Company type | Division |
---|---|
Industry | Film |
Predecessors | |
Founded | 2002; 21 years ago |
Founder | |
Headquarters | , United States |
Key people |
|
Products | Motion pictures |
Owner | Comcast |
Parent | Universal Pictures |
Website |
focusfeatures |
Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a division of Universal Pictures, which is itself a division of its wholly owned subsidiary of NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and foreign films in the United States and internationally.
In November 2018, The Hollywood Reporter named Focus Features "Distributor of the Year" for its success behind the year's breakout documentary film Won't You Be My Neighbor? and Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman. [2] The studio's most successful film to date is Downton Abbey, which garnered $194.3 million at the worldwide box office. [3]
1912 | Universal Pictures is founded |
---|---|
1926 | NBC is founded |
1928 | Universal Cartoon Studios (later known as Universal Animation Studios) is founded |
1943 | Universal Television is founded |
1953 | NBC begins first compatible color broadcasts, preceding other networks by nine years |
1956 | NBC's peacock logo debuts |
1963 | American Cable Systems is founded |
1964 | Universal Studios Hollywood opens |
1967 | NBC broadcasts the first-ever Super Bowl |
1968 | American Cable Systems rebrands to Comcast |
1972 | Comcast began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) |
1975 |
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is founded Universal releases Jaws |
1982 | Universal releases E.T. The Extra Terrestrial |
1983 | Sally premieres |
1985 | Universal's Back to the Future premieres |
1986 |
General Electric buys NBC for $6.4 billion NBC's modern peacock logo was introduced |
1989 | NBC launches CNBC |
1990 |
Sky is founded Universal Studios Florida opens Law & Order premieres |
1991 | Universal releases
Backdraft and
Cape Fear Jerry Springer and Maury both premiere |
1992 | Dateline NBC premieres |
1993 | Universal releases
Jurassic Park and
Schindler's List Homicide: Life on the Street premieres |
1994 |
DreamWorks Animation is founded New York Undercover premieres |
1996 | NBC and Microsoft launch MSNBC |
1998 | Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Universal Television becomes 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 |
2001 | Grand opening of
Universal Studios Japan Universal releases The Fast and the Furious and A Beautiful Mind Law & Order: Criminal Intent premieres |
2002 | NBC acquires
Telemundo and
Bravo 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 |
Law & Order: Trial by Jury and
The Office both premiere Focus Features releases The Constant Gardener and Brokeback Mountain 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 Focus Features releases Hollywoodland and Catch a Fire |
2007 |
Illumination is founded The Steve Wilkos Show premieres |
2010 | Universal releases
Despicable Me Law & Order: LA premieres |
2011 | Vivendi divested in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company The name "PBS Kids" is dropped out from Sprout (Leaving the name "Sprout") NBCUniversal Archives is founded |
2012 | Universal celebrates its 100th anniversary Chicago Fire premieres |
2013 | Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU PBS sells Sprout to Comcast/NBCU |
2014 | Comcast attempts to acquire
Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion Chicago P.D. premieres NBCUniversal reaches a new long-term deal with WWE |
2015 | Chicago Med premieres |
2016 | NBCU acquires DreamWorks Animation |
2017 |
Chicago Justice premieres Sprout relaunches as Universal Kids |
2018 | Comcast acquires Sky after a heated bidding war with
21st Century Fox FBI premieres |
2019 | NBCU acquires Cineo Lighting Judge Jerry premieres |
2020 | NBCU launches
Peacock FBI: Most Wanted premieres |
2021 | Grand opening of
Universal Beijing Resort Law & Order: Organized Crime and FBI: International both premiere |
2022 | Karamo and Lopez vs Lopez both premiere |
2023 | Universal releases The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken and Oppenheimer |
Focus Features was formed in 2002 by James Schamus [4] and David Linde [4] and formed from the divisional merger of USA Films, Universal Focus and Good Machine, as well as the several assets of the Vivendi-affiliated film studio StudioCanal. [5] USA Films was created by Barry Diller in 1999 when he purchased Interscope Communications, October Films and Gramercy Pictures from Seagram and merged the three labels together; [6] [7] [8] USA Films was led by Scott Greenstein. [9] Universal Focus was the specialty film arm of Universal Pictures that was created in 1999 as Universal Classics, which was led by Paul Hardart and Claudia Gray, to replace the October Films label in order to get a group of titles to be distributed by USA Films, focused on the marketing of niche-based acquisitions by Universal Pictures International, Working Title, WT2 Productions, Revolution Films and DNA Films, and eventually rebranded into Universal Focus by 2000. [10] [11]
In March 2004, Focus Features revived Rogue Pictures as a genre label, which was once used by October Films in the late 1990s. Rogue Pictures would be led by the same team who led the standard Focus management. [12]
On October 2, 2013, James Schamus was fired from his position as CEO of Focus, with the New York offices being shut down in the process. He was succeeded by Peter Schlessel, whose company FilmDistrict would be merged into Focus and folded into the trade name High Top Releasing. This became effective in January 2014, and several titles developed under FilmDistrict would be released under Focus. [13] Under Schlessel, the company began to acquire films with a wider commercial appeal, much like his previous company. [14] [15] In May 2015, Gramercy Pictures was revived by Focus as a genre label, that was on action, sci-fi, and horror films. [16]
In February 2016, Focus merged with Universal Pictures International Productions as part of a new strategy to "align the acquisition and production of specialty films in the global market". [17] [18] [19] Following this, along with several disappointing box office returns, Schlessel was let go from the company and replaced with Peter Kujawski. [20]
In April 2017, Vine Alternative Investments re-acquired the pre-2008 Rogue film library from Focus Features. [21]
In August 2011, Focus Features launched Focus World, a label focusing on the video on demand market with initial plans to distribute 15 films per year, with one film being released per month. [22]
As a distributor, Focus' most successful release in North America to date is the 2019 film Downton Abbey, which earned $84.5 million during its first weekend at the box office and surpassing Brokeback Mountain, which earned $83 million at the North American box office. [23] However, this is not counting the domestic total of Traffic, which earned $124.1 million under the USA Films banner. The animated film Coraline was also highly profitable for the company. Although suffering its share of unsuccessful releases, Focus has been consistently profitable, and its international sales arm (unusual among studio specialty film divisions) allows it to receive the foreign as well as domestic revenues from its releases. [24] Its DVD and movie rights revenues are boosted by cult classics including Wet Hot American Summer.