Sony_Pictures_Entertainment

Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures

American television and film studio

For the sister company serving the Japanese market, see Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and recorded videos) through multiple platforms.

Quick Facts Formerly, Company type ...

Through an intermediate holding company called Sony Film Holding Inc., it is operated as a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., which is itself a subsidiary of the multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony Group Corporation.[5][6] Based at the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California as one of the "Big Five" major American film studios, it encompasses Sony's motion picture, television production and distribution units. Its sales in the fiscal year 2020 (April 2020 – March 2021) was reported to be $7.16 billion.[7] All of SPE's divisions are members of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).[8] Sony's film franchises include The Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, Jumanji, Men in Black, Spider-Man, and Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

History

1987–1989

On September 1, 1987, The Coca-Cola Company announced plans to spin off its assets of Columbia Pictures, which it had owned since 1982. Under this arrangement, Coca-Cola would sell its entertainment assets (a.k.a. Coca-Cola's Entertainment Business Sector) to TriStar Pictures, of which it owned 39.6%. Tri-Star would be renamed as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (CPE), with Coca-Cola owning 49%, its shareholders owning 31%, and Tri-Star's shareholders owning 20%.[9][10] As part of a merger plan, the two television businesses, comprising Columbia/Embassy Television and Tri-Star Television, merged altogether to form a new incarnation of the original Columbia Pictures Television.[11]

The merger enabled three top Tri-Star executives, namely Arnold Messner, who ran Tri-Star Telecommunications, Victor A. Kaufman, who ran the main Tri-Star Pictures studio, and Scott Siegler, who ran Tri-Star Television to stay on, while four of the Coca-Cola Entertainment Business Sector departed, namely Barbara Corday, who ran Columbia/Embassy Television as president, Herman Rush and Peter Seale, who ran Coca-Cola Telecommunications, and Brian McGrath, who was the president of the Coca-Cola Entertainment Business Sector.[12] In early December 1987, former Coke EBS vice president Kenneth Lemberger exited the post to join Tri-Star Pictures, displacing Roger Faxon, who had joined Columbia Pictures as senior vice president of the studio.[13]

The merger was approved by shareholders on December 15, 1987, and it was completed two days later. Columbia and Tri-Star brands would be used as separate and autonomous production entities, and would be part of CPE whole, along with the prior assets, units and commitments of the former Coca-Cola Entertainment Business Sector, which included all feature, TV, home video, and pay cable operations as well as the Entertainment Sector's feature production deal with Nelson Entertainment and its investment in Castle Rock Entertainment, and TeleVentures, a company it continues to own, which was linked to three independent companies Tri-Star Television, Stephen J. Cannell Productions and Witt/Thomas Productions. Merv Griffin Enterprises continue to function as a separate operation.[14] A new company was formed in early 1988 with the Tri-Star name to take over the studio's operations.[15]

In early January 1988, CPE announced that they would revive the Triumph branding for the new worldwide subsidiary, Triumph Releasing Corporation, which was functioned as a theatrical distributor, marketing and promotion for Columbia and Tri-Star films, and named Patrick N. Williamson as president of the unit and the company provided administrative services related to distribution of its films in North America, while internationally, would be responsible for the direction of each studio.[16]

On September 28, 1989, Sony obtained an option to purchase all of The Coca-Cola Company's stock (approximately 54 million shares or 49% of the outstanding shares) in CPE for $27 per share.[17] The next day, Sony also announced that it reached an agreement with Guber-Peters Entertainment Company, Inc. (NASDAQ: GPEC; formerly Barris Industries, Inc.) to acquire CPE for $200 million when Sony hired Peter Guber and Jon Peters to be its co-chairmen.[18] This was all led by Norio Ohga, who was the president and CEO of Sony during that time.[19]

The hiring of Guber and Peters by Sony to run Columbia was conflicted by a previous contract the producers had signed at Warner Bros. Time Warner's chairman, Steve Ross, threatened Sony with a lawsuit for breach of contract. The lawsuit would be subsequently dropped when Sony sold half-interest in Columbia House and cable distribution rights to Columbia's feature films, TV movies, and miniseries to Warner Bros. That same agreement also saw Columbia sell its 35% interest in the Burbank Studios and acquired Lorimar Studios, previously the MGM lot, from Warner Bros.[20][21]

On October 31, 1989, Sony completed a friendly takeover bid for the rest of shares (51%) of CPE, which was a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: KPE), and acquired 99.3% of the common stock of the company. On November 8, 1989, Sony completed the acquisition by a "short-form" merger of its wholly owned subsidiary Sony Columbia Acquisition Corporation into CPE under the Delaware General Corporation Law. Sony also completed a tender offer for shares of common stock of the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company on November 6, 1989, and acquired the company 3 days later. The acquisition cost Sony $4.9 billion ($3.55 billion for shares and $1.4 billion of long-term debt) and was backed (financed) by five major Japanese banks Mitsui, Tokyo, Fuji, Mitsubishi and Industrial Bank of Japan.[22][23][24]

1990–1999

The company was renamed as Sony Pictures Entertainment on August 7, 1991.[25][26] Also that year, Jon Peters left Columbia to start Peters Entertainment with a three-year exclusive production agreement at the studio at first, before transitioning to a non-exclusive deal at the studio.[27] Longtime CPE employee Laurie MacDonald also left to start Aerial Pictures at the studio, first for a two-year deal, before going to 20th Century Fox in 1993, and being swallowed up by Amblin Entertainment later that year, eventually setting up DreamWorks.[28]

Sony has since created numerous other film production and distribution units, such as creating Sony Pictures Classics for art-house fare, by forming Columbia TriStar Pictures (also known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group) by merging Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures in 1998, revitalizing Columbia's former television division Screen Gems. It expanded its operations on April 8, 2005, when a Sony-led consortium acquired the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), in a US$4.8 billion leveraged buyout, through the holding company MGM Holdings Inc.[29][30][31]

This in effect re-united the MGM studio name, with the MGM main studio lot, although somewhat confusingly, the bulk of the pre-May 1986 original MGM library ended up at Time Warner via the Ted Turner-Kirk Kerkorian "Turner Entertainment Co." transactions. The post-April 1986 MGM library consists of acquisitions of various third-party libraries, such as the Orion Pictures catalogue, leading to MGM's 2014 remake of RoboCop.

2000–2009

In July 2000, a marketing executive working for Sony Corporation created a fictitious film critic, David Manning, who gave consistently good reviews for releases from Sony subsidiary Columbia Pictures that generally received poor reviews amongst real critics.[32] Sony later pulled the ads, suspended Manning's creator and his supervisor and paid fines to the state of Connecticut[33] and to fans who saw the reviewed films in the US.[34]

On June 4, 2008, SPE's wholly owned group 2JS Productions B.V. acquired Dutch production company 2waytraffic N.V., famous for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, acquired from the original production company Celador, and You Are What You Eat for £114.3 million ($223.2 million in US dollars).

2010–2019

In 2011, the Sony Pictures computer network was breached and approximately one million user accounts associated with the SonyPictures.com website were leaked.[35]

On November 18, 2012, Sony Pictures announced it has passed $4 billion with the success of releases: Skyfall, The Amazing Spider-Man, 21 Jump Street, Men in Black 3, Hotel Transylvania, Underworld: Awakening, The Vow, and Resident Evil: Retribution.[36] On November 21, 2013, SPE and Sony Entertainment's CEO Michael Lynton announced that SPE will shift emphasis from movies to television by cutting its 2014 film slate.[37][38][39][40] It was also announced on the same day, that there will be more Spider-Man sequels and spin-offs,[41] though on February 10, 2015, Sony Pictures eventually signed a deal with Disney's Marvel Studios to allow Spider-Man to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Captain America: Civil War, before appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming which was released on July 7, 2017.[42] The deal also allowed Sony to distribute and have creative control on any MCU film where Spider-Man is the main character (such as Homecoming and its sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home), while Disney will distribute MCU films where Spider-Man appears without being the main character.

On January 22, 2014, SPE folded its technology unit into the various cores of its businesses.[43] In April, Sony Pictures arranged a film financing deal worth $200 million with LStar Capital, the credit venture of Lone Star Capital and Citibank, half in debt and the other in equity to fund most of SPE's film slate for several years. SPE was originally considering a $300 million deal with Blue Anchor Entertainment, led by Bloom Hergott partner John LaViolette and former investment banker & producer Joseph M. Singer, and backed by Longhorn Capital Management and Deutsche Bank, which was held up by regulatory matters.[44]

In November 2019, Sony purchased the remaining 42% stake in GSN from AT&T, placing it under the direction of its television division.[45]

2020–present

In April 2021, Sony signed a first-look deal with Netflix, allowing the streaming service to host their films following their theatrical runs and home media releases.[46] That same month, the company also entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with The Walt Disney Company for its films to stream across Disney's streaming and linear platforms, including Disney+ and Hulu.[47]

In February 2022, Sony signed a deal with WarnerMedia Europe to stream its theatrical films on HBO Max for Central and Eastern Europe countries.[48]

On November 28, 2022, it was announced that Legendary Entertainment reached a distribution deal with Sony to distribute its future slate of films. However, this deal does not include the Dune and MonsterVerse films as they will remain at Warner Bros. The deal came after the negative impact of the merger of Warner Bros.' parent company WarnerMedia with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery.[49]

In June 2023, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse opened by making $120 million in profit on its opening weekend.[50] By July 10, the film passed $607 million at box office worldwide.[50][51][52][53]

On November 14, 2023, Sony Pictures unveiled a special centennial anniversary logo for its Columbia Pictures unit ahead of its 100th anniversary of its founding on January 10, 2024.[54]

On April 18, 2024, it was reported that Sony is interested in acquiring Paramount Global through a joint buyout with Apollo Global Management.[55][56]

2014 hack

Main article: 2014 Sony Pictures hack

In November 2014, the Sony Pictures computer network was compromised by a group of hackers named Guardians of Peace, disabling many computers.[57] Later the same week, five of Sony Pictures' movies were leaked, including some not yet released (such as Fury and Annie), as well as confidential data about 47,000 current and former Sony employees.[58][59][60] Film historian Wheeler Winston Dixon suggested that the hack, which exposed the inner workings of the studio, was "not a pretty picture," and served as a "wake-up call to the entire industry."[61] The hack also revealed some other documents, emails between Hollywood moguls referring to Barack Obama's cinematic tastes, a possible partnership with Marvel Studios for the inclusion of the superhero Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, which was later confirmed in February 2015, amongst others.[62][63] On December 16, the hackers issued a warning to moviegoers, threatening to attack anyone who sees The Interview during the holidays and urging people to "remember the 11th of September 2001".[64] On December 17, 2014, Sony cancelled the previously planned December 25 release of The Interview in response to hacker threats.[65]

On February 24, 2015, Tom Rothman was named chairman of SPE's motion picture group to replace Amy Pascal.[66][67]

On April 16, 2015, WikiLeaks published over 30,287 documents, 173 e-mails, and 2,200 corporate e-mail addresses of Sony Pictures' employees. WikiLeaks said in a press release that the content of the leaks were "newsworthy and at the center of a geo-political conflict" and belonged "in the public domain". Sony Pictures later condemned the hack and subsequent leaks, calling it a "malicious criminal act", while also criticizing WikiLeaks for describing the leaked content as public domain.[68][69][70]

Seth Rogen has expressed doubts about North Korea being responsible for the 2014 Sony hack. Based on the timeline of events and the amount of information hacked, he believes the hack may have been conducted by a Sony employee.[71]

Sale of headquarters

Sony Pictures Plaza in 2008

In 2014, the eight-story, 260,000sq ft building originally designed by architect Maxwell Starkman and known as Sony Pictures Plaza, which was originally the headquarters of MGM Studios and later Sony Pictures Studios, was sold to Runyon Group and fellow developer LBA Realty for $159 million.[72]

Corporate structure

Headquartered in Culver City, California, U.S., SPE comprises various studios and entertainment brands, including Affirm Films, Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics, TriStar Pictures, Crunchyroll and Game Show Network.

Senior management team

Motion Picture Group

  • Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group (SPMPG):[73] Formerly Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. With a library of more than 4,000 films (including 12 Academy Award for Best Picture winners), as of 2004 this unit of Sony distributes about 22 films a year under its various studio brands in 67 countries.[74] The group owns studio facilities in the United States, Hong Kong, Madrid, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Brazil and Japan.
    • Columbia Pictures: Founded in 1924 by Harry Cohn, Sony acquired the studio in 1989 from The Coca-Cola Company for $3.4 billion.[22][23]
      • Ghost Corps: Oversees projects relating to the Ghostbusters franchise, including films, television shows, and merchandising.
    • TriStar Pictures: Formed in 1982 as a joint venture between Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS. Became part of Columbia Pictures Entertainment in December 1987 and the Sony ownership in 1989. Was relaunched in 2004 as a marketing and acquisitions unit that specializes in the genre and independent films.
      • TriStar Productions: A film and television production company which is a joint-venture between Tom Rothman and SPE.
    • Screen Gems: Originally Columbia's animation division and later a television production company best known for TV's Bewitched and The Partridge Family, as well as bringing The Three Stooges short subjects to TV in 1958. Sony revived the Screen Gems brand in 1998 to develop mid-priced movies (production budget of between $20 million and $50 million) in specific genres such as science fiction, horror, black cinema and franchise films.
      • Scream Gems: A short film specialty label of Screen Gems.
    • Sony Pictures Imageworks: Founded in 1992, it is Sony's in-house visual effects and computer animation studio.[75]
    • Sony Pictures Animation: Founded in 2002, it is Sony's animation studio that produces animated feature films as well as animated television series.
    • Sony Pictures Classics: Founded in 1992, it is Sony's specialty film label that distributes, produces and acquires films such as documentaries, independent and arthouse films in the United States and internationally.
    • 3000 Pictures: A production company that was launched in July 2019 by Elizabeth Gabler, former Fox 2000 Pictures president, who henced the name. This is a joint venture between Sony Pictures Entertainment and HarperCollins, producing HarperCollins adaptations.
    • Sony Pictures Releasing: Founded in 1994[76] as a successor to Triumph Releasing Corporation. The unit handles distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced by Sony Pictures Entertainment; including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Classics, among others.1
      • Sony Pictures Releasing International: Formerly known as Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International. It is the international arm of Sony Pictures Releasing.
        • Sony Pictures India: A production house established by Sony to release Indian movies and distribute Hollywood movies released under Columbia Pictures.
        • Sony Pictures International Productions: A division that produces films in local languages other than English around the world.
    • Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (SPWA): Formerly Worldwide SPE Acquisitions, Inc. A Sony division which acquires and produces about 60 films per year for a wide variety of distribution platforms, especially for non-theatrical markets.
      • Destination Films: A motion picture company which currently specializes in action, thriller, sci-fi, niche and low-end to medium-end horror films was purchased by Sony in 2001.
      • Stage 6 Films: A direct-to-video label created in 2007. Also releases some films theatrically.
      • Affirm Films: A motion picture label launched in 2007 to release gospel and Christian films.

Home Entertainment

Television Group

U.S. production and distribution

  • Sony Pictures Television: (formerly Columbia TriStar Television Group) The successor-in-interest to Columbia's television division (first Screen Gems, later Columbia Pictures Television, TriStar Television, and Columbia TriStar Television), as of 2004 the unit was producing 60 titles for various television outlets globally. Contains a library that includes more than 35,000 episodes of more than 270 television series and 22,000 game show episodes under the Sony Pictures Television brand, and the television rights to the Embassy Pictures library (including The Graduate and The Lion in Winter) and also the owner of the television division "Embassy Television"—among most recent notable shows in this library are Party of Five, The Shield, Seinfeld, The King of Queens, Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless. Their former international distribution division, Sony Pictures Television International, was responsible for global distribution for the SPE film and television properties worldwide. Formerly known as Columbia TriStar International Television from 1992 to 2002.
    • Affirm Television: Affirm Films's television division.[77]
    • Embassy Row: A television and digital production company founded in 2005 by Michael Davies. SPT acquired the company on January 14, 2009.
    • Sony Pictures Television Game Show (SPTGS): The game show production division of SPT formed in 2022.
      • Califon Productions: The production company responsible for Wheel of Fortune.
      • Jeopardy Productions: The production company responsible for Jeopardy!.
    • Sony Pictures Television Music Development (SPTMD): The music development division of SPT formed in 2023.
    • Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction (SPTN): Founded as CKX, Inc. in 2005. With a library of more than 100 series broadcast in over 35 countries as of 2023, this unit produces nonfiction and documentary programming. SPT acquired the company in 2022.[78] Formerly CORE Media Group, Inc. and Industrial Media, LLC.
      • 19 Entertainment: A television production company founded by Simon Fuller in 1985 known for producing the So You Think You Can Dance and Idol franchises.
      • B17 Entertainment: A television production company founded by Rhett Bachner and Brien Meagher in 2013.
      • House of NonFiction: A television production company founded by Alex Stapleton in 2021.
      • Maxine: A television production company founded by Mary Robertson in 2022.
      • Sharp Entertainment: A television production company founded by Matt Sharp in 2003.
      • The Intellectual Property Corporation: A television production company founded by Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman in 2016.
      • This Machine Filmworks: A film and television production company founded by R. J. Cutler in 2020.
      • Trilogy Films: A film and television production company founded by Dawn Porter.
      • UNConventional Entertainment: A television production company founded by Gena McCarthy in 2023.
    • Sony Pictures Television Studios: A production name launched on July 25, 2017, to carry out the SPT library, starting on January 7, 2020.[79]
    • TriStar Television: Originally launched in 1986 and folded into Columbia Pictures Television in 1988. Relaunched in 1991 and became in-name-only in 1999. Relaunched again in 2015 as a production label within SPT.

International production

  • Bad Wolf: Founded by Julie Gardner and Jane Tranter in 2015. SPT acquired the company in 2021.[80][81]
  • Blueprint Television: SPT acquired a minority stake in 2016.
  • Curio Pictures: Formerly Playmaker Media. An Australian production company founded in 2009 by David Taylor and David Maher. SPT acquired the company in 2014.[82]
  • Eleven: Founded by Jamie Campbell and Joel Wilson in 2006. SPT acquired the company in 2020.
  • Eleventh Hour Films: SPT acquired the company in 2018.
  • Fable Pictures
  • Floresta
  • Huaso: A Chinese joint venture production company launched in 2004 by Sony Pictures Television International and Hua Long Film Digital Production Co., Ltd. of the China Film Group in Beijing.[83]
  • Human Media
  • Left Bank Pictures: A British production company founded by Andy Harries, Francis Hopkinson, and Marigo Kehoe in 2007. Majority stake acquired by SPT in 2012 and then full control in 2022.
  • Palladium Fiction
  • Satisfy: A joint venture with Satisfaction Group for France, with SPT holding a 20% stake in the company.
  • Sony Pictures Television Kids (SPTK): Founded as Silvergate Media in 2011. The company is best known for the animated series Hilda and Octonauts. SPT acquired the company in 2019.
  • Stolen Picture: Founded by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in 2016. SPT acquired a minority stake in the company in 2017.
  • Stellify Media: A joint venture between SPT, Kieran Doherty, and Matt Worthy launched in 2014 for Northern Ireland.[84]
  • Teleset: Founded in 1995. SPT acquired the company in 2009.
  • Toro Media
  • The Whisper Group: SPT acquired a minority stake in the company in 2020.[85]

Sony Pictures Television Networks

United States
International
  • AXN: A general entertainment television network launched in 1997 which airs across Asia, Latin America and Europe.
  • Sony Channel: A brand of general entertainment channels.
  • Sony Entertainment Television: An Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel launched in 1995.

Other Sony Pictures operations

  • Columbia TriStar Marketing Group (CTMG)
  • Crunchyroll, LLC: A distributor of anime series and films managed as a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex.
  • Madison Gate Records: A music record label of SPE specializing in soundtracks and other recordings derived from feature films, television series and other media.
  • Pixomondo (PXO): An international visual effects and virtual production studio founded in 2001 by Thilo Kuther. SPE acquired the company in 2022.
  • Sony Pictures Consumer Products: The consumer products division of SPE.
  • Sony Pictures Cable Ventures, Inc.
  • Sony Pictures Europe: Offices located at 25 Golden Square, London, England
  • Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group (SPFEG): The family entertainment unit of SPE founded in 1999.
  • Sony Pictures Interactive
  • Sony Pictures Studios: The actual physical buildings, land and movie-making equipment properties in Culver City, California. Includes 22 sound stages, ranging in size from 7,600 to 43,000 square feet (700 to 4,000 m2)
  • Sony Pictures Studios Post Production Facilities
  • Toei Animation (1.89%, co-owned with Toei Company, TV Asahi, Bandai Namco Filmworks and Fuji Media Holdings): Founded in 1948 by Kenzō Masaoka and Zenjirō Yamamoto, it is best known for the Dragon Ball series, Sailor Moon, One Piece and Saint Seiya.
    • Toei Audio Visual Art Center (TAVAC): The recording facility of the studio.
    • Toei Animation Asia Pacific, Inc.: The Philippines division of the company.
    • Toei Animation Inc.: The American division of the company.
    • Toei Animation Enterprises Limited: The Hong Kong division of the company.
    • Toei Animation Europe S.A.S.: The European division of the company.
    • Toei Animation Music Publishing: The music publishing division of the company.
    • Toei Animation Shanghai Co.: The Chinese division of the company.
  • Worldwide Product Fulfillment

The following are other Sony Pictures divisions that are not subsidiaries of the California-based Sony Pictures Entertainment, but are instead subsidiaries of the main Tokyo-based Sony Group Corporation.

Notes

  1. ^ Sony Pictures Releasing became Sony Pictures's current film distributor in 1994.

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