United International Pictures (UIP) is a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

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

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

that distributes their

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

s outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain

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) and

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) films when MGM was part of the venture and also distributed

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 ...

films in certain territories until 1987. In 2001, MGM left UIP, and signed a distribution deal with

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 ...

's overseas arm. UIP formerly distributed

DreamWorks Pictures DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film studio and Film distribution, distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994, as a live-action a ...

releases internationally as well until late 2005. In 2002, 2007, and 2021, the 20 countries overseas reorganized their organizations, and Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures decided to have independent distribution systems.

History

Cinema International Corporation (1970–1981)

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

's early history with MCA dates back to the 1950s, when part of its talent pool worked for Paramount Pictures;

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

was among the best known. In 1958, MCA purchased the pre-1950 Paramount sound feature film library. In 1962, MCA purchased

. In 1966, Gulf+Western purchased Paramount. In a cost-cutting move, in 1970, as a result of American antitrust laws, and due to declining movie-going audiences, both Paramount and Universal agreed to merge their international operations into a new company,

Cinema International Corporation Cinema International Corporation (CIC) was a film distribution company started by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in the early 1970s to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States – it even operated in Canada before it ...

, registered in England and Wales. It even operated in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

until the late 70s, when those territories were considered part of the "domestic" North American market. In 1973,

(MGM) closed down its distribution offices and became a partner in CIC, which took over international distribution for MGM's films; however,

(UA) took over the US, Canadian and Caribbean distribution for MGM's films that time. CIC also entered the home video market by forming CIC Video, which distributed Paramount and Universal titles on video worldwide. MGM however, had its own video unit, which later became a joint venture with

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 ...

as MGM/CBS Home Video (later known as MGM/UA Home Video, which was later renamed to MGM Home Entertainment).

United International Pictures (1981–present)

In 1981, MGM merged with UA, which had its own international distribution unit. CIC refused to let MGM drop out of the venture at the time, but let them merge UA's overseas arm into CIC, which led to the reorganization of the company as United International Pictures from November 1, 1981. MGM eventually left the venture in 2001, when it moved its international distribution to

. The last MGM film to be released through UIP was '' Return to Me'' in 2000. In 1986,

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, ...

purchased MGM/UA, but later resold the company except for its film library, which included the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television library and 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 ...

film library (which the latter was sold to

Associated Artists Productions Associated Artists Productions, Inc. (a.a.p.) later known as United Artists Associated was an American distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. Associated Artists Productions was the copyright owner of the ' ...

in 1956, and got acquired by UA in 1958). After that library was acquired by Turner, UIP (through MGM/UA) signed a deal to continue distributing the pre-May 1986 MGM and pre-1950 Warner Bros. film libraries for theatrical release. CIC's name lived on in its video division, which became directly managed as a joint venture of

Paramount Home Video 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 MCA Videocassette, Inc. (later MCA Home Video and MCA/Universal Home Video). CIC Video survived until 1999, when Universal purchased

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 ...

and reorganised its video division ( PolyGram Video) as Universal Pictures UK Ltd, while Paramount took over full ownership of CIC Video and merged it under its own video division as Paramount Home Entertainment UK. UIP also had a

subscription television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

arm, UIP Pay TV, which distributed Paramount, MGM/UA, and Universal releases to pay TV broadcasters outside the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Anglophone Caribbean. In 1986, Canal+ had signed an agreement with UIP Pay TV to handle up to eighty titles for the French television market. UIP Pay TV was broken up in 1997 after a 4-year investigation by the European Union, as it accused UIP as a cartel-like organisation. The pay TV rights for the films were eventually transferred to Paramount International Television (later renamed CBS Paramount International Television and currently known as

Paramount Global Distribution Group Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution division of Desilu Productions. With the s ...

; today, the Paramount films are distributed by Trifecta Entertainment & Media), Universal Worldwide Television (currently known as NBCUniversal International Television Distribution) and MGM Worldwide Television.

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution 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 ...

also had a theatrical distribution agreement with UIP since 1982 in which the latter distributed Disney and Touchstone films in Italy, Brazil and West Germany until 1987, when

took over theatrical distribution of Disney material in those territories. In 1999,

nearly pulled out of UIP when it acquired

, which had its international division, The division would promptly be rebranded as Universal Pictures International. Only a small handful of films would be released theatrically by Universal Pictures International until the release of '' Mickey Blue Eyes'', when Universal instead opted to merge its international theatrical unit with UIP, and UIP becoming the exclusive theatrical distributor for Universal films, and took some of the planned films released by Universal Pictures International with them, namely '' The Green Mile'' and '' Angela's Ashes''. The agreement came in after Universal opted to renew its agreement with UIP until 2006.

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 ...

, meanwhile left UIP and moved its distribution to

that year, in 1999. The deal, however, was extended up until 2010 due to the MGM's financial crisis in the same year. Subsequently, MGM would revive its theatrical distribution unit in 2018 and licensed their films to Universal Pictures outside of the United States and Canada before Warner Bros. replaced Universal as a new distributor in 2022.

2007 reorganisation and post-reorganisation

As the international box office started to exceed the US box office, Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures started discussions about the future of United International Pictures under Universal Pictures vice chairman Marc Shmuger and Paramount vice-chairman Rob Friedman. Shmuger completed them with Rob Moore, recently appointed Paramount Pictures president of worldwide marketing and distribution. The two firms agreed on the countries where UIP would continue operating and on a draft system to select countries where that company would take over UIP operations and the other would have to start up operations. Either may sub-distribute films in the other former UIP countries until 2009. Starting January 1, 2007, United International Pictures considerably reduced its international operations. At least 15 key countries are now directly managed separately by Universal, taking over operations in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In Russia, and

Central Partnership Central Partnership () is a Russian film distribution and production company founded in 1995. The distributor was acquired by Russian gas company Gazprom in 2014. History Central Partnership started as a TV content distributor in 1995–2000. ...

took over distribution rights of Universal Pictures' titles since 2008. UIP was planned to continue in Japan, Korea, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey. Universal announced in November 2007 their withdrawal from UIP in South Korea to set up its own branch at the same time as the other UIP operation ceased; Paramount announced that in that country, CJ Entertainment would be the company's exclusive distributor until 2015 when Lotte Entertainment took over Paramount's films. UIP president and chief operating officer Andrew Cripps was hired as the head of Paramount Pictures International. In its first year, Paramount Pictures International distributed films that made the 1 billion mark in July 2007, the fifth studio that year to do so. Though their

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese operations were initially planned to be kept intact, United International Pictures withdrew from the Japanese market in late 2007. As a result, Paramount Pictures started handling their Japanese distribution of their movies themselves until January 31, 2016, when Toho-Towa took over for Japanese theatrical distribution of their films, starting with ''

The Big Short ''The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine'' is a nonfiction book by Michael Lewis about the build-up of the United States housing bubble during the 2000s. It was released on March 15, 2010, by W. W. Norton & Company. It spent 28 weeks on '' ...

'' on March 4, 2016. Universal Pictures Japan also formed distribution alliances with TOHO-TOWA Company, Ltd. for theatrical distribution and Geneon Entertainment (now

NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise that is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, owned by American telecommunications/media company Comcast headquartered in Akasaka, Min ...

) for home entertainment distribution. In the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, United International Pictures films were distributed through

until 2000 (with the exception of ''

Twister Twister most commonly refers to a tornado. Twister or Twisters may also refer to: Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paragli ...

'' where Warner Bros. handled theatrical distribution by themselves), when distribution switched to Viva International Pictures.

Solar Entertainment Corporation Solar Entertainment Corporation (also known as Solar Entertainment, and simply known as Solar or SEC) is a Mass media in the Philippines, Filipino Mass media, media company based in Makati, Philippines. Founded and owned by the brothers, Wilso ...

through its Solar Films subsidiary distributed UIP films from 2004 to 2014 and Sony Pictures Releasing International later distributed them from 2014 to 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing its cinemas to shutting down, UIP withdrew from the local market, leading to a breakup of the company in the Philippines. In October 2021, it was announced that Universal Pictures International signed a distribution alliance with Warner Bros. for Philippine theatrical distribution of their films, starting with ''

No Time to Die ''No Time to Die'' is a 2021 spy thriller film and the twenty-fifth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series, and the fifth and final to star Daniel Craig as fictional British MI6 agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bon ...

'' on December 15, 2021, following its success of the alliance for Home Entertainment distribution in North America, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the UK, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and Japan, as well as the success of their theatrical distribution alliance in Australia while distribution of select

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and fore ...

titles went through a local start-up distribution company, Upstream (which reverted to Warner Bros. after Upstream's closure). Paramount Pictures meanwhile, has renewed its distribution alliance with Sony Pictures for Philippine theatrical distribution of their films. Similarly in early 2021, the Brazilian

Administrative Council for Economic Defense The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (in Portuguese, ''Conselho Administrativo de Defesa Econômica'', often referred to as Cade or CADE) is Brazil's national competition regulator and an agency of the government of Brazil. Its state ...

authorized the Brazilian distribution arm of Warner Bros. Pictures to license Universal's releases in Brazil. The first film under the new deal was ''

Promising Young Woman ''Promising Young Woman'' is a 2020 film written, directed, and co-produced by Emerald Fennell in her feature directorial debut. It stars Carey Mulligan as a troubled young woman haunted by a traumatic past as she navigates forgiveness and ven ...

'', released in Brazil in May 2021. In 2002, United International Pictures withdrew from the Finnish market. As a result, their releases in that country from that point onwards were handled by Buena Vista International Finland until 2006, when distribution passed on to national cinema operator Finnkino. In 2003, UIP started distributing

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

films in Poland.

Past organisation

The company was formerly based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, though their operations in that country have been taken over by Paramount Pictures. However, as of August 2022, they continue to directly distribute films in 15 countries,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. In addition, the company has distribution agreements with locally owned distribution companies in a further 47 countries.UIP website: Who We Are
Retrieved 2012-09-10 One such example is Bontonfilm in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, who previously distributed material from CIC & UIP in both the Czech and the Slovak markets. In

, UIP distributed films released by Mis. Label. In

, UIP distributed films released by Araba Films. In

, UIP distributed most films released 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 their

Buena Vista International 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 ...

distribution label, Fida Film, TMC Film and Film Pop.

Filmography

Film series

References

External links