Summit Entertainment
| File:Summit Entertainment Logo.jpg | |
| Industry | Motion picture |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 (as Summit Entertainment NV) April 19, 2007[1] |
| Headquarters | Universal City, CA , USA |
Key people | Rob Friedman, Patrick Wachsberger |
| Parent | Starz Entertainment Corp.  |
| Website | http://www.summit-ent.com/ |
Summit Entertainment NV is an independent American film studio headquartered in Universal City, California with offices in London, UK.[2]
History
It was originally founded in the early 1990s and launched in 1996 by Patrick Wachsberger, Bob Hayward and David Garrett under the name Summit Entertainment LP as a production, distribution, and sales organization. In 2006 it became fully independent under the direction of Rob Friedman a former executive at Paramount Pictures.[3]
The new company effectively took its prior form but added a major development, acquisitions and marketing branch with a financing deal led by Merrill Lynch and other investors. The new studio was created with access to over $1 billion for development, production, acquisition, marketing, and distribution.[4]
Summit Entertainment found success in 2008 with the release of Twilight, a teen romance about vampires, which made more than $70 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada in its opening weekend.[5] The company has also picked up The Hurt Locker an action-thriller war-themed film directed by Kathryn Bigelow which has received two 2008 Independent Spirit Award nominations in best acting categories for lead Jeremy Renner and best supporting actor nom for Anthony Mackie.[6] The The Hurt Locker does not have a 2008 domestic release scheduled, which it would need to qualify for other awards such as the Oscars.
In 2008, Summit ranked 8th place among the studios, with a gross of $223 million, almost entirely because of the release of Twilight.
Distribution
In 2007, Summit began releasing DVDs through a distribution agreement with Universal Studios.[7]
Selected releases
- Rock On (TBA)
- New Moon (2009)
- Sorority Row (2009)
- Astro Boy (2009)
- Push (2009)
- Bandslam (2009)
- The Hurt Locker (2008-2009?)
- Twilight (2008)
- Trailer Park of Terror (2008)
- Sexdrive (2008)
- Never Back Down (2008)
- Deception (2008)
- Penelope (2008)
- Nim's Island (2008)
- City of Ember (2008)
- Red Cliff (2008)
- Step Up 2 The Streets (2008)
- Strange Wilderness (2008)
- The Hottie and the Nottie (2008)
- In the Valley of Elah (2007)
- Michael Clayton (2007)
- P.S. I Love You (2007)
- P2 (2007)
- Resident Evil: Extinction (2007)
- Bridge to Terabithia (2007)
- Babel (2006)
- Miss Potter (2006)
- Once (2006)
- Step Up (2006)
- A Lot Like Love (2005)
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
- Oliver Twist (2005)
- Racing Stripes (2005)
- Sahara (2005)
- The Brothers Grimm (2005)
- The Weather Man (2005)
- Tokyo Godfathers (2004) (direct-to-video on Special Edition DVD)
- Wrong Turn (2003)
- Memento (2000)
- Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
References
- ^ http://www.summit-ent.com/news.php?news_id=53
- ^ Summit Entertainment LLC, BusinessWeek. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ Barnes, Brooks, For Studio, Vampire Movie Is a Cinderella Story, New York Times, 2009-11-19. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ Barnes, Brooks, Summit Entertainment's $1 Billion Deal, Portfolio, 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ Summit Entertainment - All Movies, Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
- ^ Variety "Film trio feel the Spirit" by Erin Maxwell, Michael Jones, December 2, 2008
- ^ SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH UNIVERSAL STUDIOS. Retrieved 2008-11-24.