Trimark Pictures

Trimark Pictures

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Industry	Film studio
Fate	Merged with Lionsgate
Successor	Lions Gate Entertainment
Founded	1985
Defunct	2000
Key people	Mark Amin
Parent	Vidmark, Inc. (1985-1995) Trimark Holdings Inc. (1995-2001)
Divisions	Trimark Interactive

Trimark Pictures Inc. (also referred to as Trimark) was a production company that specialized in the production and distribution of television and home video motion pictures. The company was formed in 1985 by Mark Amin as Vidmark Entertainment with Vidmark Inc. (later Trimark Holdings Inc.) established as the holding company. As a small studio, Trimark produced and released theatrical, independent, television and home video motion pictures. In 1994 the company formed Trimark Interactive.

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. 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.

Background

Vidmark Entertainment first became involved with motion picture production in 1988, when its founders and investors provided financing for the feature Demonwarp. Demonwarp was produced by Richard L. Albert through his advertising company Design Projects, Inc., which was Vidmark's and many other home video and independent film distributors' advertising company. Demonwarp was shot on 35mm film, and starred George Kennedy, but only cost $250,000 to make. Coming from a marketing background, producer Rick Albert convinced Mark Amin that if the film's budget was limited to the minimum baseline sales that Vidmark could make with any film released on videocassette in the United States, then the motion picture would have to be profitable. Since the original investors in Vidmark also invested in and owned the 20/20 Video chain of stores, they could accurately project what the minimum sales would be. The projections proved true, and adding to the robust U.S. home video sales, international sales, cable and free television sales, Demonwarp earned many multiples of its original budget. Mark Amin served as executive producer, and during production of Demonwarp he decided to raise money by a public offering of Vidmark, to form Trimark.

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 1994. 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 specialized in made-for-television features, which included the dramatic Eve's Bayou, starring Samuel L. Jackson, which received critical acclaim. Trimark also released Stephen King's Storm of the Century, a miniseries.

In 2000, Trimark merged with Lions Gate Entertainment in which Amin became the single largest shareholder. In 2001, Mark Amin founded Sobini Films where he currently serves as the CEO.

List of distributed movies

Theatrical

Release Date	Title	Notes
May 12, 1989	Going Overboard
December 1, 1989	Warlock
July 14, 1990	Solar Crisis
September 29, 1990	Backstreet Dreams
June 13, 1991	Kickboxer 2	theatrical distribution only
October 21, 1991	Whore
November 15, 1991	And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird
January 31, 1992	Into the Sun
May 20, 1992	The Psychic	USA distribution only
January 8, 1993	Leprechaun
February 12, 1993	Dead Alive	USA Distribution only
September 24, 1993	Warlock: The Armageddon
October 8, 1993	Deadfall
October 29, 1993	Return of the Living Dead 3	limited release
February 1, 1994	Silent Tongue
April 8, 1994	Leprechaun 2
May 13, 1994	Trading Mom
November 23, 1994	Love and a .45
December 5, 1994	The Stoned Age
April 21, 1995	Swimming with Sharks
August 11, 1995	A Kid in King Arthur's Court	co-production with Walt Disney Pictures
October 4, 1995	Kicking and Screaming
October 27, 1995	The Doom Generation	USA distribution only
October 28, 1995	Frank and Jesse
August 1996	Crimetime
October 18, 1996	The Dentist
January 16, 1997	Meet Wally Sparks
February 28, 1997	Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
November 7, 1997	Eve's Bayou
January 16, 1998	Star Kid
January 24, 1998	The Curve
March 13, 1998	Chairman of the Board
July 24, 1998	Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
August 21, 1998	Carnival of Souls	limited release
September 11, 1998	Cube
September 18, 1998	Trance / The Eternal	retitled for DVD release
October 7, 1998	Slam
December 11, 1998	The Dentist 2
December 30, 1998	Another Day in Paradise
February 14, 1999	Better Than Chocolate
February 18, 2000	Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists
March 3, 2000	Beautiful People
May 12, 2000	Held Up
July 11, 2000	History Is Made at Night
January 2001	Skipped Parts

Direct-to-video

Release Date	Title	Notes
November 2, 1994	Dangerous Touch
June 27, 1995	Leprechaun 3
March 12, 1996	True Crime
September 3, 1996	Sometimes They Come Back... Again
February 25, 1997	Leprechaun 4: In Space
July 28, 1998	A Kid in Aladdin's Palace
April 27, 1999	King Cobra
September 7, 1999	Sometimes They Come Back... for More
October 12, 1999	Warlock III: The End of Innocence
December 27, 1999	Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying
March 28, 2000	Leprechaun: In the Hood
March 13, 2001	Killer Bud
June 26, 2001	Blood Surf

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External links

• Trimark Pictures at the Internet Movie Database