarah Jessica Parker-Antonio Banderas drama '' Miami Rhapsody'', and '' Dangerous Minds'', starring Michelle Pfeiffer. In 1997, Lynton left for a position at

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initia ...

. 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

studio. After being dormant for five years, the brand was reactivated for low-budget genre films. Films released by the repurposed Hollywood Pictures were three horror films: '' Stay Alive'' (released on March 24, 2006), '' Primeval'' (released on January 12, 2007), and '' 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 ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, and

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

Filmography

References

{{Authority control 1989 establishments in California 2007 disestablishments in California American companies established in 1989 American companies disestablished in 2007 Companies based in Burbank, California Disney production studios Defunct brands Defunct American film studios Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles Entertainment companies based in California Film production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1989 Mass media companies disestablished in 2007 Re-established companies Walt Disney Studios (division) The Walt Disney Company subsidiaries Michael Eisner Jeffrey Katzenberg

History

Filmography

See also

References