Summit Entertainment is an American film production and

distribution company Distribution (or place) is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. Distribution is the process of making a product or service available for the consumer or business user who needs it. This can be done directly by the producer or service p ...

. It is a label of

Lionsgate Films Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is an American film production and film distribution studio, headquartered in Santa Monica and founded in Canada, and is the flagship division of Lionsgate Entertainment. It is the la ...

, owned by Lionsgate Entertainment and is headquartered in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

History

Independent era (1991–2012)

Summit Entertainment was founded in 1991Molloy, Claire (2010), p. 16.
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Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...

. Retrieved November 14, 2010. by film producers

Bernd Eichinger Bernd Eichinger (; 11 April 194924 January 2011) was a German film producer, director, and screenwriter. Life and career Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s and bou ...

Arnon Milchan Arnon Milchan ( he, ארנון מילצ'ן; December 6, 1944) is an Israeli businessman, film producer and spy. He has been involved in over 130 full-length motion pictures and is the founder of production company Regency Enterprises. Regency's ...

, and

Andrew G. Vajna Andrew G. Vajna (born András György Vajna; 1 August 1944 – 20 January 2019) was a Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the ''Rambo'' series, '' Total Recall'', '' Tombstone'', ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'' ...

to handle film sales in foreign countries. Summit officially launched in 1993 by Patrick Wachsberger, Bob Hayward, and David Garrett under the name Summit Entertainment LP as a distribution and sales organization. By 1995 they were producing and co-financing films, and by 1997 they started fully financing films. Among the company's early successes was '' American Pie'', which Summit distributed outside of English-speaking territories. In 2006, it became an independent film studio with over a billion dollars in financing backed by Merrill Lynch. After a string of flops including '' P2'', ''

Never Back Down ''Never Back Down'' is a 2008 American martial arts film directed by Jeff Wadlow and starring Sean Faris, Cam Gigandet, Amber Heard and Djimon Hounsou. It tells the story of a frustrated and conflicted teenager who arrives at a new high school ...

'' and '' Sex Drive'', Summit found success in November 2008 with the release of ''

Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this i ...

'', a teen romance about vampires based on the best-selling book of the same name by

Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer (; née Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire romance series ''Twilight'', which has sold over 100 million copies, with translations into 37 differ ...

that made $408,773,703 worldwide. In the spring of 2009, Summit released '' Knowing'', the company's second movie to open #1 at the box office and made $182,492,056 worldwide. In November 2009, Summit released the sequel to ''Twilight'' titled '' The Twilight Saga: New Moon'', also based on the popular novel by Stephenie Meyer, breaking box office records for first weekend grosses at the time, taking in $142,839,137 in the first three days. In June 2010 Summit released the third film of the ''Twilight'' series, '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''. It broke a midnight screening record of over $30 million and set a one-day Wednesday record of $68.5 million. It became the first movie in the series to cross the $300 million mark domestically. In 2008, Summit Entertainment ranked in eighth place among the studios, with a gross of $226.5 million, almost entirely because of the release of ''

''. In 2009, Summit ranked 7th among studios with a gross of $482.5 million. Other Summit Entertainment releases include: ''

Ender's Game ''Ender's Game'' is a 1985 military science fiction novel by American author Orson Scott Card. Set at an unspecified date in Earth's future, the novel presents an imperiled humankind after two conflicts with an insectoid alien species they ...

'' (released November 1, 2013 in the United States; an adaptation of

Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...

's 1985 novel); '' Next Day Air'' ($10,027,047 US box office); ''

The Hurt Locker ''The Hurt Locker'' is a 2008 American war thriller film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Guy Pearce. The film follow ...

'' ($16,400,000 US box office; it garnered Summit its first Best Picture Oscar); the animated ''

Astro Boy ''Astro Boy'', known in Japan by its original name , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Osamu Tezuka. It was serialized in Kobunsha's ''Shōnen'' from 1952 to 1968. The 112 chapters were collected into 23 '' tankōbon'' ...

''; teen horror film '' Sorority Row'' ($11,965,282 US box office); the low-budget ''

Push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

'' ($31,811,527 US box office); '' Bandslam'' ($5,210,988 US box office); '' Letters to Juliet'' ($53,032,453 US box office); and, the sleeper hit, '' RED'' ($87,940,198 US box office; nominated for a 2010

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

in the Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical category).

Lionsgate era (2012–present)

On February 1, 2009, it was announced that Lionsgate would acquire Summit Entertainment, along with its library of six films and rights to the ''Twilight'' franchise, but two days later, these merger negotiations broke down due to concerns over changing content. On January 13, 2012, Lionsgate officially acquired Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million.It's Official: Lionsgate Has Acquired Summit Entertainment for $412.5 Million
, ComingSoon.net, January 13, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2012. Lionsgate continues to operate Summit Entertainment as a label.

References

External links

* (Now redirects to Lionsgate's website) {{Authority control 1991 establishments in California 2012 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1991 American independent film studios Companies based in Santa Monica, California Entertainment companies established in 1991 Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Home video companies of the United States Lionsgate subsidiaries

History

Independent era (1991–2012)

Lionsgate era (2012–present)

See also

References

External links