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Sony Pictures Classics

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Sony Pictures Classics, Inc.
Company typeDivision
IndustryEntertainment
FoundedHollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
(1992; 32 years ago (1992))
HeadquartersNew York City, New York, U.S.
Key people
  • Michael Barker (Co-President)
  • Tom Bernard (Co-President)
ProductsMotion Pictures
OwnerSony
Number of employees
25 [1]
ParentSony Pictures
Websitewww.sonyclassics.com

Sony Pictures Classics is a film production and distribution studio division of Sony Pictures founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom (similar to Fox Searchlight Pictures and Focus Features).[2] It distributes, produces and acquires specialty films such as documentaries, independent and art films in the United States and internationally. As of 2015, Barker and Bernard are co-presidents of the division.

History

Sony Pictures Classics was founded on January 1, 1992, by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom, set up as an autonomous division of Sony Pictures.[2] The model of the company is to produce, acquire and/or distribute independent films from the United States and internationally.[3]

Sony Pictures Classics has a history of making reasonable investments for small films, and getting a decent return.[2][4][5] It has a history of not overspending.[2][6] Its largest commercial success of the 2010s is Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (2011), which grossed over $56 million in the U.S., becoming Allen's highest-grossing film ever in the United States.

Occasionally, Sony Pictures Classics agrees to release films for all other film studio divisions of Sony; However, under Sony Pictures Classics' structure within Sony, all other divisions of Sony (including the parent company) cannot force Sony Pictures Classics to release any film that the division does not want to release.[2][7]

Select releases

Co-founder and co-president Michael Barker

1990s

Release Date Title
March 13, 1992 Howard's End
September 25, 1992 Danzon
October 30, 1992 Van Gogh
December 23, 1992 Indochine
March 3, 1993 Olivier, Olivier
April 16, 1993 The Story of Qiu Ju
May 28, 1993 The Long Day Closes
June 9, 1993 Orlando
June 25, 1993 Jacquot de Nantes
August 6, 1993 House of Angels
December 21, 1993 Faraway, So Close!
December 23, 1993 The Accompanist
February 25, 1994 Belle Époque
March 31, 1994 Germinal
April 15, 1994 In Custody
June 3, 1994 The Slingshot
July 15, 1994 Mi Vida Loca
October 19, 1994 Vanya on 42nd Street
October 21, 1994 I Don't Want to Talk About It
December 22, 1994 A Man of No Importance
February 17, 1995 Window to Paris
March 8, 1995 Martha & Ethel
March 17, 1995 Farinelli
April 21, 1995 Burnt by the Sun
April 28, 1995 Crumb
May 19, 1995 Amateur
May 26, 1995 A Pure Formality
June 8, 1995 Anne Frank Remembered
June 16, 1995 Wings of Courage (IMAX)
June 23, 1995 Love & Human Remains
June 30, 1995 Safe
July 21, 1995 Living in Oblivion
September 15, 1995 Mute Witness
September 27, 1995 Persuasion
October 20, 1995 Across the Sea of Time
December 15, 1995 The City of Lost Children
December 22, 1995 Shanghai Triad
January 24, 1996 Caught
March 8, 1996 The Flower of My Secret
March 15, 1996 The Celluloid Closet
March 29, 1996 Denise Calls Up
May 3, 1996 Madame Butterfly
May 17, 1996 Ashes of Time
May 24, 1996 Welcome to the Dollhouse
June 21, 1996 Lone Star
July 26, 1996 Manny & Lo
September 13, 1996 Brother of Sleep
October 9, 1996 Beautiful Thing
December 20, 1996 The Whole Wide World
December 25, 1996 Thieves
January 31, 1997 Waiting for Guffman
February 7, 1997 SubUrbia
April 23, 1997 A Chef in Love
May 2, 1997 Broken English
June 20, 1997 Dream with the Fishes
When the Cat's Away
August 1, 1997 In the Company of Men
September 17, 1997 The Myth of Fingerprints
October 3, 1997 Fast, Cheap & Out of Control
November 14, 1997 The Tango Lesson
December 26, 1997 Afterglow
Ma vie en rose
February 6, 1998 Nil by Mouth
March 27, 1998 Character
Men with Guns
April 3, 1998 The Spanish Prisoner
May 1, 1998 A Friend of the Deceased
Wilde
May 22, 1998 The Opposite of Sex
June 19, 1998 Henry Fool
Marie from the Bay of Angels
July 2, 1998 Mark Twain's America in 3D (IMAX)
July 10, 1998 Whatever
July 31, 1998 The Governess
November 13, 1998 Dancing at Lughnasa
November 20, 1998 Central Station
December 18, 1998 The General
February 12, 1999 Tango
April 2, 1999 The Dreamlife of Angels
April 16, 1999 SLC Punk
The Winslow Boy
May 7, 1999 This Is My Father
May 28, 1999 The Loss of Sexual Innocence
June 18, 1999 Run Lola Run
July 30, 1999 Twin Falls Idaho
October 22, 1999 One Day in September
November 5, 1999 American Movie
December 17, 1999 The Emperor and the Assassin
December 29, 1999 The Third Miracle

2000s

Release Date Title
February 18, 2000 Not One Less
February 25, 2000 Mifune's Last Song
March 10, 2000 Sweet and Lowdown
March 31, 2000 All About My Mother
The Color of Paradise
April 7, 2000 Me Myself I
May 5, 2000 Est - Ouest
May 12, 2000 Bossa Nova
May 26, 2000 Kikujiro
June 9, 2000 Groove
June 28, 2000 Trixie
July 7, 2000 Shower
August 4, 2000 The Tao of Steve
August 25, 2000 Solomon & Gaenor
September 15, 2000 Goya in Bordeaux
September 29, 2000 The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy
October 13, 2000 Just Looking
December 8, 2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
December 22, 2000 The House of Mirth
January 22, 2001 Haiku Tunnel
February 6, 2001 Pollock
March 2, 2001 Me You Them
April 6, 2001 Brother
Shadow Magic
April 27, 2001 The Luzhin Defence
The Princess and the Warrior
June 8, 2001 Divided We Fall
June 15, 2001 The Road Home
July 6, 2001 The Vertical Ray of the Sun
July 27, 2001 Jackpot
September 29, 2001 Who Knows?
October 5, 2001 Grateful Dawg
November 21, 2001 The Devil's Backbone
December 7, 2001 Last Orders
December 28, 2001 Dark Blue World
January 25, 2002 Beijing Bicycle
March 15, 2002 Pauline and Paulette
March 22, 2002 Son of the Bride
April 5, 2002 Crush
April 19, 2002 Nine Queens
May 8, 2002 Lagaan
May 10, 2002 The Lady and the Duke
May 20, 2002 Dogtown and Z-Boys
July 5, 2002 Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
July 12, 2002 My Wife Is an Actress
July 26, 2002 Happy Times
August 9, 2002 Secret Ballot
August 30, 2002 Mad Love
September 13, 2002 Quitting
October 18, 2002 Auto Focus
November 22, 2002 Talk to Her
December 20, 2002 Spider
December 30, 2002 Love Liza
January 17, 2003 Big Shot's Funeral
January 24, 2003 Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary
February 14, 2003 All the Real Girls
March 7, 2003 Laurel Canyon
April 4, 2003 The Man Without a Past
Levity
April 18, 2003 Winged Migration
May 2, 2003 Owning Mahowny
May 23, 2003 Respiro
June 20, 2003 The Legend of Suriyothai
July 11, 2003 The Cuckoo
July 24, 2003 Masked and Anonymous
August 29, 2003 Once Upon a Time in the Midlands
September 26, 2003 My Life Without Me
November 26, 2003 The Triplets of Belleville
December 3, 2003 Monsieur Ibrahim
December 12, 2003 The Statement
December 19, 2003 The Fog of War
December 25, 2003 The Company
February 27, 2004 Good Bye Lenin!
March 12, 2004 Broken Wings
March 19, 2004 Bon Voyage
April 2, 2004 Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
April 16, 2004 Young Adam
May 14, 2004 Carandiru
May 28, 2004 Baadasssss!
The Mother
June 18, 2004 Facing Windows
July 9, 2004 Riding Giants
July 16, 2004 Touch of Pink
Zhou Yu's Train
July 28, 2004 She Hate Me
September 3, 2004 Warriors of Heaven and Earth
September 17, 2004 Head in the Clouds
Želary
October 15, 2004 Being Julia
October 22, 2004 Lightning in a Bottle
November 19, 2004 Bad Education
December 3, 2004 House of Flying Daggers
December 17, 2004 Imaginary Heroes
December 29, 2004 The Merchant of Venice
February 25, 2005 Up and Down
March 11, 2005 In My Country
April 1, 2005 Look at Me
April 8, 2005 Kung Fu Hustle
April 29, 2005 3-Iron
May 13, 2005 Layer Cake
The House of Sand
May 27, 2005 Saving Face
August 5, 2005 2046
Junebug
August 26, 2005 The Memory of a Killer
September 14, 2005 L'Enfant (The Child)
September 16, 2005 Thumbsucker
September 30, 2005 Capote
October 5, 2005 Caché
November 9, 2005 Joyeux Noël
December 22, 2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
January 22, 2006 Why We Fight
March 17, 2006 Volver
March 23, 2006 The Lives of Others
March 31, 2006 The Devil and Daniel Johnston
April 7, 2006 Friends With Money
June 28, 2006 Who Killed the Electric Car?
August 2, 2006 Quinceañera
August 25, 2006 The Quiet
September 1, 2006 Black Book
September 2, 2006 Paprika
September 8, 2006 Driving Lessons
September 22, 2006 American Hardcore
December 21, 2006 Curse of the Golden Flower
April 20, 2007 The Valet
April 27, 2007 Jindabyne
May 19, 2007 The Band's Visit
July 13, 2007 Interview
September 21, 2007 The Jane Austen Book Club
October 5, 2007 My Kid Could Paint That
October 12, 2007 Sleuth
December 14, 2007 Youth Without Youth
December 25, 2007 Persepolis
2008 Ashes of Time Redux
March 7, 2008 Married Life
March 14, 2008 CJ7
April 25, 2008 Standard Operating Procedure
May 9, 2008 Redbelt
May 19, 2008 Lorna's Silence
May 22, 2008 Adoration
May 23, 2008 Synecdoche, New York
May 24, 2008 The Class
June 20, 2008 Brick Lane
July 3, 2008 The Wackness
August 1, 2008 Frozen River
August 5, 2008 The Counterfeiters
2008 I Served the King of England
October 3, 2008 Rachel Getting Married
October 24, 2008 I've Loved You So Long
January 18, 2009 An Education
January 23, 2009 Moon
March 18, 2009 Broken Embraces
March 27, 2009 The Damned United
April 3, 2009 Sugar
April 22, 2009 Coco Before Chanel
May 8, 2009 Rudo y Cursi
May 29, 2009 Easy Virtue
July 10, 2009 Soul Power
August 14, 2009 It Might Get Loud
December 30, 2009 The White Ribbon
2009 O' Horten
2009 Paris 36

2010s

Release Date Title
January 8, 2010 The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017

See also

  • Mongrel Media, the exclusive theatrical Canadian distributor for Sony Pictures Classics films

References

  1. ^ "Sony Pictures Classics Bosses Shop Cannes Quality". ABC News. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e Thompson, Anne (October 17, 2006). "Sony Pictures Classics at 15". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 4, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010. They stay behind the films and manage to find a significant core audience for a large number of them, with the occasional $130 million blowout like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' [former United Artists president Bingham] Ray says. 'But they spend a fraction of what a major studio would spend to get the same number. Their philosophy is not to pile a lot of money on everything. They run a tight ship; they don't have an army of people working for them. They keep things simple. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ "Sony Pictures Classics - About Us". SonyClassics.com.
  4. ^ Pond, Steve (November 16, 2009). "Sony Classics' Embarrassment of Oscar Riches". The Wrap. Retrieved July 28, 2010. It doesn't release blockbusters or Best Picture winners, but its understated business plans reduce risk and keep it in business.
  5. ^ Kaufman, Anthony (January 29, 2008). "PARK CITY '08 | Sundance Buying Spree Stirs Talk; Sony Classics Adds "Baghead," "River," and "Wackness" to '08 Slate". Indiewire. Retrieved February 9, 2012. As Bernard explained, 'We're not looking for home runs; we're looking for singles and doubles.' [...] The tortoise-rather-than-the-hare strategy helped the company capture movies that were under the radar of buyers, and as Bernard argued, even sellers.
  6. ^ "Duncan Jones is Unhappy About Moon - Thompson on Hollywood". Indiewire. April 1, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010. SPC had nothing to do with the DVD release, which Jones is unhappy about.
  7. ^ Ross, Matt (February 6, 2006). "Translating foreign pix to U.S. hits: SPC finds creative solutions to bring home best in overseas fare". Variety.