PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

This article is about the defunct PolyGram Filmed Entertainment whose assets belong to Universal Pictures. For the former record company and Universal Music Group's current film unit, see PolyGram.

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (formerly known as Filmworks, Casablanca Records & Filmworks, PolyGram Films and PolyGram Pictures or simply PFE) was a film production company founded in 1975 as an American film studio, which became a European competitor to Hollywood within two decades, but was eventually sold to Seagram Company Ltd. in 1998 and was folded a year later. Among its most successful and well known films were The Deep (1977), Midnight Express (1978), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Flashdance (1983), Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Dead Man Walking (1995), The Big Lebowski (1998), Fargo (1996), The Usual Suspects (1995), The Game (1997), Barney's Great Adventure (1998) and Notting Hill (1999).

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment logo, used from 1997 until 1999
Formerly	Filmworks (1975–1976) Casablanca Record & Filmworks (1976–1980) PolyGram Pictures (1980–1983)
Company type	Subsidiary
Predecessor	Casablanca Filmworks
Founded	1975; 49 years ago (1975)
Founders	Peter Guber
Defunct	1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Fate	Acquired by Seagram and folded into Universal Pictures; majority of assets were sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Some of its North American distribution assets sold to USA Networks
Successors	Studio: Universal Pictures USA Films Focus Features PolyGram Entertainment Library: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (pre-April 1996 films with exceptions) Universal Pictures (post-March 1996 films with exceptions and some pre-March 1996 films)
Owner	Philips (1980–1998) Seagram (1998–1999)
Parent	PolyGram (1980–1998) Universal Pictures (1998–1999)
Divisions	PolyGram Television PolyGram Video

Evolution of Comcast NBCUniversal

1912	Universal Pictures is founded
1926	NBC is founded
1928	Walter Lantz Productions is established
1943	MCA Inc. establishes Revue Studios (later Universal Television)
1953	NBC begins first compatible color broadcasts, preceding other networks by nine years
1956	NBC's first peacock logo debuts
1963	American Cable Systems is founded
1964	Universal Studios Hollywood opens
1967	NBC broadcasts the first Super Bowl
1968	American Cable Systems rebrands to Comcast
1972	Comcast began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
1975	Universal releases Jaws
1980	PolyGram renames Casablanca Record & Filmworks to PolyGram Pictures MCA Videocassette‚ Inc. (Later Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is established
1982	Universal releases E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
1984	Walter Lantz Productions' assets are sold to Universal Telemundo is founded
1985	Universal releases Back to the Future
1986	General Electric buys RCA for $6.4 billion, including NBC and a stake in A&E
1989	NBC relaunches Tempo Television as CNBC
1990	Universal Studios Florida opens Law & Order premieres on NBC Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting merge to form British Sky Broadcasting Universal Cartoon Studios (later Universal Animation Studios) is established
1993	Universal releases Jurassic Park
1994	DreamWorks Animation is founded
1996	NBC and Microsoft replace America's Talking with MSNBC
1997	Barry Diller purchases Universal's domestic television assets
1998	Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Universal Television is renamed Studios USA Television
1999	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is folded into Universal Pictures Universal Studios Florida expands to become Universal Orlando Resort Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premieres on NBC
2001	Grand opening of Universal Studios Japan Universal releases The Fast and the Furious Vivendi purchases Studios USA
2002	NBC acquires Telemundo and Bravo Studios USA assets are folded into Universal Focus Features is formed Comcast acquires AT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion
2003	Universal becomes the first studio with five summer releases breaking the $100 million mark
2004	GE and Vivendi merge NBC and Universal into NBCUniversal
2005	The Office premieres on NBC Comcast sets up a joint-venture with PBS, Sesame Workshop & HIT Entertainment to form PBS Kids Sprout Comcast & Time Warner Cable jointly acquire Adelphia Cable assets for $17.6 billion
2006	USA Network begins 13-year streak as #1 cable network in total viewers
2007	Illumination is founded
2010	Universal releases Illumination's first film Despicable Me
2011	Vivendi divested in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company NBCUniversal Archives is founded
2012	Universal celebrates its 100th anniversary NBCUniversal divests its A&E Networks minority stake
2013	Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU Comcast/NBCU assumes full ownership of Sprout
2014	Comcast attempts to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion NBCUniversal reaches a new long-term deal with WWE
2016	NBCU acquires DreamWorks Animation
2017	Sprout relaunches as Universal Kids
2018	Comcast acquires Sky after a heated bidding war with 21st Century Fox
2019	NBCU acquires Cineo Lighting
2020	NBCU launches Peacock
2021	Grand opening of Universal Beijing Resort
2023	The Super Mario Bros. Movie becomes Illumination's highest-grossing film
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Overview

In 1975, Peter Guber formed its own production company FilmWorks, then in 1976, it became Casablanca Records & FilmWorks after a merger with Casablanca Records, which PolyGram got a 50% by 1977, and by 1980, PolyGram took the other 50% stake in the company and renamed the film unit as PolyGram Pictures.

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, PolyGram continued to invest in a diversified film unit with the purchases of individual production companies. In 1995, PolyGram purchased ITC Entertainment for $156 million.

In May 1998, PolyGram was sold to Seagram, which owned Universal Pictures and Universal Music Group (UMG), for $10 billion. Seagram sold off some of PolyGram's assets while mainly acquiring its music division: the ITC Entertainment library was sold to Carlton Communications for £91 million, the pre-March 1996 PFE library was sold to MGM, and PolyGram's US distribution operation was sold to USA Network.

After many of its assets were sold, the remains of PolyGram's film division were folded into Universal Pictures. When the newly formed entertainment division of Seagram faced financial difficulties, it was sold to Vivendi, and MCA became known as Universal Studios, as Seagram ceased to exist.

Vivendi remained the majority owner of the UMG until 2021, when it sold most of its stake. MGM owns the rights to most of the pre-April 1996 library, and the remaining post-March 1996 film and television library is owned by NBCUniversal.

In 2017, Universal Music Group established a film and television division, resurrecting the PolyGram Entertainment name.^[1]

History

FilmWorks, Casablanca Records & FilmWorks and PolyGram Pictures

In 1975, Peter Guber quit Columbia Pictures to start out FilmWorks with a producing deal. A year later, during the production of The Deep, it was merged with Casablanca Records to form Casablanca Records & FilmWorks.^[2] The company would enjoy success with The Deep and Midnight Express. The music company PolyGram (owned by Dutch-based Philips and Germany's Siemens) bought out its share of Casablanca Records & FilmWorks in 1977. Two years later, in 1979, Casablanca Record & Filmworks left Columbia Pictures to join Universal Pictures, and gave Casablanca Records & Filmworks creative control over the pictures.^[3] A year later, PolyGram took on its stake of the company and it was renamed to PolyGram Pictures in 1980.^[4] PolyGram reserved the finances and Guber would run as CEO. Guber would form a partnership with Barbra Streisand's hairdresser Jon Peters, who co-produced his client's A Star Is Born remake. Peters would produce PolyGram's films, and eventually become a stockholder with Guber.^[5] He had intended to work with Boardwalk Records, but he was forced to join PolyGram Pictures instead.^[6][7][3]

The first film under the Universal/PolyGram alliance was King of the Mountain (1981), which was a box-office flop. More money-losers followed. Ancillary markets such as home video and pay television were not yet established, and broadcast television networks were paying less for licenses to films. PolyGram's European investors were not happy; they had lost about $80 million on its film division. Not long after, Siemens parted with Philips. Guber and Peters left PolyGram Pictures in 1982, taking their plans for a new Batman movie with them, along with a few other projects. The duo eventually found a home at Warner Bros. A part of their exit proceedings, PolyGram would still own 7.5% of profits from some of its projects, including the 1989 Batman film.^[5] Also in 1980, PolyGram launched a syndicated television division, PolyGram Television, to be headed by former Columbia Pictures Television syndication executive Norman Horowitz,^[8] both the film and TV units eventually closed down by 1983 after a string of first-run syndication strip flops.^[9]

PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

In the early 1980s, PolyGram Video was launched. PolyGram Video, headed by Michael Kuhn and David Hockman, was created to distribute concert films and feature films acquired from third-parties, as well as long-form music videos; in 1986, a joint venture with Heron Communications, Channel 5 Video began operation.^[10] Channel 5 Video later began to obtain the rights to titles from Heron's US children's arm, Hi-Tops Video.^[11] Kuhn and Hockman were able to parlay PolyGram Video's success into financing feature films. The first film produced by PolyGram's new film division was P.I. Private Investigations in 1987.^[12] During the late 1980s and early 1990s, PolyGram continued to invest in a diversified film unit with the purchases of individual production companies.^[13] In 1989, PolyGram launched Manifesto Film Sales to handle the licensing of films outside North America.^[14] In 1991, PolyGram's Michael Kuhn became the head of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment,^[13] with US$200 million pumped in with the intention of developing a European film studio that could produce and distribute films internationally on a scale to match the major Hollywood studios.

Following the style of its music business, the company produced films through a number of creatively semi-autonomous 'labels', such as Working Title Films in the United Kingdom and Propaganda Films and Interscope Communications in the United States; it also built up its own network of distribution companies.

Film production within PolyGram differed from traditional Hollywood studios, in that power to make ('green light') a film was not centralised in the hands of a small number of executives, but instead was decided by negotiations between producers, management and marketing. Kuhn claimed that "movies sort of green lit themselves."

In 1993, PolyGram purchased the video arm of Virgin Group from General Electric Capital for $5.6 million and remodeled the label as Vision Video Ltd.

PolyGram also built up a sizable film and television library that could be profitable. In 1995, the company purchased ITC Entertainment for $156 million.^[15] Through this purchase, PolyGram acquired 350 feature films, several thousand hours of television programming, and gained further access into the television market.^[13] That same year, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment acquired a 75% majority stake in British home video distributor Abbey Home Entertainment. In 1997, PFE agreed to purchase the Epic film library, which included a thousand feature films from a variety of companies, from Crédit Lyonnais for $225 million.^[16] PolyGram also attempted purchasing MGM^[17] and The Samuel Goldwyn Company's library,^[18] but to no avail. In July 1998, PolyGram was in talks to sell their stake in Abbey Home Entertainment back to Ian and Anne Miles, letting AHE trade independently again. On December 7, 1997, PolyGram and Warner Bros. reached a deal to co-finance films produced by Castle Rock Entertainment.^[19]

PFE's film distribution arm was based in the United Kingdom, and invested heavily in British film making — some credit it with reviving the British film industry in the 1990s. Despite a successful production history, new Philips CEO Cor Boonstra began to draw back Philips' media operations, excepting their stake in PolyGram, in 1997.^[20] At the time, Philips was seen as a bloated conglomerate riddled with problems; Boonstra initially denied that PolyGram would be sold.^[21] However, by early 1998, Boonstra's attitude had shifted and various bidders began to make themselves known, as Philips began to pursue a manufacturing-only business model.^[22] At the same time, PolyGram had been suffering from their own internal issues, chiefly a series of loss-making films and a lack of major pop music hits.^[23] In hindsight, analysts have also pointed to another reason for Boonstra's sale of the assets, namely Philips manufacturing blank CDs, as music piracy subsequently impacted the music industry hugely in the years afterwards.^[24]

Philips ultimately decided to sell PolyGram to the beverage conglomerate Seagram in 1998 (Seagram had chosen PolyGram over EMI because of PolyGram's better management)^[25][26]; only interested in PolyGram's music operations, Seagram, which at the time controlled Universal Pictures, looked forward to divesting in PFE. After being dissatisfied with offers to buy the studio (including a joint venture between Canal+ and Artisan Entertainment), Seagram opted to sell off individual assets and folded whatever remained into Universal.^[27] In October 1998, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)^[28] paid $235–250 million to acquire 1,300 films released before March 31, 1996, from PolyGram.^[29] In 1999, the ITC library was sold to Carlton Communications (later known as ITV Studios) for $150 million.^[30] Some of PFE's North American distribution assets were sold to USA Networks.^[31] Universal would later take over the remaining titles, which included a third of the pre-April 1996 films, as well as PolyGram Television's library. Universal would eventually set up their international arm from the ashes of PFE's international division on February 9, 1999, that included theatrical and video distribution when its contracts with United International Pictures and CIC Video expired.^[32] After the box office failure of Mickey Blue Eyes, a title inherited from PolyGram that became one of the few titles that were self-distributed by Universal internationally, all the theatrical assets of Universal Pictures International were merged with United International Pictures, which continued to exist until 2007.^[33]

PolyGram Video took over the distribution of Manga Entertainment's titles in Australia and New Zealand in late 1996 after Siren Entertainment's license to the Manga Video catalog expired, but PolyGram lost the license to the Manga Video catalog in 1998 after Madman Entertainment took over the licenses. This was due to Manga Entertainment being moved from Island Records to Palm Pictures.

Relaunch as PolyGram Entertainment

Main article: PolyGram § PolyGram Entertainment

Production companies

• Working Title Films (UK), acquired by PFE in 1991.
• Propaganda Films (US), acquired by PFE in 1991.
• Interscope Communications (US), acquired by PFE in 1994.
• Gramercy Pictures (US), launched by PFE and Universal in 1992.
• ITC Entertainment (UK), acquired by PFE in 1995.
• A&M Films (theatrical film division of A&M Records)
• Island Pictures (theatrical film division of Island Records), acquired December 1994, closed 1997.^[34]
• Cinéa (France)
• PolyGram Video
  • 4 Front Video
  • Abbey Home Entertainment (UK), 75% majority stake acquired by PFE in 1995. Sold back to original owners in 1998.
  • Channel 5 Video (joint venture with Heron Communications)^[10]
  • Vision Video Ltd
    • Astrion Plc
• PolyGram Television
• PolyGram Visual Programming

US distribution

In 1992, PolyGram partnered with Universal Pictures to create a joint venture called Gramercy Pictures. Gramercy primarily distributed PolyGram films in the United States, and it doubled as a specialty label for Universal. In January 1996, PolyGram bought out Universal^[35] and in 1997, PolyGram Films was founded to release PFE's mainstream titles in the United States, while Gramercy became a low-budget/art-house sublabel.^[36][37] PolyGram Films' first release was The Game.^[37][35] After PolyGram's merger with Universal in 1999, the company merged Gramercy with October Films, which included its subsidiary Rogue Pictures^[38] to create USA Films, which eventually became Focus Features. Gramercy was revived in 2015 as a label of Focus Features,^[39] but shut down and went dormant the next year.

Selected films

Among the films directly produced by PFE were:

1970s

Release Date	Title	Notes
17 June 1977	The Deep	co-production with Columbia Pictures and EMI Films
19 May 1978	Thank God It's Friday	co-production with Columbia Pictures and Motown Productions
6 October 1978	Midnight Express	co-production with Columbia Pictures
9 February 1979	Agatha	co-production with First Artists and Warner Bros.

1980s

Release Date	Title	Notes
29 February 1980	Foxes	co-production with United Artists
30 May 1980	The Hollywood Knights	co-production with Columbia Pictures
1 May 1981	King of the Mountain	co-production with Universal Pictures
17 July 1981	Endless Love	co-production with Universal Pictures
14 August 1981	Deadly Blessing	distributed by United Artists
21 August 1981	An American Werewolf in London	co-production with Universal Pictures
13 November 1981	The Pursuit of D. B. Cooper	co-production with Universal Pictures
12 March 1982	Missing	co-production with Universal Pictures
3 October 1982	Split Image	distributed by Orion Pictures
24 December 1982	Six Weeks	co-production with Universal Pictures
15 April 1983	Flashdance	co-production with Paramount Pictures
13 December 1985	A Chorus Line	co-production with Columbia Pictures and Embassy Pictures
	Clue	co-production with Paramount Pictures
05 June 1987	P.I. Private Investigations	co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
22 April 1988	The Blue Iguana	co-production with Paramount Pictures
24 March 1989	Troop Beverly Hills	co-production with Weintraub Entertainment Group
23 June 1989	Batman	co-production with Warner Bros. and The Guber-Peters Company
27 October 1989	Kill Me Again	co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
8 December 1989	Fear, Anxiety & Depression	co-production with The Samuel Goldwyn Company

1990s

Release Date	Title	Notes
27 July 1990	Chicago Joe and the Showgirl	co-production with New Line Cinema and Working Title Films
17 August 1990	Wild at Heart	co-production with The Samuel Goldwyn Company (co-owned by MGM and Universal)
14 September 1990	Fools of Fortune	co-production with New Line Cinema
24 May 1991	Drop Dead Fred	co-production with New Line Cinema and Working Title Films (owned by Universal)
21 August 1991	Barton Fink	distributed by 20th Century Fox; co-production with Working Title Films (co-owned by Disney and Universal)
15 November 1991	Driving Me Crazy	co-production with Motion Picture Corporation of America
17 January 1992	A Gnome Named Gnorm	co-production with Vestron Pictures
27 March 1992	Ruby	co-production with Triumph Films
15 May 1992	Rubin & Ed	co-production with Working Title Films (owned by Sony)
19 June 1992	Batman Returns	distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with DC Comics, Tim Burton Productions and De Novi Pictures
7 August 1992	London Kills Me	distributed by New Line Cinema; co-production with Fine Line Features
4 September 1992	Bob Roberts	distributed by Paramount Pictures; co-production with Miramax Films, Live Entertainment and Working Title Films (co-owned by Lionsgate and Universal)
16 October 1992	Candyman	distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing; co-production with TriStar Pictures and Propaganda Films (owned by Universal)
23 April 1993	Map of the Human Heart	distributed by Miramax Films; co-production with Working Title Films (co-owned by Miramax and Universal)
14 May 1993	Posse	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films (owned by MGM)
20 August 1993	The Ballad of Little Jo	distributed by Fine Line Features
3 September 1993	Kalifornia	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Propaganda Films (owned by MGM)
1 October 1993	Malice	distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing; co-production with Columbia Pictures, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment and Nelvana (owned by MGM)
8 October 1993	The Young Americans	distributed by Live Entertainment; co-production with Working Title Films
5 November 1993	A Home of Our Own	distributed by Gramercy Pictures (owned by MGM)
7 January 1994	The Air Up There	distributed by Hollywood Pictures; co-production with Interscope Communications (owned by Disney)
4 February 1994	Romeo Is Bleeding	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films Most 1994–95 PolyGram films currently owned by MGM unless mentioned otherwise
9 March 1994	Four Weddings and a Funeral	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films and Channel Four Films
11 March 1994	The Hudsucker Proxy	distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with Working Title Films and Silver Pictures (co-owned by Warner Bros. and Universal)
8 April 1994	Holy Matrimony	distributed by Buena Vista Pictures; co-production with Hollywood Pictures and Interscope Communications (co-owned by Disney and Universal)
	Red Rock West	distributed by Roxie Releasing (theatrical), Columbia TriStar Home Video (home video); co-production with Propaganda Films (owned by Universal)
15 April 1994	Backbeat	distributed by Gramercy Pictures (owned by Universal)
6 May 1994	Dream Lover	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Propaganda Films
18 May 1994	Final Combination	co-production with Propaganda Films
15 July 1994	A Pig's Tale	distributed by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment; co-production with Propaganda Films (owned by Universal)
10 August 1994	The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
23 September 1994	Terminal Velocity	distributed by Hollywood Pictures; co-production with Interscope Communications (owned by Disney)
28 September 1994	Jason's Lyric	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Propaganda Films
16 December 1994	Nell	distributed by 20th Century Fox (co-owned by Disney and MGM)
20 January 1995	S.F.W.	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Propaganda Films
10 February 1995	Shallow Grave	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Channel Four Films
24 February 1995	Before the Rain	distributed by Gramercy Pictures (owned by Universal)
17 March 1995	Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Propaganda Films
21 April 1995	The Basketball Diaries	distributed by New Line Cinema; co-production with Island Pictures (co-owned by Palm Pictures and MGM)
3 May 1995	Panther	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
5 May 1995	French Kiss	distributed by 20th Century Fox; co-production with Working Title Films (co-owned by Disney and MGM)
16 June 1995	Batman Forever	distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with DC Comics and Tim Burton Productions
30 June 1995	Innocent Lies
28 July 1995	Operation Dumbo Drop	distributed by Buena Vista Pictures; co-production with Walt Disney Pictures and Interscope Communications (owned by Disney)
16 August 1995	The Usual Suspects	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Bad Hat Harry Productions and Spelling Films (co-owned by MGM and Paramount)
15 September 1995	Coldblooded	distributed by IRS Media; co-production with Motion Picture Corporation of America and Propaganda Films (owned by Universal)
22 September 1995	Canadian Bacon	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Propaganda Films
29 September 1995	Moonlight and Valentino	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
3 November 1995	Home for the Holidays	distributed by Paramount Pictures (co-owned by Paramount and MGM)
10 November 1995	Carrington	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
15 December 1995	Jumanji	distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing; co-production with TriStar Pictures and Interscope Communications (owned by Sony)
28 December 1995	12 Monkeys	UK distribution only; produced by Atlas Entertainment and Classico (owned by Universal)
29 December 1995	Dead Man Walking	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
29 December 1995	Mr. Holland's Opus	distributed by Buena Vista Pictures; co-production with Hollywood Pictures and Interscope Communications (co-owned by Disney and MGM)
9 February 1996	Loch Ness	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
23 February 1996	La Haine	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Le Studio Canal+ and Arte France Cinema Most films released since this point are owned by Universal Pictures^[40]
8 March 1996	Fargo	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films (owned by MGM)
22 March 1996	Jack and Sarah	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Granada Productions and Le Studio Canal+ (owned by MGM)
	Land and Freedom	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
3 May 1996	Barb Wire	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Propaganda Films
31 May 1996	Eddie	distributed by Hollywood Pictures; co-production with Island Pictures (co-owned by Disney and MGM)^[41] Last film in the pre-April 1996 library owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer via Orion Pictures
	The Arrival	distributed by Orion Pictures; co-production with LIVE Entertainment, Steelework Films and Interscope Communications (owned by Lionsgate)
17 July 1996	Walking and Talking	distributed by Miramax Films; co-production with Channel Four Films, Zenith Productions, Pandora Film, Mikado Films (France), Electric, TEAM Communications Group and Good Machine (co-owned by Miramax and Universal)
	Kazaam	distributed by Buena Vista Pictures; co-production with Touchstone Pictures and Interscope Communications (co-owned by Disney and Universal)
19 July 1996	Trainspotting	distributed by Miramax Films; co-production with Channel Four Films
18 October 1996	Sleepers	distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with Propaganda Films (co-owned by Warner Bros. and Universal)
	Jude	distributed by Gramercy Pictures (owned by Universal; U.S. rights sub-licensed to Scorpion Releasing)
24 December 1996	The Portrait of a Lady	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Propaganda Films
10 January 1997	The Relic	distributed by Paramount Pictures; co-production with Tele-München Gruppe, BBC Films, Toho, Pacific Western Production, Marubeni and Cloud Nine Entertainment
29 January 1997	Gridlock'd	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Interscope Communications
14 February 1997	When We Were Kings	distributed by Gramercy Pictures (owned by Shout! Studios via Westchester)
7 March 1997	The Eighth Day	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
11 April 1997	Keys to Tulsa	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with ITC Entertainment (owned by ITV Studios)
9 May 1997	Twin Town	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
20 June 1997	Batman & Robin	distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with DC Comics
6 August 1997	Def Jam's How to Be a Player	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
24 August 1997	Snow White: A Tale of Terror	co-production with Interscope Communications
12 September 1997	The Game	distributed by PolyGram Films; co-production with Propaganda Films
19 September 1997	Going All the Way	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
3 October 1997	The Matchmaker	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
24 October 1997	A Life Less Ordinary	distributed by 20th Century Fox (co-owned by Disney and Universal)
7 November 1997	Bean	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
5 December 1997	The Borrowers	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
16 January 1998	Hard Rain	distributed by Paramount Pictures; co-production with BBC Films, Mutual Film Company, Nordisk Film Production and Toho
23 January 1998	Spice World	distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing; co-production with Columbia Pictures, Icon Entertainment International and Fragile Films
	The Gingerbread Man	distributed by PolyGram Films; co-production with Island Pictures and Enchanter Entertainment
18 February 1998	I Want You	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
26 February 1998	Dead Letter Office	distributed by Southern Star Entertainment
6 March 1998	The Big Lebowski	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
3 April 1998	No Looking Back	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
	The Proposition	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Interscope Communications
	Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie	distributed by PolyGram Films; co-production with Lyrick Studios
1 May 1998	Wilde	UK distribution only; produced by BBC Films, Capitol Films and Pony Canyon (owned by Altitude)
	Go Now	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
29 May 1998	The Last Days of Disco	distributed by Gramercy Pictures in North America and Warner Bros. internationally;^[42] co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment (co-owned by Universal and Warner Bros.)
12 June 1998	The Land Girls	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
14 August 1998	Return to Paradise	distributed by PolyGram Films; co-production with Propaganda Films and Tetragram
21 August 1998	Your Friends & Neighbors	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
25 September 1998	Clay Pigeons	distributed by Gramercy Pictures
2 October 1998	What Dreams May Come	distributed by PolyGram Films; co-production with Interscope Communications
13 November 1998	Thursday	distributed by Legacy Releasing; co-production with Propaganda Films
22 November 1998	Elizabeth	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films and Channel Four Films
25 November 1998	Very Bad Things	distributed by PolyGram Films; co-production with Interscope Communications
22 January 1999	The Hi-Lo Country	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
February 1999	Choke	distributed by PolyGram Visual Programming; co-production with Propaganda Films
5 March 1999	Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels	distributed by Gramercy Pictures; co-production with The Steve Tisch Company, SKA Films, HandMade Films and Summit Entertainment
1 April 1999	Millionaire Dogs	distributed by Pop Twist Entertainment in U.S.; co-production with Ostdeutscher Rundfunk Brandenburg, EIV Entertainment Invest GmbH & Company KG, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen and Benchmark Entertainment
28 May 1999	Notting Hill	distributed by Universal Pictures; co-production with Working Title Films
9 July 1999	Arlington Road	distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing; co-production with Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment
1 October 1999	Plunkett & Macleane	international distribution only; co-production with Working Title Films
10 December 1999	The Green Mile	distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with Castle Rock Entertainment and Darkwoods Productions

See also

• 100 Films and a Funeral, a documentary film about the rise and fall of PFE.

References

1. "Universal Music Relaunching Polygram, Announces 'Story of Motown' as First Production". Billboard. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
2. "Casablanca And Filmworks Merge Into New Combine" (PDF). Billboard. 6 November 1976. p. 3.
3. Masters, Kim; Griffin, Nancy (12 January 2016). Hit & Run. Simon & Schuster.
4. "PolyGram Insures Home Video Base" (PDF). Billboard. 29 March 1980. p. 9.
5. Griffin, Nancy and Masters, Kim (1996). "Hit and Run" (pp. 100-116). New York: Touchstone, a Simon & Schuster company.
6. "Boardwalk - Music label - RYM/Sonemic". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
7. Medavoy, Mike (25 June 2013). You're Only as Good as Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films, and 100 for Which I Should Be Shot. Atria Books.
8. "Horowitz to head new PolyGram television unit" (PDF). Broadcasting Magazine. 3 November 1980. p. 46.
9. "PolyGram to fold" (PDF). Broadcasting. 9 May 1983. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
10. "Heron, PolyGram Set Joint Venture With Low Pricing". Variety. 1 January 1986. p. 25.
11. "Channel Five Moves Into Music & Kid Vid" (PDF). World Radio History. 11 July 1987. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
12. Kuhn, pp. 17-23
13. Apodaca, Patrice (21 February 1995). "Screen Play : PolyGram Hopes to Bolster Its Hollywood Presence With Purchase of Once-Venerable ITC Entertainment". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
14. Kuhn, pp. 40-41
15. "ITC Entertainment Sold to Polygram for $156 Million". Los Angeles Times. 17 January 1995. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
16. Weiner, Rex (3 December 1997). "New Epic librarian".
17. Fabrikant, Geraldine (17 July 1996). "Kerkorian Group Plans to Buy MGM Studio for $1.3 Billion". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
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19. Cox, Dan (8 December 1997). "WB, Polygram to co-fund Castle Rock". Variety. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
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Further reading

• Michael Kuhn, One Hundred Films and a Funeral: The Life and Death of Polygram Films, Thorogood, 2002. ISBN 1-85418-216-1.