Briarcliff Entertainment

Briarcliff Entertainment is an independent American film production and distribution company founded by former Open Road Films CEO Tom Ortenberg. Launched in 2018, the studio debuted with Michael Moore's documentary ''Fahrenheit 11/9'' as their first film. They went on to distribute mainly action films in the ensuing several years, including '' Honest Thief'' and ''Blacklight'' with Liam Neeson, and '' Copshop'' with Gerard Butler.

In addition to ''Fahrenheit 11/9'', the company has released other high-profile political documentaries, including the critically acclaimed ''The Dissident'', about the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, and '' Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down.''

During the summer of 2024, it was reported that Briarcliff was close to a deal to release the controversial Donald Trump biopic '' The Apprentice'' after it initially languished without a distributor in America following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival'','' and a deal was later confirmed with an October 11 release date set.

A few months later it was announced they would acquire '' Magazine Dreams'', the Sundance hit that was dropped by Searchlight Pictures following the controversy surrounding its star Jonathan Majors.

History

Briarcliff was founded as an independent theatrical film studio in late 2018 by veteran executive Tom Ortenberg, who was the founding CEO of Open Road Films and formerly the President of Theatrical Films at Lionsgate, where he was the company's first employee in Los Angeles. Their first films were 2018's ''Fahrenheit 11/9'' and 2019's '' Don't Let Go'', a collaboration with Blumhouse Productions.

In 2020, it was announced that Briarcliff would partner with a recently re-launched Open Road to acquire and release films jointly. The partnership distributed films like ''Kandahar'' with Gerard Butler and ''Studio 666'', a 2022 horror-comedy made by and starring Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters.

The company has been noted for their frequent collaboration with Liam Neeson on action films, including ''Marlowe'', ''Memory'', ''Blacklight'' and '' Honest Thief'', all released between 2020 and 2023. Also in 2023 they distributed the inspirational baseball film '' The Hill'' starring Dennis Quaid, which grossed $7.6 million at the domestic box office.

In 2024, it was reported that they would release '' The Apprentice'', the controversial Donald Trump biopic starring Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong that played the Cannes Film Festival and was sent a cease and desist by the former president's legal team. Despite the Trump campaign's attempts to block a sale, it was slated for a release on October 11 shortly before the 2024 United States presidential election.

Due to the legal threats, Briarcliff was the only distribution company to make a serious offer for the film, with Ortenberg slamming Hollywood's "cowardice". In October of that year, Bloomberg reported that the studio was looking to raise between $25–50 million for a minority stake in the company.

Also in 2024, it was announced that they would release '' Magazine Dreams'', which was dropped by Searchlight Pictures following the controversy surrounding star Jonathan Majors despite strong reviews out of Sundance, in early 2025. The same year the company also acquired South by Southwest Audience Award winner '' My Dead Friend Zoe'', starring Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris and executive produced by Travis Kelce, for release in 2025.

Filmography

Released

Upcoming

References

External links

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{{Portal bar, Film, Companies, United States, California

2018 establishments in California
American companies established in 2018
American independent film studios
Distribution companies of the United States
Film distributors of the United States
Film production companies of the United States