Website www.picturehouse.com Ceased operations May 8, 2008 Type of business Privately held company | Founded 2005 Predecessor Fine Line Features | |
Key people Bob Berney (CEO)Jeanne Berney (President) Headquarters New York City, New York, United States Founders | ||
Picturehouse is an American film production and distribution company formed in 2005 as a joint venture of New Line Cinema and HBO Films, both subsidiaries of Time Warner.
The company was formed from New Line and HBO's acquisition of the distribution arm of Newmarket Films, which was run by Bob Berney, who would remain the head of this new company. New Line's specialty division Fine Line Features was folded into Picturehouse. Its DVD releases were split between HBO Video and New Line Home Entertainment.
After Time Warner's 2008 consolidation of New Line into Warner Bros., the Hollywood press believed that Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures would merge to create a new division. On May 8, 2008, however, it was announced that both of the specialty divisions would be shut down, costing 70 employees their jobs.
History
The company was started in 2005 by New Line Cinema, a subsidiary of Warner Bros., and HBO. It was influenced by Warner Independent Pictures, another division of Warner Bros. They had a slow start with a few box office bombs before taking off with Pan's Labyrinth, earning six nominations and three Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards. They went on to produce other popular films such as La Vie En Rose, which won 2 Oscars, and The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which disappointed on initial release, but developed a cult following. They shut down in May 2008.
On January 15, 2013, it was announced that Picturehouse would be relaunched, after its founder Bob Berney acquired the logo and trademark from Warner Bros.. The first movie released under the revived Picturehouse label was Metallica: Through the Never.