Trimark Pictures
Industry | Film studio |
---|---|
Fate | Merged with Lionsgate |
Successor | Lions Gate Entertainment |
Founded | June 23, 1985 |
Defunct | March 12, 2000 |
Key people | Mark Amin |
Parent |
Vidmark, Inc. (1985–1995) Trimark Holdings Inc. (1995–2001) |
Divisions | Trimark Interactive[1] |
Trimark Pictures Inc. (also referred to as Trimark) was a production company that specialized in the production and distribution of television and home video motion pictures.[2] The company was formed in 1985 by Mark Amin as Vidmark Entertainment with Vidmark Inc. (later Trimark Holdings Inc.) established as the holding company.[3] As a small studio, Trimark produced and released theatrical, independent, television and home video motion pictures. In 1994 the company formed Trimark Interactive.
Among the company's many releases are Peter Jackson's 1992 film Dead Alive, which they chose to release theatrically due to Jackson's possessing a following.[4] They are well known for releasing films considered to be controversial for the time period, as in the case with the 1999 film Better Than Chocolate, as some newspapers refused to carry advertisements for the film that featured the word "lesbian" as part of a critic blurb.[5]
Background
Vidmark Entertainment first became involved with motion picture production in 1988, when its founders and investors provided financing for the feature Demonwarp. Demonwarp was produced by Richard L. Albert through his advertising company Design Projects, Inc., which was Vidmark's and many other home video and independent film distributors' advertising company.[6] Demonwarp was shot on 35mm film, and starred George Kennedy, but only cost $250,000 to make. Coming from a marketing background, producer Rick Albert convinced Mark Amin that if the film's budget was limited to the minimum baseline sales that Vidmark could make with any film released on videocassette in the United States, then the motion picture would have to be profitable. Since the original investors in Vidmark also invested in and owned the 20/20 Video chain of stores, they could accurately project what the minimum sales would be. The projections proved true, and adding to the robust U.S. home video sales, international sales, cable and free television sales, Demonwarp earned many multiples of its original budget. Mark Amin served as executive producer, and during production of Demonwarp he decided to raise money by a public offering of Vidmark, to form Trimark.
Trimark picked up its first film, Warlock, a 1989 film starring Julian Sands which was a major theatrical hit with fans of such films. Trimark eventually made the sequel Warlock: The Armageddon in 1994. Trimark also saw success in other familiar film series the studio produced and distributed. Leprechaun, released in 1993 starring a young Jennifer Aniston and Warwick Davis as the sinister leprechaun grossed over $10 million during its theatrical run. One theatrical sequel and four direct to video sequels eventually followed.
Other Trimark productions included The Dentist, a major hit on HBO, Return of the Living Dead III and Pinocchio's Revenge. Trimark also specialized in made-for-television features, which included the dramatic Eve's Bayou, starring Samuel L. Jackson, which received critical acclaim. Trimark also released Stephen King's Storm of the Century, a miniseries.
In 2000, Trimark merged with Lions Gate Entertainment in which Amin became the single largest shareholder. In 2001, Mark Amin founded Sobini Films where he currently serves as the CEO.
List of distributed movies
Theatrical
Release Date | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
May 12, 1989 | Going Overboard | |
December 1, 1989 | Warlock | |
July 14, 1990 | Solar Crisis | |
September 29, 1990 | Backstreet Dreams | |
June 13, 1991 | Kickboxer 2 | theatrical distribution only |
October 18, 1991 | Dolly Dearest | |
October 21, 1991 | Whore | |
November 15, 1991 | And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird | |
January 31, 1992 | Into the Sun | |
May 20, 1992 | The Psychic | USA distribution only |
January 8, 1993 | Leprechaun | |
February 12, 1993 | Dead Alive | USA Distribution only |
September 24, 1993 | Warlock: The Armageddon | |
October 8, 1993 | Deadfall | |
October 29, 1993 | Return of the Living Dead 3 | limited release |
February 1, 1994 | Silent Tongue | |
April 8, 1994 | Leprechaun 2 | |
May 13, 1994 | Trading Mom | |
November 23, 1994 | Love and a .45 | |
December 5, 1994 | The Stoned Age | |
April 21, 1995 | Swimming with Sharks | |
June 15, 1995 | The Invisible Kid | |
August 11, 1995 | A Kid in King Arthur's Court | co-production with Walt Disney Pictures |
October 4, 1995 | Kicking and Screaming | |
October 27, 1995 | The Doom Generation | USA distribution only |
October 28, 1995 | Frank and Jesse | |
February 10, 1996 | Evolver | co-production with A Band Apart |
August 1996 | Crimetime | |
October 18, 1996 | The Dentist | |
January 16, 1997 | Meet Wally Sparks | |
February 28, 1997 | Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love | |
November 7, 1997 | Eve's Bayou | |
January 16, 1998 | Star Kid | |
January 24, 1998 | The Curve | |
March 13, 1998 | Chairman of the Board | |
July 24, 1998 | Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss | |
August 21, 1998 | Carnival of Souls | limited release |
September 11, 1998 | Cube | |
September 18, 1998 | Trance / The Eternal | retitled for DVD release |
October 7, 1998 | Slam | |
December 11, 1998 | The Dentist 2 | |
December 30, 1998 | Another Day in Paradise | |
February 14, 1999 | Better Than Chocolate | |
February 18, 2000 | Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists | |
March 3, 2000 | Beautiful People | |
April 28, 2000 | The Last September | |
May 12, 2000 | Held Up | |
July 11, 2000 | History Is Made at Night | |
January 2001 | Skipped Parts |
Direct-to-video
Release Date | Title | Notes |
---|---|---|
November 2, 1994 | Dangerous Touch | |
June 27, 1995 | Leprechaun 3 | |
March 12, 1996 | True Crime | |
September 3, 1996 | Sometimes They Come Back... Again | |
February 25, 1997 | Leprechaun 4: In Space | |
July 28, 1998 | A Kid in Aladdin's Palace | |
April 27, 1999 | King Cobra | |
September 7, 1999 | Sometimes They Come Back... for More | |
October 12, 1999 | Warlock III: The End of Innocence | |
December 27, 1999 | Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying | |
March 28, 2000 | Leprechaun: In the Hood | |
May 23, 2000 | Cord | |
March 13, 2001 | Killer Bud | |
June 26, 2001 | Blood Surf |
- A Fool and His Money (1988 film)
- After Alice
- After the Storm
- American Kickboxer 2
- The Amityville Curse
- At First Sight (Jonathan Silverman & Dan Cortese)
- Atomic Train
- Attraction
- Blink of an eye (1992 film)
- The Bogus Witch Project
- Cabin Pressure
- Christy: The Movie
- Cut
- Curse of the Starving Class
- Cyborg 2
- Demonwarp
- Diplomatic Siege
- Family of Cops III: Under Suspicion
- Fear of Flying
- Frankenstein and Me
- Freefall
- Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood (a.k.a. The River Pirates)
- Happiness
- Hercules in New York
- Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows
- Interceptor (1992 film)
- An Invited Guest
- Joe the King
- Kids
- The Landlady
- Let the Devil Wear Black
- Love Is A Gun
- Mutiny
- NetForce
- Night of the Running Man
- The Perfect Tenant
- Philadelphia Experiment II
- Prototype (1992 film)
- Romance
- Route 666
- Running Free (1994 film)
- The St. Francisville Experiment
- The Sex Monster
- The Servants of Twilight
- The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn
- South of Heaven, West of Hell
- The Stepdaughter
- Tail Lights Fade
- Treehouse Hostage
- Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal
- What's Cooking?
- Xchange
- Zigs
References
- ↑ "MobyGames Profile-Trimark Interactive".
- ↑ Jeffrey, Don (May 30, 1992). "Vidmark reports strong sales in 3rd qtr, but profits down, a third, are weak". Billboard (p 51). Retrieved 21 April 2014.
- ↑ Levison, Louise (2013). Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents. Focal Press. p. 120. ISBN 9780240820996.
- ↑ Konow, Peter (2012). Reel Terror: The Scary, Bloody, Gory, Hundred-Year History of Classic Horror Films. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 479. ISBN 9780312668839.
- ↑ Jenni Olson, Bruce Vilanch (2004). The Queer Movie Poster Book. Chronicle Books. p. 122. ISBN 9780811842617.
- ↑ "Internet Movie Database".