Trimark Pictures

Last updated
Trimark Pictures
FormerlyVidmark Entertainment (1984–1989)
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Film
FoundedAugust 1984;39 years ago (1984-08)(as Vidmark Entertainment)
June 23, 1989;34 years ago (1989-06-23)(as Trimark Pictures)
Founder Mark Amin
DefunctMarch 12, 2001;23 years ago (2001-03-12)
FateMerged 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.

Contents

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]

Background

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]

Filmography

YearTitleRelease DateDistributionNotes
TheatricalDirect to video
1988DemonwarpMarch 18thNoYes
Body BeatNovember 30thNoYes
1989 Going Overboard May 12thYesNo
A Fool and His Money September 24thYesNo
High Stakes November 17thYesNo
1990The Sleeping CarFebruary 9thNoYes
The Amityville Curse June 6thNoYes
Solar Crisis July 14thYesNo
SpiritsSeptember 15thNoYesdistribution only;
produced by Cinema Group
Mob Boss September 16thNoYesdistribution only;
produced by American Independent
Backstreet Dreams September 29thYesNo
Frankenstein Unbound November 2ndYesNoco-production with 20th Century Fox
1991 Warlock January 11thYesNo
Black Magic WomanApril 17thNoYes
Servants of TwilightMay 31stYesNo
Kickboxer 2 June 14thYesNo
Whore October 4thYesNo
Dolly Dearest October 18thYesNo
And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird November 15thYesNo
All-American Murder December 1stNoYes
1992 Into the Sun January 31stYesNo
The PsychicMay 20thYesNo
InterceptorOctober 1stYesNo
Prototype December 23rdNoYes
1993 Leprechaun January 8thYesNo
Dead Alive February 12thYesNo
American Kickboxer 2 August 4thNoYes
Blink of an EyeAugust 26thNoYes
Warlock: The Armageddon September 24thYesNo
Thunder in Paradise September 27thNoYes
Deadfall October 8thYesNo
Return of the Living Dead III October 29thYesNo
Philadelphia Experiment II November 12thYesNo
Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow November 24thNoYes
1994 Death Wish V: The Face of Death January 14thYesNodistribution only;
produced by 21st Century Film Corporation
Silent Tongue February 25thYesNo
Leprechaun 2 April 8thYesNo
Return to Two Moon Junction May 11thYesNo
Trading Mom May 13thYesNo
Freefall May 25thNoYesdistribution only;
produced by Nu Image
Love Is a Gun June 1stNoYes
Curse of the Starving Class September 13thNoYes
Criminal Passion September 21stYesNo
Running FreeOctober 5thNoYes
Frank and Jesse October 28thYesNo
Dangerous Touch November 2ndNoYes
Hong Kong '97 November 9thNoYes
Love and a .45 November 23rdYesNo
The Stoned Age December 5thYesNo
Federal Hill December 9thYesNo
1995 Payback January 10thYesNo
Night of the Running Man January 19thYesNo
Swimming with Sharks April 21stYesNo
HeatseekerJune 27thYesNo
Leprechaun 3 June 27thNoYes
A Kid in King Arthur's Court August 11thYesNoco-produced by Walt Disney Pictures
Separate Lives September 8thYesNo
Kicking and Screaming October 6thYesNo
The Doom Generation October 25thYesNo
1996 Evolver February 10thYesNoco-production with A Band Apart
True Crime March 12thNoYes
Two Guys Talkin' About Girls June 18thNoYesaka At First Sight
Crimetime August 4thYesNo
Sometimes They Come Back... Again September 3rdNoYes
Pinocchio's Revenge October 7thNoYes
The Dentist October 18thNoYes
1997 Meet Wally Sparks January 31stYesNo
Leprechaun 4: In Space February 25thNoYes
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love February 28thYesNo
Frankenstein and MeMarch 18thNoYes
Nothing Personal April 25thYesNo
Ripe May 2ndYesNo
Sprung May 16thYesNo
Box of Moonlight July 25thYesNo
First Love, Last Rites September 10thYesNo
Trucks October 29thNoYes
Eve's Bayou November 7thYesNo
1998 Star Kid January 16thYesNo
The Curve January 24thYesNo
Chairman of the Board March 13thYesNo
Chinese Box April 17thYesNo
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss July 24thYesNo
A Kid in Aladdin's Palace July 28thNoYes
Carnival of Souls August 21stYesNolimited release
Phoenix September 4thYesNodistribution only;
produced by Lakeshore Entertainment
Cube September 11thYesNo
Trance September 18thYesNo
Slam October 7thYesNo
The LandladyNovember 10thNoYes
The Dentist 2 December 11thNoYes
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows December 20thNoYes
Another Day in Paradise December 30thYesNo
1999 King Cobra April 27thNoYes
The Sex Monster May 5thYesNo
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn May 9thNoYes
Twice Upon a Yesterday May 28thYesNo
Diplomatic Siege June 10thNoYes
Better Than Chocolate August 13thYesNo
Sometimes They Come Back... for More September 7thNoYes
Romance September 17thYesNo
Atomic Train September 21stNoYes
Warlock III: The End of Innocence October 12thNoYes
Joe the King October 15thYesNo
Tail Lights Fade December 3rdYesNo
Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying December 27thNoYes
2000 Beautiful People February 18thYesNo
Cut March 2ndNoYes
Leprechaun in the Hood March 28thNoYes
The Last September April 21stYesNo
Held Up May 12thYesNo
Cord May 23rdNoYes
Flypaper June 27thNoYes
History Is Made at Night July 11thYesNo
The Perfect TenantJuly 25thNoYes
AttractionSeptember 20thNoYes
Uninvited Guest September 22ndNoYes
The Bogus Witch Project October 10thNoYes
Faust: Love of the Damned October 12thYesNo
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th October 17thNoYes
After Alice October 24thNoYes
The StepdaughterOctober 31stNoYes
What's Cooking? November 17thYesNo
The Sr. Francisville ExperimentDecember 5thNoYes
South of Heaven, West of Hell December 15thYesNo
XChange December 20thNoYes
2001 Skipped Parts January 4thYesNo
Killer Bud March 13thNoYes
After the Storm March 20thNoYes
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal May 13thNoYes
Blood Surf June 26thNoYes

List of distributed video games

Release DateTitlePlatformNotes
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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