Atlantic Entertainment Group (also known as Atlantic Releasing Corporation) was an independent film production and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

company founded by Tom Coleman and Michael Rosenblatt in 1974.

History

Their initial releases were mostly geared to arthouse audiences, with an especially large number of Australian productions, as well as two Brazilian productions, '' Eu Te Amo'' (1981) and '' Lady on the Bus'' (1978), that introduced American audiences to actress Sonia Braga. They shifted their focus to small-budgeted independent films in the early 1980s, beginning with the surprise success of '' Valley Girl'' (1983), directed by

Martha Coolidge Martha Coolidge (born August 17, 1946) is an American film director and former President of the Directors Guild of America. She has directed such films as '' Valley Girl,'' '' Real Genius'' and '' Rambling Rose.'' Early life Coolidge was born in ...

. '' Night of the Comet'', released in 1984, would be their first film to open on over 1000 screens. By 1984, the company had signed an agreement with CBS/Fox Video, whereas a "conceptual partnership" that launched the Atlantic Video label, and among of the launch titles set up by Atlantic Video were '' Alphabet City'', '' Roadhouse 66'', '' Night of the Comet'' and '' Vamping''. Atlantic International was also launched and license overseas rights to various films territory by territory. In 1985, they began a relationship with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

whereby the studio provided them money for larger-scale theatrical releases in exchange for home video and television rights to their films. The company made its big break with the success of '' Teen Wolf'', which then spawned a franchise that year. In 1985, Atlantic Releasing Corporation started the Clubhouse Pictures label, which was designed to release films for a family audience, which set up the Clubhouse Pictures Family Network of theaters. On July 30, 1986, Jonathan Dana was hired by Atlantic Entertainment Group to supervise all Atlantic activities, via divisions Atlantic Releasing Corporation, Atlantic Television, Clubhouse Pictures and Atlantic International, and decided to "systemize" the top management to accommodate its growth to be a mini-major film studio. In November 1987, Atlantic Entertainment teamed up with

Zenith Productions Zenith Productions (later Zenith Entertainment) was a British independent film and television production company. Zenith created content for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky and UKTV, including a number of series such as '' Inspector Morse'' for ...

for a $20 million, three-picture agreement, following the success of ''

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

'', which the two companies ever formed a relationship that the relationship was more subtle than a 50/50 agreement, but essentially was an equal partnership, and the two companies would hold proportionate equity in all three pictures worldwide and the first wave of pictures was a production called ''Patty'', as well as '' For Queen and Country'' and '' The Wolves of Willoughby Chase'', a co-production between the Czech and the U.S., and Atlantic would handle worldwide rights for the former, and had North American rights to the latter two, and foreign sales would be handled by Zenith's Sales Company. In January 1989, Atlantic made a new deal with Kartes Video Communications for home video rights to the movies previously covered in the Paramount deal. The library was bought by Island Pictures, which took over soliciting the films to home video. Island themselves suffered financial losses soon after and was absorbed into

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as Filmworks, Casablanca Record & Filmworks, PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a film production company founded in 1975 as an American film studio, which became a European co ...

in 1998. That same year, when PolyGram themselves were acquired by

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...

(parent company of

Universal Studios Universal Studios may refer to: * Universal Studios, Inc., an American media and entertainment conglomerate ** Universal Pictures, an American film studio ** Universal Studios Lot, a film and television studio complex * Various theme parks operat ...

, Seagram sold PolyGram's pre-1996 library to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

in October 1998. For a number of years,

had television and video distribution rights to Atlantic's library, some from their previous deal with the company, and others inherited when Viacom, who had purchased television rights to many earlier Atlantic releases, merged with Paramount.

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

now owns most of the library as a result of purchasing the pre-1996 portion of PolyGram's library.

Filmography

Some of the company's most notable films include: * ''

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'' (1976) * ''In Search of Bigfoot'' (1976) * ''

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'' (1976) * '' Something to Hide'' (1976) * ''Bonjour Amour'' (1977) * ''The Day the Music Died'' (1977) * '' Madame Rosa'' (1977) * '' Lady on the Bus'' (1978) * ''

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'' (1978) * '' The Getting of Wisdom'' (1978) * ''

The Hound of the Baskervilles ''The Hound of the Baskervilles'' is the third of the four Detective fiction, crime novels by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes. Originally serial (literature), serialised in ''The Strand Magazine'' from ...

'' (1978) * '' The Irishman'' (1978) * '' The Odd Job'' (1978) * ''Once in Paris...'' (1978) * ''Bahia'' (1979) * ''

Boardwalk A boardwalk (alternatively board walk, boarded path, or promenade) is an elevated footpath, walkway, or causeway typically built with wooden planks, which functions as a type of low water bridge or small viaduct that enables pedestrians to ...

'' (1979) * '' Womanlight'' (1979) * '' The Attic'' (1980) * ''Below the Belt'' (1980) * ''I Sent a Letter to My Love'' (1980) * '' Rude Boy'' (1980) * '' Eu Te Amo'' (1981) * ''

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'' (1981) * '' Peter-No-Tail'' (1981) * ''

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'' (1982) * ''

Breach of Contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

'' (1982) * '' By Design'' (1982) * '' The Loveless'' (1982) * '' Norman Loves Rose'' (1982) * '' Smash Palace'' (1982) * '' Waltz Across Texas'' (1982) * '' Valley Girl'' (1983) * '' The Smurfs and the Magic Flute'' (1983) * '' Kamla'' (1984) * '' Talk to Me'' (1984) * '' Alphabet City'' (1984) * '' Vamping'' (1984) * ''

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'' (1984) * ''

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'' (1984) * '' Night of the Comet'' (1984) * '' Roadhouse 66'' (1985) * '' He-Man and She-Ra: The Secret of the Sword'' (1985) * '' Here Come the Littles'' (1985) * '' Starchaser: The Legend of Orin'' (1985) * '' Teen Wolf'' (1985) * ''

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

'' (1985, produced by Handmade Films) * '' Peter-No-Tail in Americat'' (1985) * '' Echo Park'' (1986) * '' Extremities'' (1986) * '' The Fringe Dwellers'' (1986) * '' The Men's Club'' (1986) * '' Modern Girls'' (1986) * ''

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'' (1986) * '' Nutcracker: The Motion Picture'' (1986) * ''Stephen King's World of Horror'' (1986) (TV) * '' Stoogemania'' (1986)

Clubhouse Pictures

The company also had a division called "Clubhouse Pictures" to release family films; theaters screening these titles participated in the "Clubhouse Family Network". The first films shown under this division were released on January 17, 1986 with the release of '' The Adventures of Mark Twain''; '' Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!'' (reissue of the 1964 film); '' Heathcliff: The Movie''; and '' The Adventures of the American Rabbit''. Other films and television series released under this label include: * '' GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'' (March 21, 1986) * '' Teen Wolf'' (September 13, 1986 – December 6, 1986) (later produced by Atlantic/ Kushner-Locke)

Notes

References

{{Authority control Film distributors of the United States Defunct mass media companies of the United States Entertainment companies established in 1974 Entertainment companies disestablished in 1989 1974 establishments in Alaska Companies based in Santa Monica, California American companies established in 1974 American companies disestablished in 1989