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Trimark Pictures

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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.

Trimark Pictures
FormerlyVidmark Entertainment (1984–1989)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFilm
FoundedAugust 1984; 40 years ago (1984-08) (as Vidmark Entertainment)
June 23, 1989; 35 years ago (1989-06-23) (as Trimark Pictures)
FounderMark Amin
DefunctMarch 12, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-03-12)
FateMerged with Lionsgate
HeadquartersSanta Monica, California,
United States
Key people
Mark Amin (Chairman & CEO)
ProductsMotion Pictures
ParentVidmark, Inc. (1985–1995)
Trimark Holdings (1995–2000)
Lions Gate Entertainment (2000–2001)
DivisionsTrimark Interactive[1]
Trimark Television
Kidmark Entertainment
Trimark Home Video
SubsidiariesCinemaNow (formerly)
Trimark Ultra Sports

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

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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

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Year Title Release Date Distribution Notes
Theatrical Direct to video
1988 Demonwarp March 18 No Yes
Body Beat November 30 No Yes
1989 Going Overboard May 12 Yes No
A Fool and His Money September 24 Yes No
High Stakes November 17 Yes No
1990 The Sleeping Car February 9 No Yes
The Amityville Curse June 6 No Yes
Solar Crisis July 14 Yes No
Spirits September 15 No Yes distribution only;
produced by Cinema Group
Mob Boss September 16 No Yes distribution only;
produced by American Independent
Backstreet Dreams September 29 Yes No
Frankenstein Unbound November 2 Yes No co-production with 20th Century Fox
1991 Warlock January 11 Yes No
Black Magic Woman April 17 No Yes
Servants of Twilight May 31 Yes No
Kickboxer 2 June 14 Yes No
Whore October 4 Yes No
Dolly Dearest October 18 Yes No
And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird November 15 Yes No
All-American Murder December 1 No Yes
1992 Into the Sun January 31 Yes No
The Psychic May 20 Yes No
Interceptor October 1 Yes No
Prototype December 23 No Yes
1993 Leprechaun January 8 Yes No
Dead Alive February 12 Yes No
American Kickboxer 2 August 4 No Yes
Blink of an Eye August 26 No Yes
Warlock: The Armageddon September 24 Yes No
Thunder in Paradise September 27 No Yes
Deadfall October 8 Yes No
Return of the Living Dead III October 29 Yes No
Philadelphia Experiment II November 12 Yes No
Cyborg 2: Glass Shadow November 24 No Yes
1994 Death Wish V: The Face of Death January 14 Yes No distribution only;
produced by 21st Century Film Corporation
Silent Tongue February 25 Yes No
Leprechaun 2 April 8 Yes No
Return to Two Moon Junction May 11 Yes No
Trading Mom May 13 Yes No
Freefall May 25 No Yes distribution only;
produced by Nu Image
Love Is a Gun June 1 No Yes
Curse of the Starving Class September 13 No Yes
Criminal Passion September 21 Yes No
Running Free October 5 No Yes
Frank and Jesse October 28 Yes No
Dangerous Touch November 2 No Yes
Hong Kong '97 November 9 No Yes
Love and a .45 November 23 Yes No
The Stoned Age December 5 Yes No
Federal Hill December 9 Yes No
1995 Payback January 10 Yes No
Night of the Running Man January 19 Yes No
Swimming with Sharks April 21 Yes No
Heatseeker June 27 Yes No
Leprechaun 3 June 27 No Yes
A Kid in King Arthur's Court August 11 Yes No co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures
Separate Lives September 8 Yes No
Kicking and Screaming October 6 Yes No
The Doom Generation October 25 Yes No
1996 Evolver February 10 Yes No co-production with A Band Apart
True Crime March 12 No Yes
Two Guys Talkin' About Girls June 18 No Yes aka At First Sight
Crimetime August 4 Yes No
Sometimes They Come Back... Again September 3 No Yes
Pinocchio's Revenge October 7 No Yes
The Dentist October 18 No Yes
1997 Meet Wally Sparks January 31 Yes No
Leprechaun 4: In Space February 25 No Yes
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love February 28 Yes No
Frankenstein and Me March 18 No Yes
Nothing Personal April 25 Yes No
Ripe May 2 Yes No
Sprung May 16 Yes No
Box of Moonlight July 25 Yes No
First Love, Last Rites September 10 Yes No
Trucks October 29 No Yes
Eve's Bayou November 7 Yes No Inducted into the National Film Registry in 2018
1998 Star Kid January 16 Yes No
The Curve January 24 Yes No
Chairman of the Board March 13 Yes No
Chinese Box April 17 Yes No
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss July 24 Yes No
A Kid in Aladdin's Palace July 28 No Yes
Carnival of Souls August 21 Yes No limited release
Phoenix September 4 Yes No distribution only;
produced by Lakeshore Entertainment
Cube September 11 Yes No
Trance September 18 Yes No
Slam October 7 Yes No
The Landlady November 10 No Yes
The Dentist 2 December 11 No Yes
Hitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows December 20 No Yes
Another Day in Paradise December 30 Yes No
1999 King Cobra April 27 No Yes
The Sex Monster May 5 Yes No
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn May 9 No Yes
Twice Upon a Yesterday May 28 Yes No
Diplomatic Siege June 10 No Yes
Better Than Chocolate August 13 Yes No
Sometimes They Come Back... for More September 7 No Yes
The Delivery September 16 No Yes Dutch film; international distribution only; produced by Two Independent Film and Veronica
Romance September 17 Yes No
Atomic Train September 21 No Yes
Warlock III: The End of Innocence October 12 No Yes
Joe the King October 15 Yes No
Tail Lights Fade December 3 Yes No
Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying December 27 No Yes
2000 Beautiful People February 18 Yes No
Cut March 2 No Yes
Leprechaun in the Hood March 28 No Yes
The Last September April 21 Yes No
Held Up May 12 Yes No
Cord May 23 No Yes
Flypaper June 27 No Yes
History Is Made at Night July 11 Yes No
The Perfect Tenant July 25 No Yes
Attraction September 20 No Yes
Uninvited Guest September 22 No Yes
The Bogus Witch Project October 10 No Yes
Faust: Love of the Damned October 12 Yes No
Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th October 17 No Yes
After Alice October 24 No Yes
The Stepdaughter October 31 No Yes
What's Cooking? November 17 Yes No
The Sr. Francisville Experiment December 5 No Yes
South of Heaven, West of Hell December 15 Yes No
XChange December 20 No Yes
2001 Skipped Parts January 4 Yes No
Killer Bud March 13 No Yes
After the Storm March 20 No Yes
Turbulence 3: Heavy Metal May 13 No Yes
Blood Surf June 26 No Yes

List of distributed video games

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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

References

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  1. ^ a b "MobyGames Profile-Trimark Interactive".
  2. ^ Jeffrey, Don (May 30, 1992). "Vidmark reports strong sales in 3rd qtr, but profits down, a third, are weak". Billboard (p 51). Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  3. ^ Levison, Louise (2013). Filmmakers and Financing: Business Plans for Independents. Focal Press. p. 120. ISBN 9780240820996.
  4. ^ Konow, Peter (2012). Reel Terror: The Scary, Bloody, Gory, Hundred-Year History of Classic Horror Films. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 479. ISBN 9780312668839.
  5. ^ Jenni Olson, Bruce Vilanch (2004). The Queer Movie Poster Book. Chronicle Books. p. 122. ISBN 9780811842617.
  6. ^ "Vidmark Acquires Six ABC Telefilms; Eyes 'Moonlighting'". Variety. 1986-04-02. p. 39.
  7. ^ Bierbaum, Tom (1987-08-12). "HV Outfit Vidmark On Theatrical Scene With Pickups, In-Houser". Variety. pp. 20, 22.
  8. ^ "Vidmark stock trading". Variety. 1990-07-04. p. 6.
  9. ^ "Lions Gate, Trimark set to merge". 5 June 2000.
  10. ^ "Vidmark | Movies & TV | Roku Channel Store". Roku. Retrieved February 22, 2018.
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