Morgan Creek Entertainment
FormerlyMorgan Creek Productions, Inc.
Company typeFilm production company
IndustryFilm and television
Founded1987; 37 years ago (1987)
FounderJames G. Robinson
Joe Roth
HeadquartersSanta Monica,
Los Angeles, California
,
United States
Key people
James G. Robinson
(Chairman & CEO)
Brian Robinson
David C. Robinson
DivisionsMorgan Creek Music
Websitemorgancreek.com

Morgan Creek Entertainment is an American film production company, former sales agent and investor, that has released box-office hits including Young Guns, Dead Ringers, Major League, True Romance, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Crush, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and The Last of the Mohicans. The studio was co-founded in 1987 by James G. Robinson and Joe Roth.[1] Robinson leads the company as chairman and CEO. His two sons, Brian Robinson and David C. Robinson, run the day-to-day operations.[citation needed] The company name comes from Roth's favorite film, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.[2] Their most recent film is The Exorcist: Believer, which was released on October 6, 2023.

Morgan Creek generally releases their films through larger studios while retaining the copyrights, and making autonomous decisions on home video and television rights. Their logo contains a stylized creek.

Company history

Their initial slate of films from 1988 to 1990 were released by 20th Century Fox, except for Renegades and Coupe de Ville which were released by Universal and Major League which was released by Paramount, and some home video releases of its early titles going to Media Home Entertainment.[2] In 1991, beginning with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, they shifted their distribution of new films, as well as their previous catalog titles, to Warner Bros., where they remained until early 2005. Later that year, beginning with Two for the Money, they released their newer films through Universal, though previous films were still handled in the U.S. by Warner.

On July 11, 1997, Gary Barber announced that he would leave the studio, and he subsequently went on to start out Spyglass Entertainment.[3] In 1998, Morgan Creek had a distribution deal with Warner Home Video to release its product through the Morgan Creek Video and the Morgan Creek DVD labels.[4]

On October 8, 1998, Morgan Creek and Franchise Pictures entered into an agreement where Morgan Creek would distribute Franchise's upcoming pictures domestically.[5] On July 2, 2001, Morgan Creek Productions sued Franchise Pictures for allegedly breaching an agreement giving the company the right of first refusal on some films.[6]

In October 2014, Morgan Creek sold the international distribution rights and copyrights to their films to Revolution Studios for $36.75 million.[7] In September 2015, Morgan Creek began negotiating the sale of rights for the remaining territories, though they intend to retain remake and television rights to the Ace Ventura, Major League, Young Guns, and Exorcist franchises.[8]

List of Morgan Creek filmography

Films

Release Date Title Director Budget Gross (worldwide) Notes
August 12, 1988 Young Guns Christopher Cain $11 million $45,661,556 international and home media distribution by Vestron Pictures
September 23, 1988 Dead Ringers David Cronenberg $13 million $8,038,508 co-production with Telefilm Canada and Mantle Clinic II
March 3, 1989 Skin Deep Blake Edwards $8.5 million $19,674,852
April 7, 1989 Major League David S. Ward $11 million $49,797,148 co-production with Mirage Productions; US distribution by Paramount Pictures
June 2, 1989 Renegades Jack Sholder $16 million $9,015,164 co-production with Interscope Communications; distributed by Universal Pictures
December 13, 1989 Enemies, a Love Story Paul Mazursky $9.5 million $7,754,571
February 16, 1990 Nightbreed Clive Barker $11 million $8,862,354
March 9, 1990 Coupe de Ville Joe Roth N/A $715,983
August 1, 1990 Young Guns II Geoff Murphy $10 million $44,143,410
August 17, 1990 The Exorcist III William Peter Blatty $11 million $39,024,251
September 28, 1990 Pacific Heights John Schlesinger $18 million $44,926,706 last Morgan Creek production distributed by 20th Century Fox
June 14, 1991 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves Kevin Reynolds $48 million $390,493,908 first Morgan Creek production distributed by Warner Bros.; the score would become the music for Morgan Creek's animated logo
January 17, 1992 Freejack Geoff Murphy $30 million $17,129,000
April 24, 1992 White Sands Roger Donaldson $22 million $9,011,574
August 14, 1992 Stay Tuned Peter Hyams $25 million $10,736,401
September 25, 1992 The Last of the Mohicans Michael Mann $40 million $75,505,856 co-production with 20th Century Fox
April 2, 1993 The Crush Alan Shapiro $6 million $13,609,396
September 10, 1993 True Romance Tony Scott $13 million $12,281,551 co-production with Davis Films and A Band Apart
February 4, 1994 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Tom Shadyac $12 million $107,217,396
March 30, 1994 Major League II David S. Ward $25 million $30,626,182
April 22, 1994 Chasers Dennis Hopper $15 million $1,596,687
September 9, 1994 Trial by Jury Heywood Gould N/A $6,971,777
October 14, 1994 Imaginary Crimes Anthony Drazan N/A $89,611
October 28, 1994 Silent Fall Bruce Beresford $30 million $3,180,674
November 10, 1995 Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls Steve Oedekerk $30 million $212,385,533
January 12, 1996 Two If by Sea Bill Bennett N/A $10,658,278
January 26, 1996 Big Bully Steve Miner $15 million $2,042,530
March 22, 1996 Diabolique Jeremiah S. Chechik $45 million $17,100,369
November 1, 1996 Bad Moon Eric Red $7 million $1,055,525
July 2, 1997 Wild America William Dear N/A $7,324,662
March 13, 1998 Incognito John Badham N/A N/A
April 17, 1998 Major League: Back to the Minors John Warren $18 million $3,572,443
August 21, 1998 Wrongfully Accused Pat Proft N/A $9,623,329 co-production with Constantin Film
October 23, 1998 Soldier Paul W. S. Anderson $60 million $14,594,226 co-production with Warner Bros. and Jerry Weintraub Productions
March 19, 1999 The King and I Richard Rich $25 million $11,993,021 Morgan Creek's first and, so far, only animated film; co-production with Nest Family Entertainment, Rankin/Bass Productions and Rich Animation Studios
September 1, 1999 Chill Factor Hugh Johnson $34 million $11,263,966
February 18, 2000 The Whole Nine Yards Jonathan Lynn $41.3 million $106,371,651 co-production with Franchise Pictures, Rational Packaging and Lansdown Films; international distribution by 20th Century Fox
May 12, 2000 Battlefield Earth Roger Christian $44 million $29,725,663 co-production with Franchise Pictures
July 19, 2000 The In Crowd Mary Lambert $15 million $5,217,498
August 25, 2000 The Art of War Christian Duguay $60 million $40,400,425 co-production with Franchise Pictures and Amen-Ra Films; international distribution by 20th Century Fox
October 6, 2000 Get Carter Stephen Kay $63.6 million $19,412,993 co-production with Franchise Pictures and The Canton Company
January 19, 2001 The Pledge Sean Penn $35 million $29,419,291 co-production with Franchise Pictures, Clyde Is Hungry Films and Epsilon Motion Pictures
February 23, 2001 3000 Miles to Graceland Demian Lichtenstein $62 million $18,720,175 co-production with Franchise Pictures
May 18, 2001 Angel Eyes Luis Mandoki $53 million $29,715,606 co-production with Franchise Pictures and The Canton Company
August 17, 2001 American Outlaws Les Mayfield $35 million $13,342,790
November 9, 2001 Heist David Mamet $39 million $28,510,652 co-production with Franchise Pictures
June 21, 2002 Juwanna Mann Jesse Vaughan $15 million $13,802,599
August 1, 2003 I'll Be There Craig Ferguson N/A N/A
August 20, 2004 Exorcist: The Beginning Renny Harlin $50 million $78,000,586
May 20, 2005 Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist Paul Schrader $30 million $251,495 last Morgan Creek production distributed by Warner Bros.
October 7, 2005 Two for the Money D. J. Caruso $35 million $30,526,509 first Morgan Creek production distributed by Universal Pictures since Coupe de Ville
October 13, 2006 Man of the Year Barry Levinson $20 million $41,237,658
December 22, 2006 The Good Shepherd Robert De Niro $85 million $99,480,480 co-production with Universal Pictures, TriBeCa Productions and American Zoetrope
May 11, 2007 Georgia Rule Garry Marshall $20 million $25,992,167
September 21, 2007 Sydney White Joe Nussbaum N/A $13,620,075
March 3, 2009 Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective David Mickey Evans $7.5 million N/A Released by Warner Home Video
September 30, 2011 Dream House Jim Sheridan $50 million $38,502,340
October 14, 2011 The Thing Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. $38 million $27,428,670 co-production with Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment
June 16, 2017 All Eyez on Me Benny Boom $45 million $54,876,855 co-production with Program Pictures and Codeblack Films
October 6, 2023 The Exorcist: Believer David Gordon Green $30 million $45.1 million co-production with Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions; direct sequel to the 1973 film[9][10][11]
TBA Dream House remake of the 2011 film[12]

Television series

References

  1. ^ Masters, Kim (November 14, 2013). "Joe Roth's 'Third Act': From 'Gigli' to Billion-Dollar Producer and Pro Soccer Superstar". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Harmetz, Aljean (April 25, 1989). "Producer Defies Rules, and Succeeds". The New York Times. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  3. ^ Busch, Anita M. (1997-07-11). "Barber cuts out on Morgan Creek". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  4. ^ Applefield Olson, Catherine (1998-06-13). "It's Quite a Production" (PDF). Billboard. p. 78. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  5. ^ Carver, Benedict (1998-10-08). "Franchise, Morgan to ink distrib'n pact". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  6. ^ Shprintz, Janet (2001-07-03). "Morgan Creek sues Franchise". Variety. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  7. ^ Marc Graser (2014-10-07). "Revolution Buys Foreign Rights to Morgan Creek Films for $36.8 Million". Variety. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  8. ^ Busch, Anita (2015-09-24). "Morgan Creek To Sell Film Library: 'Major League,' 'Ace Ventura', 'Exorcist' Remakes Next?". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
  9. ^ Couch, Aaron (December 20, 2020). "'Exorcist' Sequel in the Works with 'Halloween' Director David Gordon Green". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  10. ^ Katz, Brandon (December 20, 2020). "Exclusive: David Gordon Green in Talks to Direct 'Exorcist' Sequel for Blumhouse". observer.com. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  11. ^ Pulliam-Moore, Charles (December 24, 2020). "Blumhouse Is Summoning Another Exorcist Movie to the Mortal Plane". io9.gizmodo.com. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  12. ^ Squires, John (March 19, 2021). "Morgan Creek Developing a Remake of the Daniel Craig-Starring 2011 Horror Movie 'Dream House'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  13. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 5, 2012). "Tribeca Sets Up 'The Good Shepherd' Series Adaptation At Showtime With Robert De Niro Directing & Eric Roth Writing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  14. ^ Ausiello, Michael (August 18, 2020). "Gender Swapped Dead Ringers Reboot Set at Amazon; Rachel Weisz to Star". TVLine. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Squires, John (March 19, 2021). "Morgan Creek Turning the Michael Keaton-Starring '90s Thriller 'Pacific Heights' into a Series". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved March 19, 2021.

External links

Film studios in the United States and Canada
Authority control databases
Categories