Miramax Films

Miramax Films is an American motion picture distribution and production company. It was headquartered in Los Angeles, California before being bought out by The Walt Disney Company.

Miramax, LLC
TypeJoint venture
Industry
FoundedDecember 19, 1979 (1979-12-19)
Buffalo, New York, United States
FoundersHarvey and Bob Weinstein
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
,
U.S.
Key people
  • Bill Block (CEO)
Owners
Number of employees
100+
Parent
Divisions
WebsiteOfficial website

It was created by the brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in Buffalo, New York in 1979.[1] The name comes from combining the first names of their parents Max and Miriam.[1] The company was created to distribute independent films which the major movie studio did not think were worth distributing.

The company's first success came when the Weinsteins teamed up with British producer Martin Lewis. They got the US rights to two concert movies of benefit shows for human rights organization Amnesty International. The Weinsteins worked with Lewis to combine the two movies into one movie. The movie The Secret Policeman's Other Ball was a successful release for Miramax in the summer of 1982.

Among the company's most well known movies as distributors were The Crying Game, sex, lies, and videotape, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and Scandal. The company also made movies such as Pulp Fiction[1] and Shakespeare In Love

Miramax also produced many movies which made a lot of money. The company became one of the leaders of the independent film revolution of the 1990s. It produced or distributed seven movies that made more than $100 million at the box office. Its most successful movie, Chicago, earned more than $300 million.[2]

In 1993, The Walt Disney Company bought Miramax for $80 million.[1] Harvey and Bob Weinstein ran Miramax until they left the company on September 30, 2005. The Weinstein brothers ran Miramax separately of other Disney companies. However, Disney had the final say on what Miramax could release.

Miramax also has a family films division, Miramax Family Films.

Miramax is one of the Big Ten movie studios.

In 2011, Disney sold the Miramax library of movies to Filmyard Holdings for $663 million. After the sale, Miramax signed home video distribution deals with Lionsgate, Echo Bridge and .StudioCanal.

In 2016, Miramax was sold to beIN Media Group. In 2019, beIN sold 49 percent of Miramax to Paramount Pictures, which will distribute all of Miramax's movies.

1980s
  • The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1982)
  • Playing for Keeps (1986) (produced by Miramax but distributed by Universal Pictures)
  • Yellow Pages (1988)

1990s

2000s
  • A Hard Day's Night (2000 theatrical reissue of 1964 movie)
  • Bounce (2000)
  • Committed (2000)
  • Hellraiser: Inferno (2000)
  • Love's Labour's Lost (2000)
  • Malèna (2000)
  • Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)
  • The Yards (2000)
  • Bridget Jones's Diary (2001, with Universal Pictures)
  • Chocolat (2001)
  • Daddy and Them (2001)
  • Get Over It (2001)
  • Iris (2001)
  • Kate & Leopold (2001)
  • On the Line (2001)
  • The Shipping News (2001)
  • Tears of the Black Tiger (2001, never released, rights sold in 2006 to Magnolia Pictures)
  • 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002, with Universal Pictures)
  • Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
  • Cypher (2002)
  • Frida (2002)
  • Full Frontal (2002)
  • Gangs of New York (2002)
  • Naqoyqatsi (2002)
  • Pinocchio (2002) (English dub, distributor)
  • Pokémon 4Ever (2002) (English dub, distributor)
  • Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) (U.S. distributor)
  • Stolen Summer (2002)
  • Tadpole (2002)
  • The Hours (2002, with Paramount Pictures)
  • The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
  • The Adventures of Tom Thumb and Thumbelina (2002) (distributor, direct-to-video)
  • Undisputed (2002)
  • Valentín (2002)
  • Waking Up in Reno (2002)
  • Bionicle: Mask of Light (2003)
  • Chicago (2003)
  • Cold Mountain (2003)
  • Duplex (2003)
  • Kill Bill Volume 1 (2003)
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003, with 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures)
  • Pokémon Heroes (2003) (English dub, distributor)
  • The Battle of Shaker Heights (2003)
  • The Human Stain (2003)
  • View from the Top (2003)
  • Deep Blue (2003, With BBC worldwide)
  • The Aviator (2004, co-production with Warner Bros.)
  • Kill Bill Volume 2 (2004)
  • Bionicle 2: Legends of Metru Nui (2004)
  • Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004, with Universal Pictures)
  • Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004)
  • Garden State (2004, with Fox Searchlight Pictures)
  • Hero (2002, released by Miramax in 2004)
  • Jersey Girl (2004)
  • My Baby's Daddy (2004)
  • Finding Neverland (2004)
  • Paper Clips (2004) (distributor)
  • Pokémon: Jirachi Wishmaker (2004) (English dub, US distributor, direct-to-video)
  • Shall We Dance? (2004)
  • Roll Bounce (2005)
  • Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows (2005)
  • Cinderella Man (2005, with Universal Pictures)
  • Deep Blue (2005) (distributor)
  • Derailed (2005, with The Weinstein Company)
  • Dracula III: Legacy (2005)
  • Hellraiser: Deader (2005)
  • Hostage (2005)
  • Kinky Boots (2005)
  • Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (2005) (English dub, distributor, direct-to-video)
  • Proof (2005)
  • The Great Raid (2005)
  • Tsotsi (2005)
  • Underclassman (2005)
  • Hollywoodland (2006, with Focus Features)
  • Scary Movie 4 (2006, with Dimension Films)
  • The Queen (2006)
  • The Hoax (2006)
  • Breaking and Entering (2006, co-production with The Weinstein Company, distributed in US theaters by TWC and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
  • The Lookout (2007) (co-production with Spyglass Entertainment)
  • Wacky Movie

Further reading
  • Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film by Peter Biskind (Simon & Schuster, 2004)

References
  1. "Miramax offices close, Disney says brand continues". Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  2. "Chicago (2002) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com.

Other websites
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