Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their featu ...

and Michael Herz in 1974. They are the longest running independent film studio in the world. The company produces low-budget independent films, or "

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

s", primarily of the horror comedy genre, all geared exclusively to mature audiences. Many of them play on 1950s horror with elements of

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

, gore, and splatter. Troma has produced, acquired, and distributed over 1,000 independent films since its creation. Films produced and distributed by Troma include '' The Toxic Avenger'' (1984) and its sequels; ''

Class of Nuke 'Em High ''Class of Nuke 'Em High'' (also known as ''Atomic High School'') is a 1986 American science-fiction horror comedy film produced and distributed by Troma Entertainment. Directed by Richard W. Haines and Lloyd Kaufman (the latter under the pseu ...

'' (1986) and its sequels; '' Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.'' (1990); ''

Tromeo and Juliet ''Tromeo and Juliet'' is a 1996 American independent transgressive romantic black comedy film and a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's '' Romeo & Juliet'' from Troma Entertainment. The film was directed by Lloyd Kaufman from a screenp ...

'' (1996); ''

Terror Firmer ''Terror Firmer'' is a 1998 American comedy horror film directed by Lloyd Kaufman, written by Douglas Buck, Patrick Cassidy, and Kaufman, and starring Will Keenan, Alyce LaTourelle, and Kaufman. The film was produced by the Troma Entertainmen ...

'' (1999); and '' Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead'' (2006). In 2012, the company officially released many of its films on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. However, their YouTube channel was eventually terminated for not meeting community standards. As of 2023, Troma's slogan is "50 Years of Disrupting Media". Its slogan in 2014 was "40 Years of Disrupting Media". Before that, the slogan was "30 Years of Reel Independent Cinema". Another slogan the company has used is "Movies of the Future". The company also has its own streaming service called Troma Now.

History

In the mid-1970s, Kaufman and Herz began producing, directing, and distributing raunchy sex comedies such as '' The First Turn-On!'' and ''

Squeeze Play! ''Squeeze Play!'' is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Kaufman. Plot A group of New Jersey women, upset over their boyfriends' tendency to pay more attention to softball than their love lives, decide to beat them at their own game. ...

''. Troma provided production support for Louis Malle's '' My Dinner with Andre'', for which Kaufman served as a production manager. In 1984, Troma had a hit with the violent comedy horror

superhero film Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...

'' The Toxic Avenger''. The film went on to become Troma's most popular, spawning sequels and an animated television program. However, following the financial demise of the company Troma itself, the sequels to the film were box office bombs, and the cartoon adaptation quickly ended. The Toxic Avenger character is now Troma's official mascot. Kaufman's follow-up film to ''The Toxic Avenger'' was ''

'', co-directed with Richard W. Haines. The film was a hit nearly as successful, though it inspired two unsuccessful sequels, both following the financial demise of Troma. At one time, it was the highest-selling VHS release for Troma. ''The Toxic Avenger'' was turned into a musical which debuted at the George Street Playhouse in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.David Bryan, keyboardist of the rock band

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

. Soon after ''Class of Nuke 'Em High'' was completed and distributed, Kaufman directed '' Troma's War''. Intended as a criticism of what it saw as

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

's attempt to glamorize war, the story concerns a group of everyday people who crash land on a remote island, only to find it populated by an isolationist militia that intends to overthrow the US government. ''Troma's War'' was a box office bomb. In the aftermath of the film's poor performance, despite another stab at the superhero genre with '' Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.'', Troma experienced financial hardship and tried to reestablish itself as a smaller company mostly out of necessity.

Work since 1995

From 1995 to 2000, Troma had a period of creativity and produced some of their greatest work. Kaufman directed three independent films, all distributed in limited theatrical releases: ''

'', a loose parody of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's play; ''

'', a

slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

loosely based on Kaufman's book '' All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger'', and an independent film sequel to ''The Toxic Avenger'' trilogy titled '' Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV''. Troma's financial hardship worsened after the botched funding of a low-budget video feature titled '' Tales from the Crapper'', which cost $250,000 despite most of the footage being completely unusable. India Allen, one of the producers, backed out of the film halfway through, and sued Troma, citing

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 ...

, slander, sexual harassment, trade slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Kaufman supervised a reshoot in an attempt to salvage the film, dividing the footage into two parts and recasting the film as a double feature. ''Tales from the Crapper'' was released on DVD in September 2004. Currently, Troma produces and acquires independent films, despite financial hardships and limitations. Troma Films has distributed many films from third parties including Trey Parker's '' Cannibal! The Musical''. Lloyd encourages independent filmmaking, making

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

s in many low-budget horror films, occasionally without fee. Among his more recent appearances is in former collaborator James Gunn's directing debut, '' Slither'', and '' Guardians of the Galaxy''. Kaufman's long-time editor Gabriel Friedman co-directed and wrote the screenplay to his follow-up film, '' Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead'', a musical zom-com which made its official New York premiere on May 9, 2008 (although the film had previewed numerous times on single screens for over a year). The film opened to positive reviews from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and was released in 2006 in theaters and in 2008 on DVD. During the winter of 2010/2011, Troma produced a feature-length film ''

Father's Day Father's Day is a day set aside for honoring one's father, as well as fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society. "Father's Day" complements similar celebrations honoring family members, such as Mother's Day and, in som ...

'', which Kaufman calls "a response film to Mother's Day". The film was written and directed by the Canadian filmmaking team Astron-6, debuting October 21, 2011, at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival where it took home the top prize of BEST FILM, as well as five other awards. In 2012 ''Father's Day'' was featured on the cover of ''Rue Morgue'' magazine and won Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Male Performance, and Best Special Effects at The Fantastic Planet/A Night of Horror International film festival. This is rare for a film that cost only ten thousand dollars to make. On October 31, 2012, ''Father's Day'' was refused classification in Australia, which makes it effectively illegal to sell or exhibit the film. A second censored version was eventually passed with an R18+ rating. In August 2012, Troma released over 100 of its back catalog films on

, many for free, some for 48-hour paid viewing. However, their YouTube channel was terminated in 2020 and 2023 for not meeting community standards, but has since been reinstated.

Hollywood

On April 7, 2010, Kaufman confirmed that a PG-13 remake of '' The Toxic Avenger'' had been greenlit and was to be produced by

Akiva Goldsman Akiva Goldsman (born July 7, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, and director. Goldsman's filmography as a screenwriter includes ''The Client (1994 film), The Client''; ''Batman Forever'' and its sequel ''Batman & Robin (film), Batman ...

. It actually has not been the first attempt at a general audience-friendly version of the franchise, as '' Make Your Own Damn Movie!'' identified a previous deal with New Line in the early 1990s for a live-action take on the Toxic Crusaders. Another 1980s Troma classic, ''

Mother's Day Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in Mar ...

'' (1980), was also to receive a remake, expected to be directed by

Darren Lynn Bousman Darren Lynn Bousman (; born January 11, 1979) is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in horror films. He has directed four of the ''Saw (franchise), Saw'' films: ''Saw II'', ''Saw III'', ''Saw IV'', and ''Spiral ( ...

and produced by

Brett Ratner Brett Ratner (born March 28, 1969) is an American film director and producer. He directed the Rush Hour (film series), ''Rush Hour'' film series, ''The Family Man'', ''Red Dragon (2002 film), Red Dragon'', ''X-Men: The Last Stand'', ''Tower Heist ...

. At the time, Kaufman also said that he was negotiating a deal for a remake of ''Class of Nuke 'Em High''. Shortly thereafter, Troma and Starz Entertainment entered into an agreement for the production of ''Return to Nuke Em High'' as a two-volume title. The first volume was released in theaters and on home video. The second volume, delayed due to funding issues, was stated on its

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

website in January 2017 to be nearing completion.

Troma Now

In 2015, Troma launched a streaming service called Troma Now, which offers many of the films distributed by Troma to subscribers. The service offers subscribers a free trial month, after which they need to pay a monthly fee of US$4.99.

Other work

TromaDance

Troma holds an annual Tromadance Festival, originally taking place in Park City,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

at the same time as the Sundance Festival to accentuate their true independence from the mainstream. The festival screens submitted movies from independent filmmakers from around the world, the best of which are usually released on DVD by Troma or compiled in the Best of Tromadance series. In parallel, Troma acts as adviser to aspiring filmmakers with Kaufman teaching classes, contributing cameos and often releasing the finished films on DVD. 2009 marked the last time Tromadance was held in Utah; the festival was subsequently relocated to

Asbury Park, New Jersey Asbury Park () is a beachfront city located on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 15,188, a decr ...

. In 2014, the festival moved to New York City, and since 2020 has been held at The Mahoning Drive-In Theater.

Kaufman's books

Kaufman has also had some success with several non-fiction books and a

novelization A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...

of '' The Toxic Avenger''. Released in 1998, '' All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger'' is an autobiography of sorts co-written with James Gunn. This book chronicles the history of the company, its films, and its iconic figurehead. Kaufman continued to draw on his experiences as Troma chief in the "how-to" filmmaking books '' Make Your Own Damn Movie!'', ''Direct Your Own Damn Movie!'', ''Produce Your Own Damn Movie!'' and ''Sell Your Own Damn Movie!''. A DVD box set has been released to coincide with release of each of the first three books. In the video series, Kaufman interviews famous and infamous filmmakers about various filmmaking subjects. In 2006, a novelization of ''The Toxic Avenger'' was released. It was co-written by Kaufman and long-time Troma employee Adam Jahnke. Mathew Klickstein's 2025 book ''Lloyd Kaufman: Interviews'', published as part of the University Press of Mississippi's long-running Conversations with Filmmakers series, collects more than five decades of Kaufman interviews and chronicles the intimate details of the story of Troma.

Films distributed

Also see List of Troma Team Video titles for a complete list of films distributed by Troma Entertainment. Below is a list of some Troma distributed films. * '' B.C. Butcher'' * '' Beware! Children at Play'' * '' Blood Junkie'' * '' Blood Sucking Freaks'' * '' Cannibal! The Musical'' * The ''Class of Nuke 'Em High'' series ** ''

'' ** '' Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown'' ** '' Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid'' ** '' Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1'' ** '' Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2'' * '' The Children'' * '' Combat Shock'' * ''Crazy Animal'' * '' Def by Temptation'' * ''Dumpster Baby'' * '' Escape from Hell'' * ''

'' * ''Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters'' * '' The First Turn-On!'' * '' Friend of the World'' * '' Hanging Woman'' * ''Heavy Mental: A Rock-N-Roll Bloodbath'' * '' Hectic Knife'' * The '' Human Hibachi'' series ** '' Human Hibachi'' ** '' Human Hibachi 2'' ** '' Human Hibachi: The Beginning'' ** '' Human Hibachi 3: The Last Supper'' * ''Homeless Joe'' * '' Jefftowne'' * '' Killer Condom'' * '' The Last Horror Film'' * '' Lust for Freedom'' * '' Mad Dog Morgan'' * '' Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy'' * ''The Middle Finger'' * '' Monster in the Closet'' * ''Moose Jaws'' * ''

'' * ''Mr. Bricks: A Heavy Metal Murder Musical'' * '' Nightbeast'' * ''

Pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

'' * '' Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead'' * '' Rabid Grannies'' * ''Rednecks'' * '' Redneck Zombies'' * ''Scarlett Cross: Agents Of D.E.A.T.H.'' * '' Screamplay'' * '' Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.'' * '' Shakespeare's Shitstorm'' * '' Sick Sock Monsters from Outer Space'' * '' Sizzle Beach, U.S.A.'' * ''Space Daze'' * '' Surf Nazis Must Die'' * '' Tale of Two Sisters'' * ''

'' * ''There's Nothing Out There'' * ''The Toxic Avenger'' series ** '' The Toxic Avenger'' (1984) ** '' The Toxic Avenger Part II'' ** '' The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie'' ** '' Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV'' ** '' The Toxic Avenger'' (2023) * ''Tony Trombo's Hick Trek 2'' * ''Troma's Monster Kill'' * '' Troma's War'' * ''

'' * '' Vegas in Space'' * The ''VHS Massacre'' series ** ''VHS Massacre'' ** ''VHS Massacre Too'' * ''Victor Goodview'' * '' When Nature Calls'' * '' Yeti: A Love Story'' * '' Zombiegeddon''

Films formerly distributed

Some titles which have at one time, or another, been distributed by Troma Inc. have left the catalog. For instance, ''My Neighbor Totoro'' was originally released by Troma's subsidiary 50th Street Films, but only for a short time, and only for U.S. theatrical release. Others were briefly licensed for distribution on VHS such as ''Femme Fontaine Killer Babe for the C.I.A.'' which was one of Troma Team Video's original launch titles along with ''Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.'' and ''Class of Nuke 'em High Part III: The Good, The Bad and The Subhumanoid''. Some titles, such as ''Maniac Nurses Find Ecstasy'', are included on this list because they were previously listed but no longer appear in Troma's catalog. * '' Angels' Wild Women'' * '' The Astro-Zombies'' (as ''Astro Zombies'') * ''Baby Doll Murders'' * '' Blood of Ghastly Horror'' * ''Breakin' in the USA'' (

breakdancing Breakdancing or breaking, also called b-boying (when performed by men) or b-girling (women), is a style of street dance originated by African Americans and Nuyorican, Puerto Ricans in The Bronx borough of New York City. Breakdancing consist ...

instructional video) * ''Canadian Ballet'' * '' Chopper Chicks in Zombietown'' * '' Christmas Evil'' * ''Club Life'' * ''The Dark Side of Midnight'' * '' Dracula vs. Frankenstein'' * ''Dragon Gate'' * ''Femme Fontaine Killer Babe For the CIA'' * '' Fist of Fear, Touch of Death'' * ''Ghost Ship'' (a children's feature film, not the horror film) * '' Girls School Screamers'' * ''Hi Mom!'' * ''Hungry Young Woman'' * '' I Spit on Your Corpse'' * ''Invasion for Flesh and Blood'' * ''Jakarta'' * The ''Mommy'' series ** ''Mommy'' ** ''Mommy 2: Mommy's Day'' * ''The Nick of Time'' * ''Psycho A-Go-Go'' * ''Pterodactyl Woman From Beverly Hills'' * '' The Puppetoon Movie'' * ''Recorded Live'' * ''Rockin' Road Trip'' * ''Romeo: Love Master of the Wild Women's Dorm'' * '' Satan's Sadists'' * '' Schlock'' (as ''Banana Monster'') * ''Space Freaks from Planet Mutoid'' * '' Splatter University'' * ''The Stendhal Syndrome'' * ''Student Confidential'' * ''That's My Baby!'' * ''Together and Alone'' * ''White Elephant: The Battle of the African Ghosts'' * ''Wildrose''

Sub-divisions

Troma has also created/acquired specialty distributors for its films. *50th Street Films: distributes independent films aimed at a mainstream audience; distributed '' My Neighbor Totoro'' in theaters * TromaDance: distributes films from Troma's film festival * Roan films **Roan Archival Group Entertainment: distributes digitally remastered releases of classic films *EG Sports: distributes golf instructional films by Michael Jacobs

Tromaville

Most of the films made by Troma Entertainment take place in the fictional

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

city of Tromaville, known as the "Toxic Chemical Capital of the World." Examples include the ''Toxic Avenger'' films and the ''Class of Nuke 'Em High'' films. Another film worth mentioning takes place in a

post-apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction are genres of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; astronom ...

Tromaville titled '' A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell''. The following is a list of films that either take place in, or mention, Tromaville. * '' The Toxic Avenger'' * ''

'' * '' Troma's War'' * '' The Toxic Avenger Part II'' * '' The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie'' * '' A Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell'' * '' Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D.'' * '' Class of Nuke 'Em High 2: Subhumanoid Meltdown'' * '' Class of Nuke 'Em High 3: The Good, the Bad and the Subhumanoid'' * ''

'' * '' Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV'' * '' Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead'' * ''

'' * '' Return to Nuke 'Em High Volume 1'' * ''The Return of Dolphinman'' (short film) * ''Dolphinman vs Turkeyman'' (short film) * ''Dolphinman Battles the Sex Lobsters'' (short film) * '' Return to Return to Nuke 'Em High AKA Volume 2'' * '' Shakespeare's Shitstorm'' * ''Toxie Goes to the Drive-In'' (short film)

References

External links

Official website

TromaTeam Video

Troma Entertainment, Inc. records
are archived at the American Heritage Center,

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

. {{Authority control 1974 establishments in New York (state) American companies established in 1974 Mass media companies established in 1974 Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Non-theatrical film production companies Privately held companies based in New York City American independent film studios

Company information