Gramercy Pictures
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Gramercy Pictures was a film distributor launched in May 1992, a joint venture of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and Universal Pictures. Gramercy, a so-called "mini-major," was the distributor of PolyGram movies in the United States and Canada. In January 1996, PolyGram brought the 50% stake owned by Universal, thus assuming full control of Gramercy.[1] When Seagram acquired PolyGram in 1999, it reacquired Gramercy as it controlled Universal. In turn, Seagram sold Gramercy and another specialty division, October Films, to Barry Diller's USA Networks, and merged both companies into USA Films.[2][3] USA Films then transformed into Focus Features in 2002.
Gramercy Pictures released its first film, the Mario Van Peebles western Posse, in May 1993.[4][5] The distributor also had box office hits in 1994's Four Weddings and a Funeral, 1996's Fargo and 1997's Bean. Several Gramercy releases of the 1990s have grown in stature to become cult classics in the present day: The Big Lebowski, Dazed and Confused, Clay Pigeons and Mallrats. In addition, 1996's The Usual Suspects won two Oscars, for Best Original Screenplay (Christopher McQuarrie) and Best Supporting Actor (Kevin Spacey).
Some of Gramercy's releases
| Title | Release Date | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|
| Posse | May 14, 1993 | $18,289,763 | |
| King of the Hill | August 20, 1993 | $1,214,231 | |
| Kalifornia | September 3, 1993 | $9 million | $2,395,231 |
| Dazed and Confused | September 24, 1993 | $7,993,039 | |
| A Home of Our Own | November 5, 1993 | $1,677,807 | |
| A Dangerous Woman | December 3, 1993 | $1,497,222 | |
| Romeo Is Bleeding | February 4, 1994 | $10 million | $3,275,865 |
| Four Weddings and a Funeral | March 9, 1994 | $4.4 million | $245,700,832 |
| Backbeat | April 15, 1994 | $2,392,589 | |
| Dream Lover | May 6, 1994 | $256,264 | |
| Foreign Student | July 29, 1994 | ||
| The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert | August 10, 1994 | $1,884,200 (US$2 million) | $29,679,915 |
| A Good Man in Africa | September 9, 1994 | $2,308,390 | |
| Jason's Lyric | September 28, 1994 | $7,000,000 | $20,851,521 |
| Drop Squad | October 28, 1994 | $734,693 | |
| Double Dragon | November 4, 1994 | $7,850,000 | $2,341,309 |
| S.F.W. | January 20, 1995 | $63,513 | |
| Shallow Grave | February 10, 1995 | $2.5 million | $2,834,250 |
| Before the Rain | February 24, 1995 | $763,847 | |
| Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh | March 17, 1995 | $13,940,383 | |
| New Jersey Drive | April 19, 1995 | $5,000,000 | $3,565,508 |
| The Underneath | April 28, 1995 | $336,023 | |
| Panther | May 3, 1995 | $6,834,525 | |
| The Usual Suspects | August 16, 1995 | $6 million | $23,272,306 |
| Canadian Bacon | September 22, 1995 | $11 million | $178,104 |
| Moonlight and Valentino | September 29, 1995 | $2,484,226 | |
| Mallrats | October 20, 1995 | $6,100,000 | $2,122,561 |
| Carrington | November 10, 1995 | $3,242,342 | |
| Dead Man Walking | January 12, 1996 | $11 million | $86,387,284 |
| La Haine | February 23, 1996 | €2,590,000 | $309,811 |
| Jack and Sarah | March 22, 1996 | $218,626 (USA) $2,492,000 (UK) | |
| Land and Freedom | March 22, 1996 | $228,800 | |
| Fargo | April 5, 1996 | $7 million | $60,611,975 |
| Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie | April 19, 1996 | $1,007,306 | |
| Barb Wire | May 3, 1996 | $3,793,614 | |
| Cold Comfort Farm | May 10, 1996 | $ | |
| The Trigger Effect | August 30, 1996 | $8 million | $3,594,848 |
| Grace of My Heart | September 13, 1996 | $5,000,000 | $617,632 |
| Loch Ness | September 20, 1996 | $12 million | |
| Bound | October 4, 1996 | $6,000,000 | $3,802,260 |
| Jude | October 18, 1996 | $409,144 | |
| I'm Not Rappaport | December 24, 1996 | $470,000 | |
| The Portrait of a Lady | January 17, 1997 | $3,692,836 | |
| Gridlock'd | January 29, 1997 | $5 million | $5,571,205 |
| When We Were Kings | February 14, 1997 | $2,789,985 | |
| The Eighth Day | March 7, 1997 | $416,401 | |
| Keys to Tulsa | April 11, 1997 | $57,252 | |
| Commandments | May 2, 1997 | $548,562 | |
| Twin Town | May 9, 1997 | $3,300,000 | $127,923 |
| Def Jam's How to Be a Player | August 6, 1997 | $14,009,368 | |
| Going All the Way | September 19, 1997 | $113,069 | |
| The MatchMaker | October 3, 1997 | $3,392,080 | |
| Body Count | November 1997 | ||
| Bean | November 7, 1997 | $18 million | $251,212,670 |
| Guy | December 17, 1997 | $4134 | |
| The Big Lebowski | March 6, 1998 | $15 million | $46,189,568 |
| No Looking Back | March 27, 1998 | $5,000,000 | $222,099 |
| Go Now | May 1, 1998 | $25,695 | |
| The Last Days of Disco | May 29, 1998 | $8 million | $3,020,601 |
| The Land Girls | June 12, 1998 | $238,497 | |
| Your Friends & Neighbors | August 21, 1998 | $5,000,000 | $4,710,749 |
| Clay Pigeons | September 25, 1998 | $8 million | $1,794,086 |
| Reach the Rock | October 16, 1998 | $4,960 | |
| Being John Malkovich | October 29, 1999 | $13 million | $32,382,381 |
| Elizabeth | November 22, 1998 | $30 million | $82,150,642 |
| The Hi-Lo Country | January 22, 1999 | $163,810 | |
| Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels | March 5, 1999 | $1.35 million | $25,297,569 |
| Plunkett & Macleane | October 2, 1999 | $474,900 | |
| Pitch Black | February 18, 2000 | $23 million | $53,187,659 |
| Waking the Dead | March 24, 2000 | $8,500,000 | $327,418 |
| Where the Money Is | April 14, 2000 | $5,661,798 | |
| Mad About Mambo | August 4, 2000 | $65,283 | |
| Nurse Betty | September 8, 2000 | $25 million | $29,360,400 |
| The Man Who Wasn't There | November 2, 2001 |
Earlier company
There was an earlier, unrelated company which went by the same name in the late 1950s. One of the films they produced was The Monster That Challenged the World.
References
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/11/business/gramercy-sold-to-polygram.html
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Staff (August 17, 1993). "In Winner's Circle; Miramax's 'Crying Game' paces indies; New Line still running strong". Variety. Reed Business Information.
Off to an auspicious start is Gramercy Pictures, with its first release, 'Posse,' immediately making the chart [of largest rentals from independent distributors]
{{cite journal}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Box office information for Posse (1993)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
External links
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