Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
- Also see: general Walt Disney Pictures or Buena Vista (Walt Disney Company).
Company type | Subsidiary of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group |
---|---|
Industry | Film |
Founded | 1953 (as Buena Vista Film Distribution Company, Inc.) |
Headquarters | , |
Products | Motion picture distribution |
Owner | The Walt Disney Company |
Website | waltdisneystudios.com |
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is a motion picture and television feature distribution company owned by Disney Enterprises, Inc. Buena Vista International was the international distribution arm, Buena Vista Home Entertainment was the firm's video and DVD distribution arm, and Buena Vista Television was renamed as Disney-ABC Domestic Television.
In April 2007, Disney decided to retire the Buena Vista brand,[1] although today the Buena Vista name is used only for video and DVD distribution through certain divisions of Disney's home entertainment.
History
Prior to 1953, Walt Disney's productions were distributed by Columbia Pictures (1929–1932), United Artists (1932–1937) and RKO Radio Pictures (1937–1954). However, a dispute over the value of Disney's True-Life Adventures series of live-action documentary featurettes in 1953 led to Walt and his older brother Roy Oliver Disney to form its wholly owned subsidiary the Buena Vista Film Distribution Company, Inc. to handle the U.S. distribution of their own product. Buena Vista's first release was the Academy Award winning live-action feature The Living Desert (1953). Buena Vista International was formed in 1992 after Disney opted to end a joint venture with Warner Bros. to distribute their films in overseas markets. Distribution rights in West Germany were given to MGM and later 20th Century Fox before the Warner Bros. joint venture.
The "Buena Vista" company name comes from Buena Vista Street, the road on which the current Walt Disney Studios and company headquarters are situated in Burbank, California. Lake Buena Vista is also Walt Disney World's mailing address in Florida.
16 of the 20 highest grossing G rated movies were now distributed by Disney.[2]
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The company distributes all features produced by the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group including:
Current
- Walt Disney Pictures
- Disneynature
- Marvel Studios
- Touchstone Pictures
- Hollywood Pictures
- ESPN Films
- Studio Ghibli (North America)
Former
- Miramax Films (1993–2010)
- Dimension Films (1993–2005)
- ImageMovers Digital (2009–2011)
Franchises
References
- ^ Fixmer, Andy (25 April 2007). "Disney to Drop Buena Vista Brand Name, People Say". Retrieved 2007-08-08.
- ^ "DOMESTIC GROSSES BY MPAA RATING". Retrieved 2009-11-11.