One hundred years after D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks formed the first creator-based movie studio, United Artists lives again. Today, MGM and Annapurna announced they would combine their production, marketing and distribution resources into United Artists Releasing, a new joint venture that will release original films from both entities including MGM’s recently launched Orion Releasing.
The new company will be governed by a board that will be equally represented by MGM, which has not had its own marketing and distribution departments since 2010, and Annapurna which has released its own films since 2017. United Artists Releasing is expected to distribute 10-14 films a year including prestige titles such as Annapurna’s upcoming “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” and tentpoles such as MGM’s “James Bond 25.” Annapurna previously partnered with MGM as a distributor for films such as “Creed II.” It’s unclear when the United Artists Releasing banner will be unfurled, but the next picture under the previous agreement set for release was “Fighting With My Family” which debuted at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival last week.
The United Artists Releasing news follows reports last fall that Annapurna’s quest to be an independent production and distribution entity was being thwarted by the mercurial management practices of founder Megan Ellison. Annapurna has always had great taste under Ellison and she recruited a stellar team including distribution head Erik Loomis, president of publicity Adriene Bowles and president of creative advertising Michael Pavlic, but the prospect of four prestige releases and the high profile “Creed II” campaign seemed daunting under Ellison’s direction. The company weathered the storm as the “Creed” sequel took in $115 million domestically and Annapurna earned nine Oscar nominations for “Vice” and “If Beale Street Could Talk.” This new partnership should stabilize the company’s prospects moving forward.
In a release, Ellison noted, “I could not be more excited to have the opportunity to expand this releasing venture under the iconic banner that is United Artists. Annapurna was founded with a very similar intent as the original UA in 1919 – to provide a home for artists and their creations in hopes of moving our culture forward. With the major corporations continuing to consolidate, I believe it is important to have an independent option to provide a sanctuary where we can bring forth transparency, dedication, and fair treatment for all the films we have and will continue to love and service. Our team is comprised of not only the most talented executives in the business but also true lovers of film and to take on this initiative with MGM is as exciting as it is promising.”
MGM Worldwide Motion Picture Group president Jonathan Glickman added, “We are excited to evolve our partnership and are honored to carry out projects under United Artists’ remarkable legacy established over the last 100 years. The United Artists brand is a natural fit, as our joint venture was founded around the same principle as its namesake: to help filmmakers maintain financial and artistic control over the marketing and distribution of their diverse slate of films. The venture’s forward-thinking strategic marketing and distribution team will continue to pursue that mission as we expand the partnership.”
It should be noted that the intention is for United Artists Releasing to also distribute films not financed and produced by MGM or Annapurna. The company could fill a hole in the market left by the departures of The Weinstein Company and CBS Films.
Upcoming releases from the new distribution company include the aforementioned “Fighting With My Family” and “Where’d You Go, Bernadette” as well as LAIKA’s “Missing Link,” “Child’s Play,” “Booksmart,” “The Hustle” and an animated “The Addams Family.”
