The Geffen Film Company
US film distribution and production company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Geffen Film Company (also known as The Geffen Company, The Geffen Film Company, Inc., and later Geffen Pictures) is an American film distributor and production company founded by David Geffen, the founder of Geffen Records, and future co-founder of DreamWorks. The spherical Geffen Pictures logo, based on the logo of its record-label counterpart, was created by Saul Bass.[citation needed] Their most famous films are Risky Business (1983), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Beetlejuice (1988) and its 2024 sequel, and Interview with the Vampire (1994).
- 1982[1]
Logo used in 2024 for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film distributor and production company |
| Founded |
|
| Founder | David Geffen |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Fate | Folded into Warner Bros. aside from a one-time revival in 2024 |
| Successors | Library: Warner Bros. (through The Geffen Company) Paramount Pictures (through Paramount Players and The Geffen Company) (Beavis and Butt-Head Do America only) Disney–ABC Domestic Television (Tales from the Crypt syndication rights only) |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
Key people | David Geffen Eric Eisner |
| Parent | Warner Bros. |
| Divisions | Geffen Records (1980–1999) Geffen Television |
History
Geffen founded the company in 1982,[1] having recruited Eric Eisner as president,[2] and distributed its films through Warner Bros.[3] Geffen was operated as a division of Warner Bros. As a result, following the original company's shutdown in 1998, Warner Bros. through The Geffen Company now owns the original company's library, with the exception of the 1996 Mike Judge comedy Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, which is owned by Paramount Pictures through Paramount Players and The Geffen Company.[4]
In 1990, The Geffen Film Company was renamed and reorganized as Geffen Pictures.
In 1993, Geffen and MTV Productions struck a two-picture deal.[5]
The Geffen Pictures brand continued to be used on films by David Geffen until 1998, after the April release of The Butcher Boy, when it was folded into Warner Bros. film divisions. In 2024, the logo made a one-time revival as a legacy credit for the release of the long-awaited Beetlejuice sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, as a homage to the original film.[6]
Filmography
Feature films
1980s
| Release date | Title | Director | Notes | Names | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 5, 1982 | Personal Best | Robert Towne | The Geffen Film Company | $15 million | $5.6 million | |
| August 5, 1983 | Risky Business | Paul Brickman | $6.2 million | $63.5 million | ||
| March 15, 1985 | Lost in America | Albert Brooks | $4 million | $10.1 million | ||
| September 13, 1985 | After Hours | Martin Scorsese | co-production with Double Play Productions | $4.5 million | $10.6 million | |
| December 19, 1986 | Little Shop of Horrors | Frank Oz | $25 million | $39 million | ||
| March 30, 1988 | Beetlejuice | Tim Burton | $15 million | $74.2 million |
1990s
| Release date | Title | Director | Notes | Names | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2, 1990 | Men Don't Leave | Paul Brickman | The Geffen Film Company | $7 million | $6 million | |
| March 22, 1991 | Defending Your Life | Albert Brooks | Geffen Pictures | N/A | $16.4 million | |
| December 13, 1991 | The Last Boy Scout | Tony Scott | co-production with Silver Pictures | $43 million | $114.5 million | |
| October 1, 1993 | M. Butterfly | David Cronenberg | $17–18 million | $1.4 million | ||
| November 11, 1994 | Interview with the Vampire | Neil Jordan | $60 million | $223.7 million | ||
| July 26, 1996 | Joe's Apartment | John Payson | co-production with MTV Productions | $13 million | $4.6 million | |
| October 11, 1996 | Michael Collins | Neil Jordan | $25 million | $27.5 million | ||
| December 20, 1996 | Beavis and Butt-Head Do America | Mike Judge | co-production with Paramount Pictures and MTV Productions | $12 million | $63.1 million | |
| July 13, 1997 | The Butcher Boy | Neil Jordan | N/A | $1.96 million |
2020s
| Release date | Title | Director | Notes | Names | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 6, 2024 | Beetlejuice Beetlejuice | Tim Burton | co-production with Plan B Entertainment and Tim Burton Productions | The Geffen Company | $100 million | $451.1 million |
Television series
| Years | Title | Networks | Notes | Names | Seasons | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–1996 | Tales from the Crypt | HBO | Co-production with Tales from the Crypt Holdings | Uncredited | 7 | 93 |
| 1989–1991 | Beetlejuice | ABC (seasons 1–3) Fox Kids (season 4) |
Co-production with Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Tim Burton, Inc. and Nelvana | The Geffen Film Company (seasons 1–2) Geffen Pictures (seasons 3–4) |
4 | 94 |
Unrealized projects
In 1994, Geffen began development on a feature film based on the children's television series Barney & Friends for a planned release in 1995.[7][8] However, disagreements with The Lyons Group, the creator of the series, over marketing led to them selling the rights to PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1996.[9] The film was eventually released by them as Barney's Great Adventure on April 3, 1998.[10]
