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Formerly | Vidmark Entertainment (1984–1989) |
---|---|
Company type | Subsidiary |
Industry | Film |
Founded | August 1984(as Vidmark Entertainment) June 23, 1989(as Trimark Pictures) |
Founder | Mark Amin |
Defunct | March 12, 2001 |
Fate | Merged with Lionsgate |
Successor | Lionsgate Films (Lionsgate Entertainment) |
Headquarters | Santa Monica, California, |
Key people | Mark Amin (Chairman & CEO) |
Products | Motion Pictures |
Parent | Vidmark, Inc. (1985–1995) Trimark Holdings (1995–2000) Lionsgate (2000–2001) |
Divisions | Trimark Interactive [1] Trimark Television Kidmark Entertainment Trimark Home Video |
Subsidiaries | CinemaNow (formerly) Trimark Ultra Sports |
Trimark Pictures was an American [1] production company that specialized in the production and distribution of television and home video motion pictures. [2] The company was formed in 1984 by Mark Amin as Vidmark Entertainment with Vidmark Inc. (later Trimark Holdings Inc.) established as the holding company. [3] As a small studio, Trimark produced and released theatrical, independent, television and home video motion pictures. The logo features a triangle with a profile of a tiger's head.
Among the company's many releases are Peter Jackson's 1992 film Dead Alive , which they chose to release theatrically due to Jackson's possessing a following. [4] They are well known for releasing films considered to be controversial for the time period, as in the case with the 1999 film Better Than Chocolate , as some newspapers refused to carry advertisements for the film that featured the word "lesbian" as part of a critic blurb. [5]
Vidmark Entertainment was formed in August 1984 and began operating as a domestic home video distributor in early 1985. In April 1986, Vidmark Entertainment signed a deal with ABC Video Enterprises, to distribute six titles on videocassette. [6] In 1987, Vidmark began distributing and sub-licensing motion pictures for international distribution. That year, the company entered theatrical distribution and production with the acquisition of four films and completion of its first in-house productions, namely American Gothic , That's Adequate , Silent Memory and Born of Fire. [7]
Vidmark Entertainment entered motion picture production in 1988 with the feature Demonwarp.
Trimark picked up its first film, Warlock , a 1989 film starring Julian Sands which was a major theatrical hit with fans of such films. Trimark eventually made the sequel Warlock: The Armageddon in 1993. Trimark also saw success in other familiar film series the studio produced and distributed. Leprechaun , released in 1993 starring a young Jennifer Aniston and Warwick Davis as the sinister leprechaun grossed over $10 million during its theatrical run. One theatrical sequel and four direct to video sequels eventually followed. Other Trimark productions included The Dentist , a major hit on HBO, Return of the Living Dead III and Pinocchio's Revenge . Trimark also made the dramatic Eve's Bayou , starring Samuel L. Jackson, which received critical acclaim. Trimark also released the miniseries Storm of the Century on home video. On June 29, 1990, Vidmark Entertainment began trading on NASDAQ with the ticker symbol VDMK. [8]
On December 31, 1991, Vidmark acquired International Broadcast Systems, Ltd. for $1.6 million and renamed the company as Trimark Television. In June 1992, Vidmark, Inc. changed its name to Trimark Holdings, Inc. to reflect Trimark's diversification of its distribution streams. In March 1993, the company formed Trimark Interactive to expand into the emerging market for interactive software and multimedia. Trimark Interactive's assets were sold to Graphix Zone in March 1997.
In June 2000, Trimark was acquired by Lions Gate Entertainment for approximately $50 million in stock and cash including taking on $36 million in debt. [9] , with Amin becoming the single largest shareholder of Lions Gate. Trimark was folded into Lions Gate on March 12, 2001.
In 2001, Mark Amin founded Sobini Films, and is its CEO.
In late 2017, Lionsgate launched a channel for Roku streaming players using the Vidmark name and a modified variant of their late 1980s logo, with Lionsgate-owned movies, including some from the original Vidmark and Trimark, amongst the selection. [10]
Year | Title | Release Date | Distribution | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Theatrical | Direct to video | ||||
1988 | Demonwarp | March 18th | No | Yes | |
Body Beat | November 30th | No | Yes | ||
1989 | Going Overboard | May 12th | Yes | No | |
A Fool and His Money | September 24th | Yes | No | ||
High Stakes | November 17th | Yes | No | ||
1990 | The Sleeping Car | February 9th | No | Yes | |
The Amityville Curse | June 6th | No | Yes | ||
Solar Crisis | July 14th | Yes | No | ||
Spirits | September 15th | No | Yes | distribution only; produced by Cinema Group | |
Mob Boss | September 16th | No | Yes | distribution only; produced by American Independent | |
Backstreet Dreams | September 29th | Yes | No | ||
Frankenstein Unbound | November 2nd | Yes | No | co-production with 20th Century Fox | |
1991 | Warlock | January 11th | Yes | No | |
Black Magic Woman | April 17th | No | Yes | ||
Servants of Twilight | May 31st | Yes | No | ||
Kickboxer 2 | June 14th | Yes | No | ||
Whore | October 4th | Yes | No | ||
Dolly Dearest | October 18th | Yes | No | ||
And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird | November 15th | Yes | No | ||
All-American Murder | December 1st | No | Yes | ||
1992 | Into the Sun | January 31st | Yes | No | |
The Psychic | May 20th | Yes | No | ||
Interceptor | October 1st | Yes | No | ||
Prototype | December 23rd | No | Yes | ||
1993 | Leprechaun | January 8th | Yes | No | |
Dead Alive | February 12th | Yes | No | ||
American Kickboxer 2 | August 4th | No | Yes | ||
Blink of an Eye | August 26th | No | Yes | ||
Warlock: The Armageddon | September 24th | Yes | No | ||
Thunder in Paradise | September 27th | No | Yes | ||
Deadfall | October 8th | Yes | No | ||
Return of the Living Dead III | October 29th | Yes | No | ||
Philadelphia Experiment II | November 12th | Yes | No | ||
Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow | November 24th | No | Yes | ||
1994 | Death Wish V: The Face of Death | January 14th | Yes | No | distribution only; produced by 21st Century Film Corporation |
Silent Tongue | February 25th | Yes | No | ||
Leprechaun 2 | April 8th | Yes | No | ||
Return to Two Moon Junction | May 11th | Yes | No | ||
Trading Mom | May 13th | Yes | No | ||
Freefall | May 25th | No | Yes | distribution only; produced by Nu Image | |
Love Is a Gun | June 1st | No | Yes | ||
Curse of the Starving Class | September 13th | No | Yes | ||
Criminal Passion | September 21st | Yes | No | ||
Running Free | October 5th | No | Yes | ||
Frank and Jesse | October 28th | Yes | No | ||
Dangerous Touch | November 2nd | No | Yes | ||
Hong Kong '97 | November 9th | No | Yes | ||
Love and a .45 | November 23rd | Yes | No | ||
The Stoned Age | December 5th | Yes | No | ||
Federal Hill | December 9th | Yes | No | ||
1995 | Payback | January 10th | Yes | No | |
Night of the Running Man | January 19th | Yes | No | ||
Swimming with Sharks | April 21st | Yes | No | ||
Heatseeker | June 27th | Yes | No | ||
Leprechaun 3 | June 27th | No | Yes | ||
A Kid in King Arthur's Court | August 11th | Yes | No | co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures | |
Separate Lives | September 8th | Yes | No | ||
Kicking and Screaming | October 6th | Yes | No | ||
The Doom Generation | October 25th | Yes | No | ||
1996 | Evolver | February 10th | Yes | No | co-production with A Band Apart |
True Crime | March 12th | No | Yes | ||
Two Guys Talkin' About Girls | June 18th | No | Yes | aka At First Sight | |
Crimetime | August 4th | Yes | No | ||
Sometimes They Come Back... Again | September 3rd | No | Yes | ||
Pinocchio's Revenge | October 7th | No | Yes | ||
The Dentist | October 18th | No | Yes | ||
1997 | Meet Wally Sparks | January 31st | Yes | No | |
Leprechaun 4: In Space | February 25th | No | Yes | ||
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love | February 28th | Yes | No | ||
Frankenstein and Me | March 18th | No | Yes | ||
Nothing Personal | April 25th | Yes | No | ||
Ripe | May 2nd | Yes | No | ||
Sprung | May 16th | Yes | No | ||
Box of Moonlight | July 25th | Yes | No | ||
First Love, Last Rites | September 10th | Yes | No | ||
Trucks | October 29th | No | Yes | ||
Eve's Bayou | November 7th | Yes | No | ||
1998 | Star Kid | January 16th | Yes | No | |
The Curve | January 24th | Yes | No | ||
Chairman of the Board | March 13th | Yes | No | ||
Chinese Box | April 17th | Yes | No | ||
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss | July 24th | Yes | No | ||
A Kid in Aladdin's Palace | July 28th | No | Yes | ||
Carnival of Souls | August 21st | Yes | No | limited release | |
Phoenix | September 4th | Yes | No | distribution only; produced by Lakeshore Entertainment | |
Cube | September 11th | Yes | No | ||
Trance | September 18th | Yes | No | ||
Slam | October 7th | Yes | No | ||
The Landlady | November 10th | No | Yes | ||
The Dentist 2 | December 11th | No | Yes | ||
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows | December 20th | No | Yes | ||
Another Day in Paradise | December 30th | Yes | No | ||
1999 | King Cobra | April 27th | No | Yes | |
The Sex Monster | May 5th | Yes | No | ||
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn | May 9th | No | Yes | ||
Twice Upon a Yesterday | May 28th | Yes | No | ||
Diplomatic Siege | June 10th | No | Yes | ||
Better Than Chocolate | August 13th | Yes | No | ||
Sometimes They Come Back... for More | September 7th | No | Yes | ||
Romance | September 17th | Yes | No | ||
Atomic Train | September 21st | No | Yes | ||
Warlock III: The End of Innocence | October 12th | No | Yes | ||
Joe the King | October 15th | Yes | No | ||
Tail Lights Fade | December 3rd | Yes | No | ||
Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying | December 27th | No | Yes | ||
2000 | Beautiful People | February 18th | Yes | No | |
Cut | March 2nd | No | Yes | ||
Leprechaun in the Hood | March 28th | No | Yes | ||
The Last September | April 21st | Yes | No | ||
Held Up | May 12th | Yes | No | ||
Cord | May 23rd | No | Yes | ||
Flypaper | June 27th | No | Yes | ||
History Is Made at Night | July 11th | Yes | No | ||
The Perfect Tenant | July 25th | No | Yes | ||
Attraction | September 20th | No | Yes | ||
Uninvited Guest | September 22nd | No | Yes | ||
The Bogus Witch Project | October 10th | No | Yes | ||
Faust: Love of the Damned | October 12th | Yes | No | ||
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th | October 17th | No | Yes | ||
After Alice | October 24th | No | Yes | ||
The Stepdaughter | October 31st | No | Yes | ||
What's Cooking? | November 17th | Yes | No | ||
The Sr. Francisville Experiment | December 5th | No | Yes | ||
South of Heaven, West of Hell | December 15th | Yes | No | ||
XChange | December 20th | No | Yes | ||
2001 | Skipped Parts | January 4th | Yes | No | |
Killer Bud | March 13th | No | Yes | ||
After the Storm | March 20th | No | Yes | ||
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal | May 13th | No | Yes | ||
Blood Surf | June 26th | No | Yes |
Release Date | Title | Platform | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1994 | National Lampoon's Blind Date | Windows, Mac OS | |
November 23, 1994 | Air Havoc Controller | Windows | |
1995 | The Hive | Windows, PlayStation | |
1995 | White Men Can't Jump | Jaguar | |
Cancelled | Warlock | Jaguar |
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