![]() Logo used since 2024 | |
Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Entertainment |
Founded | 1998 |
Headquarters | |
Key people | Hal Sadoff, co-CEO,
Norman Golightly, co-CEO, Douglas McClure, Executive Vice President |
Products | Motion Pictures, television |
Parent | OEG Inc. |
Website | https://darkcastle.com |
Dark Castle Entertainment is a film, TV, and digital projects production label.[2] It is owned by North American sports and entertainment company, OEG Inc.[3] The firm is led by co-CEOs Hal Sadoff[4] and Norman Golightly.[5]
The company has worked with directors such as Guy Ritchie, [6] Shane Black,[7] George Clooney[8], Mary Harron,[9], Walter Hill,[10] and Simon Barrett.[11]
The majority of Dark Castle films from the late 1990’s to mid 2010’s were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.[12] The company’s later films have also been distributed by Paramount Pictures[13] and Shudder/AMC.[4]
Dark Castle was founded in 1998[14] by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler.[15] The Dark Castle name pays homage to William Castle, a 1950’s horror filmmaker from the 1950s and 1960s.[12] When first formed, the goal of the company was to remake Castle’s horror films. After two remakes, House on Haunted Hill[16] and Thirteen Ghosts,[17] they moved on to producing original material,[18] along with remakes of non-Castle films.[19]
Gothika, starring Halle Berry and Robert Downey Jr., was Dark Castle’s first original film in 2003.[18]They followed it up with House of Wax, the company’s first remake of a non-Castle film.[15][19]
In 2008, the company moved beyond the horror genre to produce the action film RocknRolla.[6]
Dark Castle released Orphan, a psychological horror film, in 2009.[20] The film grossed $80 million on a $20 million budget.[21] The company produced its first martial arts film, Ninja Assassin, later that year.[22]
In 2010, they produced action film adaptions of The Losers based on the DC Vertigo comic of the same name,[23] and Unknown starring Liam Neeson, which grossed $136 million against its $30 million budget.[24]
After a long relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures as their main distributor,[12] Dark Castle began working with other distributors including Paramount Pictures[13]and Shudder/AMC.[4]
Dark Castle was acquired by Daryl Katz of OEG Inc. in 2015.[2][3]Hal Sadoff was named CEO.[2]
The company released its first film under OEG the following year, neo noir comedy crime movie The Nice Guys, starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling.[25]
Next, Dark Castle produced black comedy crime film Suburbicon written by the Coen Brothers, directed by George Clooney, starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.[26][8]
In 2018, Dark Castle produced Superfly,[27] a remake of the 1972 film Super Fly.[28]
Dark Castle continued to produce horror films, including Seance, starring Suki Waterhouse,[11]and the prequel to Orphan, Orphan: First Kill, starring Isabelle Fuhrman from the original Orphan movie.[29] In 2020, the company began producing television with the sci-fi horror series The Expecting. [30][31]
Dark Castle produced Last Breath (2025 film), which is based on the critically acclaimed documentary Last Breath (2019 film) and stars Woody Harrelson, Finn Cole, and Simu Liu.[32][33]
In 2023, the company filmed Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz,[34] and financed the film Shell, starring Elizabeth Moss and Kate Hudson, directed by Max Minghella.[35]
Year | Film | Budget | Domestic Box Office | Foreign Box Office | Total | US DVD sales | Total (with DVD sales) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1999 | House on Haunted Hill | $37 million | $40.8 million[38] | $3.5 million (A) | $44.4 million | N/A | N/A |
2001 | Thirteen Ghosts | $42 million | $41.7 million[39] | $26.6 million[40] | $68.5 million | N/A | N/A |
2002 | Ghost Ship | $20 million | $30.1 million[41] | $38.2 million[41] | $68.3 million | N/A | N/A |
2003 | Gothika | $40 million | $59.7 million[42] | $81.7 million[42] | $141.6 million | N/A | N/A |
2005 | House of Wax | $40 million | $32.1 million[43] | $36.7 million[43] | $68.8 million | N/A | N/A |
2007 | The Reaping | $40 million | $25.1 million[44] | $37.6 million[44] | $62.8 million | $19.8 million[45] | $82.6 million |
2008 | RocknRolla | $15 million | $5.7 million[46] | $20 million | $25.7 million | $7.4 million[47] | $33.1 million |
2009 | Orphan | $20 million | $41,596,251[48] | $36,741,122[48] | $78,337,373 | $12,250,443[48] | $90,587,816 |
2009 | Whiteout | $35 million | $10,275,638[49] | $7,565,229[49] | $17,840,867 | $3,192,934[50] | $21,033,801 |
2009 | Ninja Assassin | $50 million | $38,122,883[51] | $23,471,000 | $61,593,883 | $13,841,623[52] | $75,435,506 |
2010 | The Losers | $25 million | $23,591,432[53] | $5,385,903 | $28,977,335 | $6,462,496[54] | $35,439,831 |
2010 | Splice | $30 million | $17,010,170[55] | $6,964,022 | $23,974,192 | $3,695,686 | $27,669,878 |
Budget | Overall Total | US DVD Sales | Total |
---|---|---|---|
$374 million | $646 million | $62.9 million | $708 million |
(A) Indicates minimum, as that is only two countries totals merged.