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MGM Home Entertainment LLC (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment,
d/b/a A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...
MGM Home Entertainment and formerly known as MGM Home Video, MGM/CBS Home Video and MGM/UA Home Video) is the
home video Home video is recorded media sold or Video rental shop, rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. ...
distribution arm of the American media company
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 ...
(MGM). It is owned by
Amazon MGM Studios Amazon MGM Studios is an American film and television production and distribution company owned by Amazon, and headquartered at the Culver Studios complex in Culver City, California. Launched on November 16, 2010, it took its current name on O ...
, a subsidiary of
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
. Their releases are currently distributed by
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
since 2020 (and 2021 through Studio Distribution Services). Starting with the
4K UHD Ultra-high-definition television (also known as Ultra HD television, Ultra HD, UHDTV, UHD and Super Hi-Vision) today includes 4K UHD and 8K UHD, which are two digital video formats with an aspect ratio of 16:9. These were first proposed by ...
and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
release of ''Fallout'', TV series solely produced by Amazon MGM Studios will be distributed through MGM Home Entertainment.


History


1978–1982

In 1978, the company was established as MGM Home Video, releasing MGM films and television series. In 1980, MGM joined forces with
CBS Video Enterprises CBS Home Entertainment (formerly CBS Video Enterprises, Inc., MGM/CBS Home Video, CBS/Fox Video and CBS Video, currently branded as CBS DVD for DVD releases and CBS Blu-ray for Blu-ray releases) is an American home video company that distribute ...
, the home video division of the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
television network, and formed MGM/CBS Home Video. In October of that year, they released their first batch of Betamax and VHS tapes. The initial printings of all 24 films were packaged in brown leather clamshell cases with gold lettering; they were presented to CBS executives. Later printings of these films, as well as all printings of later releases by MGM/CBS, were packaged in oversized gray book-style boxes with either the MGM Abstract Lion print logo or CBS Video print logo in the upper right hand corner of the packaging. MGM/CBS also issued some early tapes of
Lorimar Lorimar may refer to: * Lorimar Television, previously Lorimar Productions and later Lorimar Distribution, an American film and television production and marketing company from 1969 to 1986 * Lorimar-Telepictures, formed in 1986 after the merger of ...
product; those releases would instead bear the Lorimar print logo where the MGM or CBS Video print logo would normally be. In 1981, MGM/CBS and Samuel Goldwyn Home Entertainment began to co-market certain Goldwyn titles, with CBS Video Enterprises handling distribution on Goldwyn's behalf.


1982–1998

In 1982, a year after MGM bought and merged with the near-bankrupt
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
(UA) from Transamerica, CBS dropped out of the video partnership with MGM and moved to
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
to create
CBS/Fox Video 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
(Samuel Goldwyn titles moved to CBS/Fox, as they were distributed via CBS). MGM's video division became known as MGM/UA Home Entertainment Group, Inc., more commonly known as MGM/UA Home Video. MGM/UA continued to license pre-1981 UA and pre-1950 WB films (as well as some post-1981 titles) to CBS/Fox (due to an agreement UA had with Fox years earlier dating back to when CBS/Fox Video was called
Magnetic Video Magnetic Video Corporation was a home video/home audio duplication service that operated between 1968 and 1982. History Magnetic Video Corporation was established by the co-founder Andre Blay, an American film producer in 1968 with Leon Nic ...
). In 1982, the company entered into an agreement with
The Cannon Group The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...
to release titles from the mini-major film studio through 1985. In 1985, it entered into an agreement with Rene Malo Video to handle Canadian distribution of MGM/UA product. In 1986, MGM's pre-May 1986 library (also including the pre-1950
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
library, '' Bugs Bunny: Superstar'', the
Fleischer Studios Fleischer Studios () was an American animation studio founded in 1929 by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer, who ran the pioneering company from its inception until its acquisition by Paramount Pictures in 1942, the parent company and the distri ...
/
Famous Studios Famous Studios (renamed Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956) was the first animation division of the film studio Paramount Pictures from 1942 to 1967. Famous was established as a successor company to Fleischer Studios, after Paramount seized contr ...
''
Popeye Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...
library), was acquired by
Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...
and his company Turner Entertainment Co. After the library was acquired, MGM/UA signed a deal with Turner to continue distributing the pre-May 1986 MGM and to begin distributing the pre-1950 Warner Bros. libraries for video release (the rest of the library went to
Turner Home Entertainment Turner Entertainment Co. is an American multimedia company founded by Ted Turner on August 2, 1986. Purchased by Time Warner Entertainment on October 10, 1996, as part of its acquisition of Turner Broadcasting System (TBS), the company was lar ...
). Also that year, it signed an agreement with
Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...
and his film studio
Concorde Pictures New Concorde (NC) is an American film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons (CNH) as one of the first production companies to develop and t ...
that enabled MGM/UA worldwide access to motion pictures that were produced by Concorde. In October 1990, after
Pathé Communications Pathé SAS (; styled as PATHÉ!) is a French major film production and distribution company, owning a number of cinema chains through its subsidiary Pathé Cinémas and television networks across Europe. It is the name of a network of Frenc ...
bought MGM, MGM/UA Home Video struck a deal with
Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
to have them distribute MGM/UA titles exclusively on home video worldwide. The Pathé merger also meant MGM acquired a majority of the
Cannon Films The Cannon Group, Inc. was an American group of companies, including Cannon Films, which produced films from 1967 to 1994. The extensive group also owned, amongst others, a large international cinema chain and a video film company that investe ...
library (certain rights for other media and select films during the
Thorn EMI Thorn EMI was a major British company involved in consumer electronics, music, defence and retail. Created when Thorn Electrical Industries merged with EMI in October 1979, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituen ...
merger now lie with other entities with few exceptions), ironic considering MGM/UA had previously distributed Cannon output in the 1980s. MGM/UA also began distributing the rest of the UA library around this time after its contract with CBS/Fox ended. In 1994, MGM/UA Home Video launched the MGM/UA Family Entertainment label for family-friendly releases. In 1996, Warner made an exclusive deal with
Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...
to distribute MGM/UA titles on
LaserDisc LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. It was developed by Philips, Pioneer Corporation, Pioneer, and the movie studio MCA Inc., MCA. The format was initially marketed in the United State ...
. In 1997, MGM/UA, along with the other studios that were distributed by Warner Home Video, began releasing its titles on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
. Some of the films MGM released on DVD were from the Turner catalog, which they were still allowed to keep after Turner merged into
Time Warner Entertainment Warner Media, LLC (doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warner i ...
some time before because of their distribution deal. That same year, MGM acquired
Orion Pictures Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...
. As a result, Orion Home Video (Orion's home video division) was absorbed by MGM/UA, and was retained as an in-name-only division until the acquisition deal was finalized in 1998. That year, the company was renamed MGM Home Entertainment.


1998–2005

After the Orion acquisition, MGM kept Orion Pictures intact as a corporation, mostly to avoid its video distribution agreement with Warner Home Video, and thus, Orion Pictures films would be distributed under the Orion Home Video label. In 1999, MGM acquired 2/3 of the pre-1996
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 ...
library from
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. ...
for $250 million, increasing their library holdings to 4,000. The PolyGram libraries (which included the Epic film library) would be placed under Orion Pictures, so as to avoid its 1990 home video distribution agreement with Warner Home Video. In March that same year, MGM paid $225 million to end its distribution contract with Warner Home Video, effectively ending the distribution problem (the initial deal was to have expired in 2003, but as a result of the early termination, it instead ended in February 2000). As a result of the deal, Warner Home Video took over home video rights to the MGM/UA films owned by Turner. Upon the expiration of the Warner Home Video deal, MGM signed a deal with
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
to distribute its films on home video overseas. In 2001, MGM and
Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...
launched the "MGM Movie Vault" to distribute VHS copies of selected films, either previously unreleased on video or long out-of-print, exclusively through Amazon. On March 3, 2003, MGM Home Entertainment launched the MGM Kids sub-label. On May 27, 2003, MGM reinstated full distribution rights to their products in regions like the United Kingdom, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Germany, although 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment continued to distribute for MGM in a majority of developing regions.


2005–2019

In 2005, following MGM's acquisition by a
Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
-led consortium (in part so Sony could ensure MGM's support of the Sony-invented
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
format), MGM started releasing its newest content through
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
under the standard MGM label, from that point onward, MGM releases began to be credited as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc., the MGM Home Entertainment moniker would be retired within the same year. However, Sony failed to meet projected sales of MGM content on DVD (in part because of a cooling DVD market); further issues came when Harry Sloan was hired as MGM's chairman and split MGM from Sony Pictures control, instead championing MGM as a company independent of Sony. Further issues between the companies and inside both plagued the deal, and MGM dropped Sony Pictures Home Entertainment as a home media distributor in May 2006, instead signing a new worldwide distribution deal with
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
. In 2010, parent company
MGM Holdings MGM Holdings, Inc. was an American holding company based in Beverly Hills, California. It was launched on February 11, 2005, by a creditor-oriented consortium and the former parent company of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (from which the "MGM" initials ...
emerged from bankruptcy. As of 2011 until 2018, MGM no longer released or marketed their own movies. Instead, MGM shared distribution with other studios that handle all distribution and marketing for MGM's projects. Since then, only a handful of MGM's most recent movies, such as ''
Skyfall ''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy thriller film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, ...
'', ''
Red Dawn ''Red Dawn'' is a 1984 American action drama film directed by John Milius, from a screenplay co-written with Kevin Reynolds. The film depicts a fictional World War III centering on a military invasion of the United States by an alliance of ...
'', '' Carrie'', ''
RoboCop ''RoboCop'' is a 1987 American Science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner. The film stars Peter Weller, Nancy Allen (actress), Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Dani ...
'', ''
If I Stay ''If I Stay'' is a young adult novel by Gayle Forman published in 2009. The story follows 17-year-old Mia Hall as she deals with the aftermath of a catastrophic car accident involving her family. Mia is the only member of her family to survive, ...
'', ''
Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...
'' (which
Fox 2000 Pictures Fox 2000 Pictures was an American film production company within The Walt Disney Studios. It was a sister studio of the larger film studios 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures, specializing in producing independent films in mid-range ...
co-produced) and ''
Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writt ...
'' have been released on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
and
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
by its home video output via
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
. Others, such as '' The Hobbit trilogy'', '' Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters'', '' G.I. Joe: Retaliation'', ''
Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...
'', ''
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 ''Hot Tub Time Machine 2'' is a 2015 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Steve Pink and written by Josh Heald. The film stars Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Adam Scott, Chevy Chase, and Gillian Jacobs. It is the sequel ...
'', ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise i ...
'', '' Creed I'' and '' II'', '' 21'' and ''
22 Jump Street ''22 Jump Street'' is a 2014 American adult buddy cop action comedy film directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, written by Jonah Hill, Michael Bacall, Oren Uziel and Rodney Rothman and produced by and starring Hill and Channing T ...
'', ''
Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...
'', ''
Sherlock Gnomes ''Sherlock Gnomes'' is a 2018 animated mystery comedy film directed by John Stevenson. A sequel to '' Gnomeo & Juliet'' (2011), it is based on the detective character Sherlock Holmes. James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Ashl ...
'' and ''
The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...
'' have been released by the home video output of the co-distributor—in these cases,
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
(which MGM's catalog is currently handled by),
Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, originally Paramount Home Video, and operating as the namesake film studio since 2022) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures. The division oversees Para ...
and
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
respectively. In 2011, MGM launched the "MGM Limited Edition Collection", a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD service that issues unreleased and out-of-print titles from the MGM-owned library. Its releases are sold through the
Warner Archive Collection The Warner Archive Collection is a home video division for releasing classic and cult films from Warner Bros.' library. It started as a manufactured-on-demand (MOD) DVD series by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on March 23, 2009, with the inte ...
. On April 14, 2011, Fox's deal distributing the MGM library was extended through 2016. On June 27, 2016, Fox's distribution deal with MGM was renewed until June 30, 2020.


2019–present

With the acquisition of Fox's parent company 21st Century Fox by
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
on March 20, 2019, MGM announced in their 2019 report that it would not renew its deal with Fox, and would search for a new distributor afterwards. In the studio's 2020 financial report, MGM named
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
as their new home media distributor. However, the transfer does not include co-production films outside Warner Bros. such as ''Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters'' and ''Hercules'' (both owned by
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 ...
) as well as remakes to ''
Poltergeist In German folklore and ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; ; or ) is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descriptions of polter ...
'' (owned by
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...
through
20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
), ''
Ben-Hur Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to: Fiction *'' Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ'', an 1880 novel by American general and author Lew Wallace ** ''Ben-Hur'' (play), a play that debuted on Broadway in 1899 ** ''Ben Hur'' (1907 film), a one-reel silent ...
'' (also owned by
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 ...
), and ''
The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay, credited to William Roberts, is a remake – in an Old West-style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself init ...
'' (owned by Sony Pictures through Columbia Pictures). On May 26, 2021, it was officially announced that MGM would be acquired by
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
for $8.45 billion, subject to regulatory approvals and other routine closing conditions; with MGM continuing to operate as a label under Amazon, but leaving the future of the physical home video releases of its titles other than its current distribution deal with
Studio Distribution Services Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
and several third-party boutique labels in question. The merger was finalized on March 17, 2022.


Catalog and distribution deals

Currently in the United States and Canada, MGM's catalog is distributed by
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
through
Studio Distribution Services Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...
, a joint venture between Warner Bros. and
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
that was first announced on January 14, 2020, later revealing the name on April 23, 2021, and marketed by Warner Bros., with Warner Bros. also handling distribution internationally. Warner Bros. already owns and distributes MGM's pre-May 1986 library (besides '' Electric Dreams'' as that was produced by
Virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...
and released through MGM/UA Entertainment Co. in the US and Asia and 20th Century Fox elsewhere) through their ownership of Turner Entertainment Co., but the former began a distribution deal with the latter for its remaining catalog titles and select
UAR The United Arab Republic (UAR; ) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between Egypt (including Egyptian-governed Gaza) and Syria from 1958 until Syria seceded from the union ...
releases when the latter left
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
– a prior distribution deal that began in 1999 – on June 30, 2020, and Universal distributed some of UAR's other releases beginning with ''
Operation Finale ''Operation Finale'' is a 2018 American historical drama thriller film directed by Chris Weitz from a screenplay by Matthew Orton about a 1960 clandestine operation by Israeli commandos to capture former SS officer Adolf Eichmann, and transport ...
'' on December 4, 2018, and ended with ''
Licorice Pizza ''Licorice Pizza'' is a 2021 American coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman in their film debuts, alongside an ensemble supporting cast including Sean Penn, Tom Wa ...
''. MGM also licenses out some of its film and television library to
Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art film, art ho ...
,
the Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...
,
Shout! Studios Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...
,
Vinegar Syndrome Vinegar Syndrome is an American home video distribution company which specializes in "protecting and preserving genre films". The company was founded in 2012 in Bridgeport, Connecticut by Joe Rubin and Ryan Emerson, who created it to restore ...
,
Visual Entertainment Inc. Visual Entertainment Inc. (VEI) is a home video/television distribution company that is based in Toronto, Ontario. An independent label, it has released several well-known TV series on DVD, some through sub-licensing deals with other labels such ...
, Twilight Time,
Arrow Films Arrow Films is a British independent film distributor and restorer specialising in world cinema, arthouse, horror and classic films. As Arrow Video, it sells Ultra HD Blu-rays, Blu-rays and DVDs online; it also operates its own subscript ...
,
Severin Films Severin Films is an American independent film production and distribution company known for restoring and releasing cult films on DVD and Blu-ray. It is considered a boutique Blu-ray and DVD label. History The label was created in 2006 in Los A ...
, Olive Films and Sandpiper Pictures in addition to handling home media releases of its
Manufacture-on-demand Build-on-demand or manufacturing on demand (MOD) refers to a manufacturing process where goods are produced only when or as they are required. This allows scalability and adjustable assemblies depending on the current needs of the part requestor or ...
titles through Allied Vaughn.
Max Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (American dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (British dog), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of the OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...
handles the streaming rights to the pre-May 1986 library, while
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
and
MGM+ MGM+ (formerly known as Epix; pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as eᴘix), is an American Pay television, premium cable television, cable and satellite television, satellite television network owned by the MGMPlus Entertainment subsidiary of M ...
handle the streaming rights to the post-May 1986 library. Many of
Orion Pictures Orion Releasing, LLC (Trade name, doing business as Orion Pictures) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon (company), Amazon. It was founded in 1978 as Ori ...
' films since its revival have been released through various third-party companies rather than through MGM/Fox. For example, the remake of '' The Town That Dreaded Sundown'' was released by
Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...
. However, 20th Century Fox, and later on Warner Bros. (via SDS, LLC.) would handle home video distribution of Orion's movies released through UAR.


Current distribution deals

* Studio Distribution Services ** Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment (1990–1999; 2020–present) for the MGM library, including its post-April 1986 films; MGM's pre-May 1986 library and pre-1950 Warner Bros. library remains with Warner Bros. through Turner Entertainment Co. * Allied Vaughn (
Manufacture-on-demand Build-on-demand or manufacturing on demand (MOD) refers to a manufacturing process where goods are produced only when or as they are required. This allows scalability and adjustable assemblies depending on the current needs of the part requestor or ...
releases only)


Past distribution deals

*
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...
(2005–2006) (worldwide) *
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Home Entertainment (previously known as Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC. and also known as 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment) was a home video distribution arm that distributes films produced by 20th Century Stud ...
(1999–2005) (internationally), 2006–2019 (worldwide) *
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, a ...
(2019–2020) (worldwide) (as a result of Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox) * Studio Distribution Services **
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...
(2018–2022) (worldwide) * Deuce Entertainment (2021–2022) (
Dollar store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, auto parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, furniture, and a selection of groceries. It usually sells th ...
DVD releases only)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mgm Home Entertainment Home video companies of the United States Home video distributors Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer subsidiaries Entertainment companies based in California Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 Entertainment companies established in the 1970s 1970s establishments in California Amazon MGM Studios