Trimark Pictures

Trimark Pictures was an American[1] production company that specialized in the production and distribution of motion pictures for the home video market.[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] Trimark licensed and distributed theatrical, independent, made-for-TV, along direct-to-video films. The logo features a triangle with a profile of a tiger's head.

Among the company's several releases are Peter Jackson's 1992 film Dead Alive, which they chose to release theatrically due to Jackson's cult following.[4] They are well known for releasing films that 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 spot.[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 ABC 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 its R-rated feature film Demonwarp.

Trimark picked up its first film, Warlock, a 1989 film starring Julian Sands which was a major theatrical hit. Finally, Trimark made the sequel, titled Warlock: The Armageddon, but officially released in 1993. Trimark also saw success in other intimate film series where the studio produced and distributed its horror film Leprechaun, which released in 1993, starring future Friends actress Jennifer Aniston and Warwick Davis as the sinister leprechaun. The film 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 the Time Warner-owned, pay-TV channel HBO, Return of the Living Dead III and Pinocchio's Revenge. Trimark also made the dramatic Eve's Bayou, starring Samuel L. Jackson and a young Jurnee Smollett, 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]

At the end of 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 variegation of its distribution streams. In March 1993, the company formed its virtual division Trimark Interactive. The division expands 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 Canadian/US film company 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 all of the Roku streaming players using the Vidmark name and a modified variant of their late 1980s logo, with Lionsgate-owned films, including some from the original Vidmark and Trimark, amongst the selection.[10]

Filmography

List of distributed video games