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CBS Theatrical Films

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CBS Theatrical Films
TypeDivision
PredecessorCinema Center Films
Founded1979
DefunctNovember 1985
FateClosed
SuccessorCBS Films (2007–2019)
Paramount Pictures (film library, 1999–present)
Headquarters
United States
Area served
Worldwide
ParentCBS
Not to be confused with CBS Films.

CBS Theatrical Films, also as CBS Theatrical Films Group, was the film production branch of the U.S. television network, CBS, which was active from 1979 to 1985.

CBS was also a partner in TriStar Pictures, which started as a joint venture with Columbia Pictures (owned then by The Coca-Cola Company), and Time, Inc.'s HBO. CBS was an owner in TriStar from the start in 1982 to 1985.[1][2]

Discover more about CBS Theatrical Films related topics

CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainment Group division of Paramount Global.

TriStar Pictures

TriStar Pictures

TriStar Pictures, Inc. is an American film studio and production company that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, part of the multinational conglomerate Sony. It is a corporate sibling of Sony studio Columbia Pictures.

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multinational conglomerate Sony.

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892, best known as the producer of Coca-Cola. The drink industry company also manufactures, sells, and markets other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. The company's stock is listed on the NYSE and is part of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.

HBO

HBO

Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based at Warner Bros. Discovery's corporate headquarters inside 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan's West Side district. Programming featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional comedy and concert specials, and periodic interstitial programs.

History

CBS began its theatrical films operation in 1979, headed by Donald March, and turned the operation into the separate CBS Theatrical Films division on December 2, 1980.[3] In March 1980, the unit was promoted to group level, same as the broadcast and records groups, as CBS Theatrical Films Group with Michael Levy as group president reporting directly to CBS president Thomas H. Wyman.[4] Before 1985, Self was president of production.[5] None of its releases were commercial successes.[6]

On December 17, 1984, it was merged with the CBS Worldwide Enterprises branch to form CBS Productions (unrelated to the later production company of the same name).[7] In 1985, CBS Productions decided to wind down their operations, which was fully closed in November 1985.[8]

Closure

Several factors contributed to the closure of CBS Theatrical Films. As a so-called boutique, it was disadvantaged because it was usually only offered left over films after the major studios had selected the more likely commercial successes. Television movies did better in the ratings than theater films already released via cable and video. With additional startup boutiques, the market was overcrowded causing box office strain at the same time movie production costs doubled to $10 million with marketing matching that level. Another factor was that as a boutique, CBS Theatrical Films did not have a distribution system, so had to release its films through major studios, which sometimes resulted in disadvantageous release dates.[6] CBS announced CBS Theatrical Films's closure in November 1985.[6] After the closure, CBS Productions' assets were sold to international film backer J&M Film Sales, which included all the foreign licensing contracts that were previously handled by the studio, and four planned CBS titles were sold to J&M Film Sales on May 28, 1986.[9] The Challenge and their final production The Lightship were released through Embassy Pictures and Castle Hill Productions respectively. Today, Paramount Pictures (through former parent company Viacom's acquisition of CBS in 1999) owns the rights to the library, with certain films licensed to Kino Lorber.

Discover more about History related topics

CBS Productions

CBS Productions

CBS Productions was a production arm of the CBS television network, now a part of Paramount Global, formed in 1952 to produce shows in-house, instead of relying solely on outside productions. One of its first productions was Studio One, a drama anthology series.

The Challenge (1982 film)

The Challenge (1982 film)

The Challenge is a 1982 American action film directed by John Frankenheimer and written by John Sayles, Richard Maxwell, and Marc Norman. The film stars Scott Glenn and Toshirō Mifune, and features several aikido-based action scenes choreographed by Steven Seagal, prior to the start of his own film career.

The Lightship

The Lightship

The Lightship is a 1985 American drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski. The film stars Klaus Maria Brandauer and Robert Duvall, with early appearances by Arliss Howard and William Forsythe.

Embassy Pictures

Embassy Pictures

Embassy Pictures Corporation was an American independent film production and distribution studio responsible for such films as The Graduate, The Producers, The Fog, The Howling, Escape from New York, and This Is Spinal Tap.

Castle Hill Productions

Castle Hill Productions

Castle Hill Productions was an independent television and film distribution company handling classic and independent films whose library spans eight decades.

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global. It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest film studio in the United States, and the sole member of the "Big Five" film studios located within the city limits of Los Angeles.

Viacom (1952–2006)

Viacom (1952–2006)

The original incarnation of Viacom Inc. was an American media conglomerate based in New York City. It began as CBS Television Film Sales, the broadcast syndication division of the CBS television network in 1952; it was renamed CBS Films in 1958, renamed CBS Enterprises in 1968, renamed Viacom in 1970, and spun off into its own company in 1971. Viacom was a distributor of CBS television series throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and also distributed syndicated television programs.

Kino Lorber

Kino Lorber

Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, such as documentary films, classic films from earlier periods in the history of cinema, and world cinema. In addition to theatrical distribution, Kino Lorber releases films in the home entertainment market and has its own streaming services for its digital library.

Films

Main article: List of films produced by CBS

Source: "CBS Theatrical Films", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 18th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBS_Theatrical_Films.

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Further Reading

TriStar Pictures

Carolco Pictures

Sony Pictures

Columbia Pictures Television

TriStar Television

20th Century Home Entertainment

ELP Communications

Vestron Video

Cinema Center Films
References
  1. ^ Lumenick, Lou (May 16, 2009). "CBS And Theatrical Films: If At First You Don't Succeed..." NY Post.com. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  2. ^ "CBS Sells Stake In Tri-Star Inc". The New York Times. Associated Press. 16 November 1985.
  3. ^ "CBS turns theatrical films operations into division". The Wall Street Journal. 1980-12-02.
  4. ^ Curran, Trisha (June 28, 1981). "CBS Wants to Star In the Movies--As One of the Major Film Producers". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  5. ^ Barnes, Mike (November 18, 2010). "Former Producer, Fox TV Exec William Self Dies". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Harmetz, Aljean (November 23, 1985). "Abc, Cbs Drop Movie Interests". Orlando Sentinel.
  7. ^ "CBS structures new marketing unit" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1984-12-17. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  8. ^ "CBS Winding Down". Variety. 1985-11-20. p. 3.
  9. ^ "Leftover CBS Prods. Taken Over By J&M". Variety. 1986-05-28. p. 28.
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