Sony Pictures Classics

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"Sony Classics" redirects here. For the record label, see Sony Classical Records .

Sony Pictures Classics, Inc.
Company type Division
Industry Entertainment
Founded 1992 ; 32 years ago  ( 1992 ) , in Hollywood , California , U.S.
Founders
Headquarters New York City , U.S.
Key people
Products Motion Pictures
Number of employees
25 [1]
Parent Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group
Website sonyclassics.com

Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures . It was founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker , Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom. [2] It distributes, produces and acquires specialty films such as documentaries , independent and arthouse films in the United States and internationally. As of 2015, Barker and Bernard are co-presidents of the division, which is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA). [3]

History [ edit ]

Co-founder and co-president Michael Barker

Sony Pictures Classics (SPC) was formed in 1992 by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom, and set up as an autonomous division of Sony Pictures [2] to produce, acquire and/or distribute independent films from the United States and internationally. [4]

It has released films that have won 37 Academy Awards and received 155 nominations, including Best Picture nominations for The Father , Call Me By Your Name , Whiplash , Amour , Midnight in Paris , An Education , Capote , Howards End , and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . [5]

SPC has a history of making reasonable investments for small films, and getting a decent return. [2] [6] [7] It has a history of not overspending. [2] [8] 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.

SPC has been a pioneer in theatrical distribution. In 2001 championed the Chinese-language film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon , which earned the most Oscar nominations ever for a non-English-language film, and win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and a Golden Globe in 2001. The film earned over $213 million worldwide on a $17 million budget, including $128 million in the U.S. as a Sony Pictures Classics release. [9]

In 2006, SPC promoted The Lives of Others to an Oscar and BAFTA, after it was rejected by the Cannes, Berlin, Venice and New York Film Festivals. [10]

SPC occasionally agrees to release films for Sony's other film divisions; however, under its structure within Sony, none of the other divisions (including the parent company) can force SPC to release any film it does not want to release. [2] [11]

Film library [ edit ]

Main article: List of Sony Pictures Classics films

References [ edit ]

  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 February 9, 2012 . 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. Alt URL
  3. ^ "Motion Picture Association of America ? Who We Are ? Our Story" . MPAA. Archived from the original on August 30, 2017 . Retrieved January 17, 2018 .
  4. ^ "Sony Pictures Classics ? About Us" . SonyClassics.com.
  5. ^ "SONY PICTURES CLASSICS TO RELEASE JUHO KUOSMANEN'S 'COMPARTMENT NO. 6' IN THEATERS" . The Scope Weekly . Retrieved September 3, 2022 .
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ "Duncan Jones is Unhappy About Moon ? Thompson on Hollywood" . Indiewire. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010 . Retrieved July 28, 2010 . SPC had nothing to do with the DVD release, which Jones is unhappy about.
  9. ^ "Hollywood Flashback: 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' Captured Oscar Gold 20 Years Ago" . The Hollywood Reporter . January 10, 2021.
  10. ^ "LAFF: Sony Pictures Classics' Tom Bernard, Michael Barker Get Spirit of Independence Award" . The Hollywood Reporter . June 17, 2014.
  11. ^ Ross, Matt (February 6, 2006). "Translating foreign pix to U.S. hits: SPC finds creative solutions to bring home best in overseas fare". Variety .

External links [ edit ]

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