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Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American film production and television production and distribution company owned by Qatar State media beIN Media Group and Paramount Pictures. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded in 1979, by brothers Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein.
Miramax was a leading producer and distributor of independent films until it was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993. In 2010, Disney sold Miramax to Filmyard Holdings, a joint venture of Colony NorthStar, Tutor-Saliba Corporation and Qatar Investment Authority. In March 2016, Miramax was sold to beIN Media Group, which later sold a 49% stake to ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Skydance) on April 3, 2020.
The company's first major success came when the Weinsteins teamed up with British producer Martin Lewis and acquired the U.S. rights to two concert films Lewis had produced of Benefit concert for human rights organization Amnesty International. The Weinsteins worked with Lewis to distill the two films into one film for the American marketplace. The resulting film, the American version of The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, was a successful release for Miramax in the summer of 1982. This release presaged a modus operandi that the company would undertake later in the 1980s of acquiring films from international filmmakers and reworking them to suit American sensibilities and audiences. In its early years, Miramax Films had to focus primarily as a catalyst for music and decided to do a licensing agreement with HBO Video to release several of Miramax's early films.
Among the company's other breakthrough films as distributors in the late 1980s and early 1990s were Pulp Fiction, Scandal, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!, The Crying Game, and Clerks. The company also made films such as Flirting with Disaster, Heavenly Creatures, and Shakespeare in Love.
Miramax Films acquired and/or produced many other films that did well financially. The company became one of the leaders of the independent film boom of the 1990s. Miramax Films produced or distributed seven films with box office grosses totaling more than $100 million; its highest grossing title, Chicago, earned more than $300 million worldwide.
The company was also successful in securing Academy Award nominations for its releases, many of which resulted in Academy Award wins.
Miramax expanded its empire when the company launched two new labels Millimeter Films in 1988 by Bob Weinstein for genre films, and arthouse label Prestige Films in 1990, run by Mark Lipsky, later replaced by Gerry Rich, and the latter was folded into Miramax Films, and the former was renamed to Dimension Films.
With a more stable budget, Miramax Films began moving beyond acquisitions and distribution and into film production. Until September 30, 2005, the company also operated the label Dimension Films, which was solely founded by Bob to specialize in teen, horror, and other genre films, and created the Scream and Scary Movie film franchises. Harvey funded larger projects from up-and-coming directors, including Robert Rodriguez, Gus Van Sant, and Quentin Tarantino. Some of the films earned Oscars. At times the studio tried to release a film almost weekly.
In 1997, Miramax Films joined Peter Jackson as a primary financial backer in attempting to get the Lord of the Rings films produced. Disney disliked the cost of a two-parter, requesting that it be produced as a single film. Jackson and Saul Zaentz rejected Disney's request and looked for another studio or financier. Thus, Miramax Films sold the rights for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to New Line Cinema in August 1998 for about $12 million, which led The Lord of the Rings to be produced as a trilogy. Miramax Films retained a 5% stake in the films' gross and then gave 2.5% to the Weinsteins.
Through Miramax Films, Harvey founded Talk magazine with Tina Brown in 1998 (it shut down in 2002), albeit without the approval of then-Disney chief Michael Eisner, which upset Eisner. Also that year, 30 former employees filed suit over unpaid overtime wages.
By 2003, Miramax Films was less operative in the independent film market and became more of a mini-major as the company only acquired 3 films while producing Cold Mountain for $80 million. The Weinsteins claimed the company was profitable, but Walt Disney Company president Robert Iger indicated in June 2004 that they were not properly accounting for "account standard overhead, distribution fees, bonuses that we pay Harvey and Bob. Nor are they applying current accounting rules."
After extensive negotiations and much media and industry speculation, on March 30, 2005, Disney and the Weinsteins announced that they would not renew their contractual relationship when their existing agreements expired at the end of September 2005. The primary source of dispute was over distribution of Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore. Disney's film studio consortium, Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group, assumed control of Miramax Films, which was projected to have a smaller annual production budget. The Weinsteins started a new film production company called The Weinstein Company (TWC) and took the Dimension Films label with them. The Miramax Films name remained with the film studio owned by Disney. Production at Miramax Films was taken over by Daniel Battsek, who had been head of Buena Vista International in the Great Britain. Battsek refocused Miramax Films to produce films of high quality but low budget. Maple Pictures held the rights to distribute Miramax films in Canada from 2008 up until August 10, 2011, when Maple Pictures was acquired by Alliance Films. At the time, the company was criticized for delaying or withholding release of Asian films to which it acquired the U.S. distribution rights. Previously, in 2003, the company was criticized for trying to bar retailers from legally exporting authentic DVDs of the films.
On October 3, 2009, Disney announced that the staff of Miramax Films was to be reduced by 70%, and the number of releases would be reduced by half to just three films per year. The label's marketing, distribution, and administrative functions, which had operated independently, would be folded into the parent studio in Burbank. The move became effective in January 2010. On October 30, 2009, Disney announced the resignation of Daniel Battsek as President of Miramax Films, effective when the transition from the studio in New York to Burbank was completed. The company moved its operations to The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank was completed on January 28, 2010, shutting down Miramax Films' separate New York and Los Angeles offices.
Though Disney Studio Chairman Dick Cook was a staunch supporter of Miramax Films, the brand was less of a priority for CEO Bob Iger, whose strategy was to focus on Disney's branded mass entertainment that could be exploited across Disney's theme parks, television, and consumer products. Following Disney's $4 billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment in 2009, Cook was succeeded by Rich Ross. As a result, Miramax Films was relegated to the status of distribution label within the Walt Disney Company. Disney confirmed that it was looking into selling the Miramax label on February 9, 2010, with Iger explaining "We determined that continuing to invest in new Miramax movies wasn't necessarily a core strategy of ours".
After the sale was closed, some films already developed at Miramax, including The Tempest and Gnomeo & Juliet, were eventually released by Disney under its Touchstone Pictures banner, and theatrical distribution of Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and The Debt were shifted to FilmDistrict and Focus Features respectively.
On December 16, 2013, Miramax entered into a deal with Harvey and Bob Weinstein's The Weinstein Company to develop and distribute select derivative works of films from the former studio. Sequels, television series, or stage productions of titles such as Rounders and Shakespeare in Love were among the projects said to be part of this agreement.
On July 17, 2015, Qatar and Colony NorthStar put Miramax up for sale for an offer of $1 billion. Harvey and Bob Weinstein had reportedly regained interest in reacquiring the studio via TWC in September. On March 2, 2016, Miramax was sold to beIN Media Group, a spinoff of Al Jazeera Media Network (which formerly owned its namesake beIN Sports).
On a July 21, 2016, interview, Harvey Weinstein stated that he was still interested in combining TWC's film library with Miramax's, after the acquisition of Miramax by beIN.
After Miramax's founder Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual assault in October 2017, Miramax became one of 60 parties bidding on TWC on January 16, 2018. On April 27, Miramax and Lantern Capital emerged as the strongest contenders to acquire TWC's assets. Ultimately, it was Lantern that acquired TWC's library.
On June 7, 2019, beIN began the process of selling approximately 50% of Miramax in an effort to offer it for growth. Lionsgate Films (which distributed Miramax's titles on home video), Spyglass Media Group (owners of the Weinstein Company library, inherited via their deal with Lantern) and Viacom (Paramount's parent company who re-merged with CBS Corporation on December 4, 2019, to form ViacomCBS) were seen as the leading contenders to acquire a stake in the company. By August 19, 2019, Lionsgate and Viacom were the only contenders, as Spyglass Media Group dropped out of contention. On September 11, 2019, it was announced Lionsgate had dropped their bid, making Viacom the only bidder for the stake in Miramax. On November 8, 2019, Viacom exited the negotiations to acquire them. After merging with CBS Corporation to become ViacomCBS, the combined firm resumed talks with Miramax.
On June 24, 2020, Miramax and ViacomCBS announced their first co-production, The Turkish Detective, a television series based on the Cetin Ikmen novels by Barbara Nadel.
On October 2, 2023, it was announced that CEO Bill Block would be leaving the company that week following the end of his contract with them, starting his own production company, BlockFilm, later that month. In January 2024, Jonathan Glickman was reported to be in talks to join Miramax as CEO, with his company Panoramic Media expected to be acquired by Miramax if talks were successful. On April 2, 2024, Glickman was officially named Miramax's new CEO effective immediately. As part of the deal, Miramax also acquired certain film and television projects from Glickman's company Panoramic Media.
Michael Lachance, who had previously developed projects at DreamWorks Animation and Sony Pictures Animation, was named the division's executive vice president.
Highest-grossing films
Other companies and post-Disney ownership era (2010–2019)
On December 3, 2010, Disney closed the sale of Miramax for US$663 million to Filmyard Holdings, an investment group and joint venture of Colony NorthStar, Tutor-Saliba Corporation, and Qatar Investment Authority. The sale included 700 film titles, books, development projects, and the "Miramax" name. Mike Lang, the former News Corporation business development executive who was selected as the CEO of Miramax, indicated that the company would focus on their existing library, though they would continue making original content.
Paramount era (2019–present)
On December 20, 2019, ViacomCBS (later named Paramount Global) announced it would acquire a 49% stake in Miramax for at least $375 million, with Paramount Pictures gaining exclusive worldwide distribution rights to its film and television library. Paramount Pictures and Miramax will also co-produce new content based on titles from the library. The deal officially closed on April 3, 2020.
Divisions
Miramax Family & Animation
Miramax Family Films was the family division of Miramax Films, founded on September 2, 1993. After the Weinstein brothers left Miramax on September 30, 2005, the label was quietly discontinued in June 2006. After The Weinstein Company was completely shut down along with its website on July 16, 2018, Miramax revived its family and animation divisions, with both being founded as separate divisions within the company on March 18, 2019.
Filmography
Film series
based on the novella The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker; distribution under Dimension Films label based on the short story of the same name by Stephen King; distribution under Dimension Films label United States distribution only distribution under Dimension Films label 2001: distribution under Dimension Films label
2019: co-productiondistribution under Dimension Films label distribution under Dimension Films label 1995–2002: distribution under Dimension Films label
2018–present: co-productiondistribution under Dimension Films label United States distribution only under Dimension Films label United States distribution only 1996–2000: distribution under Dimension Films label distribution under Dimension Films label distribution under Dimension Films label United States distribution only under Dimension Films label United States distribution only under Dimension Films label; marketed under the Disney banner based on the Asterix by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo; Italy distribution only 2000–2006: distribution under Dimension Films label; 2025: distribution under Paramount Pictures distribution under Dimension Films label distribution under Dimension Films label based on the Bridget Jones by Helen Fielding
2001: United States distribution only
2004, 2016 & 2025: co-production based on the multimedia franchise of the same name by The Pokémon Company; distribution outside Asia only based on the Bionicle by The Lego Group 2003: United States distribution only under Dimension Films label
2016: co-productionbased on the Sin City by Frank Miller
2005: distribution under Dimension Films label
2014: co-production
Films and TV shows distributed by Miramax Family are listed here:
+
!Rank
!Title
!Year
!Worldwide Gross 1 Chicago 2002 $306,776,732 2 Shakespeare in Love 1998 $289,317,794 3 Bridget Jones's Diary 2001 $281,929,795 4 2004 $278,000,000 5 Halloween 2018 $259,939,869 6 The English Patient 1996 $231,976,425 7 Life Is Beautiful 1997 $230,099,013 8 Good Will Hunting 1997 $225,933,435 9 Pulp Fiction 1994 $213,928,762 10 The Aviator 2004 $213,719,942 11 Bridget Jones's Baby 2016 $211,952,420 12 2003 $211,622,535 13 Gangs of New York 2002 $193,772,504 14 2003 $180,899,045 15 Scary Movie 4 2006 $178,262,620 16 Hero 2002 $177,395,557 17 Amélie 2001 $175,055,109 18 Cold Mountain 2003 $173,013,509 19 No Country for Old Men 2007 $171,632,777 20 Princess Mononoke 1997 $170,323,393 21 Shall We Dance 2004 $170,128,460 22 2004 $154,118,514 23 The Beekeeper 2024 $152,720,535 24 Chocolat 2000 $152,700,626 25 Halloween Ends 2021 $133,000,000
Miramax Television
Miramax Television is the television production division founded in 1987, assigned to producing television shows based on the existing Miramax film library and original concepts. Although Miramax produced its series as early as 1987, Miramax expanded its foray into game shows with an attempted version of What's My Line? in 1996, followed by a proper television division in 1998. In 2001, Mort Marcus became chairman of the company, only to leave in 2002 to reestablish Debmar-Mercury.
Filmography
English dub only; co-production with CINAR for BRB Internacional co-production with Outerbanks Entertainment co-production with View Askew Productions, Woltz International Pictures Corporation, ABC Signature and Walt Disney Television Animation (uncredited); based on the film Clerks co-production with Adaptive Studios, LivePlanet (seasons 1–3) and Pearl Street Films (season 4) co-production with Dimension Films and Outerbanks Entertainment English dub only; co-production with Studio E Productions and Buena Vista Sound Services co-production with Follow Productions seasons 1–9 only; co-production with Full Picture Productions, Heidi Klum Productions (seasons 2–9), Magical Elves Productions (seasons 2–9), The Weinstein Company Television (seasons 2–9) and Bunim/Murray Productions (seasons 6–9) co-production with Sugarcane Entertainment, FactoryMade Ventures, and Rodriguez International Pictures; based on the film From Dusk till Dawn international distribution co-production with 20th Century Fox Television; unaired TV pilot; based on the film Gone Baby Gone co-production with Leonine Holding; miniseries co-production with Hoorae Media, 3 Arts Entertainment and Alfred Street Industries; revival of the original 2001 series co-production with Ay Yapin and Paramount Television International Studios; based on the novel The Turkish Detective co-production with Moonage Pictures; based on the film The Gentlemen co-production with O2 Filmes; based on the film City of God based on the film Mimic co-production with Freebird Films; based on the book The Henna Artist co-production with Happy Prince; based on the play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice co-production with Paramount Television Studios; based on the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and the book of the same name co-production with Fox Entertainment, Bento Box Entertainment, Spyglass Media Group and Project X Entertainment; based on the comic strip Bloom County based on the film Prêt-à-Porter based on the book The Gangs of New York co-production with Mediawan; based on the film Chocolat based on the film Cop Land based on the film The English Patient based on the film Shall We Dance? co-production with Universal Television; based on the film The Holdovers co-production with The Gotham Group; based on the novel The Christie Affair co-production with Mediawan; based on the novel The Immortals based on the book The Key Man co-production with Stone Village; based on the book The Maidens co-production with Trancas International Films; based on the film Halloween
Notes
Further reading
External links
Categories: Official Website, Miramax Films, American Companies Established In 1979, Bein Media Group, Paramount Pictures, Multinational Joint-venture Companies, Film Distributors Of The United States, Former Subsidiaries Of The Walt Disney Company, Paramount Television, Companies Based In Los Angeles, Mass Media Companies Established In 1979, 1979 Establishments In New York, Paramount Skydance Subsidiaries, American Independent Film Studios, 1993 Mergers And Acquisitions, 2010 Mergers And Acquisitions, 2016 Mergers And Acquisitions, 2020 Mergers And Acquisitions, Harvey Weinstein, International Sales Agents, Television Production Companies Based In California, Film Production Companies Based In California
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