Sony Pictures Classics is an art-house, "independent" film division of Sony Pictures Entertainment founded in 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom (similar to Fox Searchlight Pictures and Focus Features).[2] It distributes, produces and acquires specialty films (especially ofdocumentaries, independent films and art films) from the United States and around the world. As of 2015, Barker and Bernard are co-presidents of the division.
History[]
Co-founder and co-president Michael Barker
Sony Pictures Classics was founded on January 1, 1992, by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom, set up as an autonomous division of Sony Pictures Entertainment. The model of the company is to produce, acquire and/or distribute independent films from the United States and internationally.
Sony Pictures Classics has a history of making reasonable investments for small films, and getting a decent return. It has a history of not overspending. Its largest commercial success in recent years is Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (2011), which grossed over $56 million in the U.S., becoming Allen's highest-grossing film ever in the United States.
Occasionally, Sony Pictures Classics agrees to release films for all other departments of Sony; However, under Sony Pictures Classics' contract with Sony, all other departments of Sony (including the parent company) cannot force Sony Pictures Classics to release any film that the division does not want to release.
Select releases[]
1990s[edit source][]
| Release Date | Title | March 13, 1992 | Howard's End |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 25, 1992 | Danzon | ||
| October 30, 1992 | Van Gogh | ||
| December 23, 1992 | Indochine | ||
| March 3, 1993 | Olivier, Olivier | ||
| April 16, 1993 | The Story of Qiu Ju | ||
| May 28, 1993 | The Long Day Closes | ||
| June 9, 1993 | Orlando | ||
| June 25, 1993 | Jacquot de Nantes | ||
| August 6, 1993 | House of Angels | ||
| December 21, 1993 | Faraway, So Close! | ||
| December 23, 1993 | The Accompanist | ||
| February 25, 1994 | Belle Époque | ||
| March 31, 1994 | Germinal | ||
| April 15, 1994 | In Custody | ||
| June 3, 1994 | The Slingshot | ||
| July 15, 1994 | Mi Vida Loca | ||
| October 19, 1994 | Vanya on 42nd Street | ||
| October 21, 1994 | I Don't Want to Talk About It | ||
| December 22, 1994 | A Man of No Importance | ||
| February 17, 1995 | Window to Paris | ||
| March 8, 1995 | Martha & Ethel | ||
| March 17, 1995 | Farinelli | ||
| April 21, 1995 | Burnt by the Sun | ||
| April 28, 1995 | Crumb | ||
| May 19, 1995 | Amateur | ||
| May 26, 1995 | A Pure Formality | ||
| June 8, 1995 | Anne Frank Remembered | ||
| June 16, 1995 | Wings of Courage (IMAX) | ||
| June 23, 1995 | Love & Human Remains | ||
| June 30, 1995 | Safe | ||
| July 21, 1995 | Living in Oblivion | ||
| September 15, 1995 | Mute Witness | ||
| September 27, 1995 | Persuasion | ||
| October 20, 1995 | Across the Sea of Time | ||
| December 15, 1995 | The City of Lost Children | ||
| December 22, 1995 | Shanghai Triad | ||
| January 24, 1996 | Caught | ||
| March 8, 1996 | The Flower of My Secret | ||
| March 15, 1996 | The Celluloid Closet | ||
| March 29, 1996 | Denise Calls Up | ||
| May 3, 1996 | Madame Butterfly | ||
| May 17, 1996 | Ashes of Time | ||
| May 24, 1996 | Welcome to the Dollhouse | ||
| June 21, 1996 | Lone Star | ||
| July 26, 1996 | Manny & Lo | ||
| September 13, 1996 | Brother of Sleep | ||
| October 9, 1996 | Beautiful Thing | ||
| December 20, 1996 | The Whole Wide World | ||
| December 25, 1996 | Thieves | ||
| January 31, 1997 | Waiting for Guffman | ||
| February 7, 1997 | SubUrbia | ||
| April 23, 1997 | A Chef in Love | ||
| May 2, 1997 | Broken English | ||
| June 20, 1997 | Dream with the Fishes | ||
| When the Cat's Away | |||
| August 1, 1997 | In the Company of Men | ||
| September 17, 1997 | The Myth of Fingerprints | ||
| October 3, 1997 | Fast, Cheap & Out of Control | ||
| November 14, 1997 | The Tango Lesson | ||
| December 26, 1997 | Afterglow | ||
| Ma vie en rose | |||
| February 6, 1998 | Nil by Mouth | ||
| March 27, 1998 | Character | ||
| Men with Guns | |||
| April 3, 1998 | The Spanish Prisoner | ||
| May 1, 1998 | A Friend of the Deceased | ||
| Wilde | |||
| May 22, 1998 | The Opposite of Sex | ||
| June 19, 1998 | Henry Fool | ||
| Marie from the Bay of Angels | |||
| July 2, 1998 | Mark Twain's America in 3D (IMAX) | ||
| July 10, 1998 | Whatever | ||
| July 31, 1998 | The Governess | ||
| November 13, 1998 | Dancing at Lughnasa | ||
| November 20, 1998 | Central Station | ||
| December 18, 1998 | The General | ||
| February 12, 1999 | Tango | ||
| April 2, 1999 | The Dreamlife of Angels | ||
| April 16, 1999 | SLC Punk | ||
| The Winslow Boy | |||
| May 7, 1999 | This Is My Father | ||
| May 28, 1999 | The Loss of Sexual Innocence | ||
| June 18, 1999 | Run Lola Run | ||
| July 30, 1999 | Twin Falls Idaho | ||
| October 22, 1999 | One Day in September | ||
| November 5, 1999 | American Movie | ||
| December 17, 1999 | The Emperor and the Assassin | ||
| December 29, 1999 | The Third Miracle |
2000s[edit source][]
| Release Date | Title | February 18, 2000 | Not One Less |
|---|---|---|---|
| February 25, 2000 | Mifune's Last Song | ||
| March 10, 2000 | Sweet and Lowdown | ||
| March 31, 2000 | All About My Mother | ||
| The Color of Paradise | |||
| April 7, 2000 | Me Myself I | ||
| May 5, 2000 | Est - Ouest | ||
| May 12, 2000 | Bossa Nova | ||
| May 26, 2000 | Kikujiro | ||
| June 9, 2000 | Groove | ||
| June 28, 2000 | Trixie | ||
| July 7, 2000 | Shower | ||
| August 4, 2000 | The Tao of Steve | ||
| August 25, 2000 | Solomon & Gaenor | ||
| September 15, 2000 | Goya in Bordeaux | ||
| September 29, 2000 | The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy | ||
| October 13, 2000 | Just Looking | ||
| December 8, 2000 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | ||
| December 22, 2000 | The House of Mirth | ||
| January 22, 2001 | Haiku Tunnel | ||
| February 6, 2001 | Pollock | ||
| March 2, 2001 | Me You Them | ||
| April 6, 2001 | Brother | ||
| Shadow Magic | |||
| April 27, 2001 | The Luzhin Defence | ||
| The Princess and the Warrior | |||
| June 8, 2001 | Divided We Fall | ||
| June 15, 2001 | The Road Home | ||
| July 6, 2001 | The Vertical Ray of the Sun | ||
| July 27, 2001 | Jackpot | ||
| September 29, 2001 | Who Knows? | ||
| October 5, 2001 | Grateful Dawg | ||
| November 21, 2001 | The Devil's Backbone | ||
| December 7, 2001 | Last Orders | ||
| December 28, 2001 | Dark Blue World | ||
| January 25, 2002 | Beijing Bicycle | ||
| March 15, 2002 | Pauline and Paulette | ||
| March 22, 2002 | Son of the Bride | ||
| April 5, 2002 | Crush | ||
| April 19, 2002 | Nine Queens | ||
| May 8, 2002 | Lagaan | ||
| May 10, 2002 | The Lady and the Duke | ||
| May 20, 2002 | Dogtown and Z-Boys | ||
| July 5, 2002 | Thirteen Conversations About One Thing | ||
| July 12, 2002 | My Wife Is an Actress | ||
| July 26, 2002 | Happy Times | ||
| August 9, 2002 | Secret Ballot | ||
| August 30, 2002 | Mad Love | ||
| September 13, 2002 | Quitting | ||
| October 18, 2002 | Auto Focus | ||
| November 22, 2002 | Talk to Her | ||
| December 20, 2002 | Spider | ||
| December 30, 2002 | Love Liza | ||
| January 17, 2003 | Big Shot's Funeral | ||
| January 24, 2003 | Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary | ||
| February 14, 2003 | All the Real Girls | ||
| March 7, 2003 | Laurel Canyon | ||
| April 4, 2003 | The Man Without a Past | ||
| Levity | |||
| April 18, 2003 | Winged Migration | ||
| May 2, 2003 | Owning Mahowny | ||
| May 23, 2003 | Respiro | ||
| June 20, 2003 | The Legend of Suriyothai | ||
| July 11, 2003 | The Cuckoo | ||
| July 24, 2003 | Masked and Anonymous | ||
| August 29, 2003 | Once Upon a Time in the Midlands | ||
| September 26, 2003 | My Life Without Me | ||
| November 26, 2003 | The Triplets of Belleville | ||
| December 3, 2003 | Monsieur Ibrahim | ||
| December 12, 2003 | The Statement | ||
| December 19, 2003 | The Fog of War | ||
| December 25, 2003 | The Company | ||
| February 27, 2004 | Good Bye Lenin! | ||
| March 12, 2004 | Broken Wings | ||
| March 19, 2004 | Bon Voyage | ||
| April 2, 2004 | Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring | ||
| April 16, 2004 | Young Adam | ||
| May 14, 2004 | Carandiru | ||
| May 28, 2004 | Baadasssss! | ||
| The Mother | |||
| June 18, 2004 | Facing Windows | ||
| July 9, 2004 | Riding Giants | ||
| July 16, 2004 | Touch of Pink | ||
| Zhou Yu's Train | |||
| July 28, 2004 | She Hate Me | ||
| September 3, 2004 | Warriors of Heaven and Earth | ||
| September 17, 2004 | Head in the Clouds | ||
| Želary | |||
| October 15, 2004 | Being Julia | ||
| October 22, 2004 | Lightning in a Bottle | ||
| November 19, 2004 | Bad Education | ||
| December 3, 2004 | House of Flying Daggers | ||
| December 17, 2004 | Imaginary Heroes | ||
| December 29, 2004 | The Merchant of Venice | ||
| February 25, 2005 | Up and Down | ||
| March 11, 2005 | In My Country | ||
| April 1, 2005 | Look at Me | ||
| April 8, 2005 | Kung Fu Hustle | ||
| April 29, 2005 | 3-Iron | ||
| May 13, 2005 | Layer Cake | ||
| The House of Sand | |||
| May 27, 2005 | Saving Face | ||
| August 5, 2005 | 2046 | ||
| Junebug | |||
| August 26, 2005 | The Memory of a Killer | ||
| September 14, 2005 | L'Enfant (The Child) | ||
| September 16, 2005 | Thumbsucker | ||
| September 30, 2005 | Capote | ||
| October 5, 2005 | Caché | ||
| November 9, 2005 | Joyeux Noël | ||
| December 22, 2005 | Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles | ||
| January 22, 2006 | Why We Fight | ||
| March 17, 2006 | Volver | ||
| March 23, 2006 | The Lives of Others | ||
| March 31, 2006 | The Devil and Daniel Johnston | ||
| April 7, 2006 | Friends with Money | ||
| June 28, 2006 | Who Killed the Electric Car? | ||
| August 2, 2006 | Quinceañera | ||
| August 25, 2006 | The Quiet | ||
| September 1, 2006 | Black Book | ||
| September 2, 2006 | Paprika | ||
| September 8, 2006 | Driving Lessons | ||
| September 22, 2006 | American Hardcore | ||
| December 21, 2006 | Curse of the Golden Flower | ||
| April 20, 2007 | The Valet | ||
| April 27, 2007 | Jindabyne | ||
| May 19, 2007 | The Band's Visit | ||
| July 13, 2007 | Interview | ||
| September 21, 2007 | The Jane Austen Book Club | ||
| October 5, 2007 | My Kid Could Paint That | ||
| October 12, 2007 | Sleuth | ||
| December 14, 2007 | Youth Without Youth | ||
| December 25, 2007 | Persepolis | ||
| March 7, 2008 | Married Life | ||
| March 14, 2008 | CJ7 | ||
| April 25, 2008 | Standard Operating Procedure | ||
| May 9, 2008 | Redbelt | ||
| May 19, 2008 | Lorna's Silence | ||
| May 22, 2008 | Adoration | ||
| May 23, 2008 | Synecdoche, New York | ||
| May 24, 2008 | The Class | ||
| June 20, 2008 | Brick Lane | ||
| July 3, 2008 | The Wackness | ||
| August 1, 2008 | Frozen River | ||
| August 5, 2008 | The Counterfeiters | ||
| August 29, 2008 | I Served the King of England | ||
| October 3, 2008 | Rachel Getting Married | ||
| October 10, 2008 | Ashes of Time Redux | ||
| October 24, 2008 | I've Loved You So Long | ||
| January 18, 2009 | An Education | ||
| January 23, 2009 | Moon | ||
| March 18, 2009 | Broken Embraces | ||
| March 27, 2009 | The Damned United | ||
| April 3, 2009 | Sugar | ||
| Paris 36 | |||
| April 22, 2009 | Coco Before Chanel | ||
| May 8, 2009 | Rudo y Cursi | ||
| May 22, 2009 | O' Horten | ||
| May 29, 2009 | Easy Virtue | ||
| July 10, 2009 | Soul Power | ||
| August 14, 2009 | It Might Get Loud | ||
| December 25, 2009 | The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus | ||
| December 30, 2009 | The White Ribbon |
2010s[]
| Release Date | Title | February 26, 2010 | The Last Station |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Prophet (Un Prophete) | |||
| March 26, 2010 | Chloe | ||
| April 30, 2010 | Please Give | ||
| May 7, 2010 | Mother and Child | ||
| May 21, 2010 | The Secret in Their Eyes | ||
| June 25, 2010 | Wild Grass | ||
| July 23, 2010 | Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky | ||
| July 30, 2010 | Get Low | ||
| August 6, 2010 | Lebanon | ||
| August 13, 2010 | Animal Kingdom | ||
| September 3, 2010 | A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop | ||
| September 22, 2010 | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | ||
| October 8, 2010 | Inside Job | ||
| Tamara Drewe | |||
| November 19, 2010 | Made in Dagenham | ||
| December 29, 2010 | Another Year | ||
| February 18, 2011 | Barney's Version | ||
| February 25, 2011 | Of Gods and Men | ||
| March 18, 2011 | Winter in Wartime | ||
| April 1, 2011 | In a Better World | ||
| April 22, 2011 | Incendies | ||
| POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold | |||
| May 20, 2011 | Midnight in Paris | ||
| July 15, 2011 | Life, Above All | ||
| July 29, 2011 | The Guard | ||
| August 26, 2011 | Higher Ground | ||
| September 16, 2011 | Restless | ||
| September 30, 2011 | Take Shelter | ||
| October 14, 2011 | The Skin I Live In | ||
| November 23, 2011 | A Dangerous Method | ||
| December 16, 2011 | Carnage | ||
| December 30, 2011 | A Separation | ||
| February 10, 2012 | In Darkness | ||
| March 9, 2012 | Footnote | ||
| March 23, 2012 | The Raid: Redemption | ||
| April 6, 2012 | Damsels in Distress | ||
| April 20, 2012 | Darling Companion | ||
| May 11, 2012 | Where Do We Go Now? | ||
| June 22, 2012 | To Rome with Love | ||
| June 29, 2012 | Neil Young Journeys | ||
| July 27, 2012 | Searching for Sugar Man | ||
| August 3, 2012 | Celeste and Jesse Forever | ||
| August 17, 2012 | Chicken with Plums | ||
| October 12, 2012 | Smashed | ||
| November 23, 2012 | Rust and Bone | ||
| December 19, 2012 | Amour | ||
| December 25, 2012 | West of Memphis | ||
| February 1, 2013 | The Gatekeepers | ||
| February 15, 2013 | No | ||
| April 5, 2013 | The Company You Keep | ||
| April 24, 2013 | At Any Price | ||
| May 3, 2013 | Love Is All You Need | ||
| May 24, 2013 | Before Midnight | ||
| Fill the Void | |||
| June 28, 2013 | I'm So Excited | ||
| July 26, 2013 | Blue Jasmine | ||
| August 14, 2013 | The Patience Stone | ||
| August 16, 2013 | Austenland | ||
| September 13, 2013 | Wadjda | ||
| October 16, 2013 | Kill Your Darlings | ||
| December 20, 2013 | The Past | ||
| December 25, 2013 | The Invisible Woman | ||
| January 31, 2014 | Tim's Vermeer | ||
| February 28, 2014 | The Lunchbox | ||
| March 21, 2014 | Jodorowsky's Dune | ||
| March 28, 2014 | The Raid 2 | ||
| April 11, 2014 | Only Lovers Left Alive | ||
| April 25, 2014 | For No Good Reason | ||
| June 20, 2014 | Third Person | ||
| July 11, 2014 | Land Ho! | ||
| July 25, 2014 | Magic in the Moonlight | ||
| August 22, 2014 | Love Is Strange | ||
| October 14, 2014 | Whiplash | ||
| November 14, 2014 | Foxcatcher | ||
| December 19, 2014 | Mr. Turner | ||
| December 25, 2014 | Leviathan | ||
| 2014 | Island Dreams | ||
| January 16, 2015 | Still Alice | ||
| January 23, 2015 | Red Army | ||
| February 20, 2015 | Wild Tales | ||
| March 6, 2015 | The Lady in the Van | ||
| March 27, 2015 | The Salt of the Earth | ||
| May 8, 2015 | Saint Laurent | ||
| May 22, 2015 | Aloft | ||
| July 17, 2015 | Irrational Man | ||
| August 7, 2015 | The Diary of a Teenage Girl | ||
| August 21, 2015 | Grandma | ||
| September 9, 2015 | Coming Home | ||
| October 16, 2015 | Truth | ||
| November 14, 2015 | Merchants of Doubt | ||
| December 18, 2015 | Son of Saul | ||
| March 18, 2016 | The Bronze | ||
| March 25, 2016 | I Saw the Light | ||
| April 1, 2016 | Miles Ahead | ||
| April 22, 2016 | The Meddler | ||
| May 20, 2016 | Maggie's Plan | ||
| July 29, 2016 | Equity | ||
| November 2, 2016 | The Eagle Huntress | ||
| November 11, 2016 | Elle | ||
| December 9, 2016 | The Comedian | ||
| December 21, 2016 | Julieta | ||
| December 25, 2016 | Toni Erdmann | ||
| January 20, 2017 | The Red Turtle | ||
| February 10, 2017 | Land of Mine | ||
| April 14, 2017 | Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer | ||
| May 12, 2017 | Paris Can Wait | ||
| June 16, 2017 | Maudie | ||
| June 30, 2017 | 13 Minutes | ||
| July 28, 2017 | Brigsby Bear | ||
| September 29, 2017 | Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House | ||
| October 27, 2017 | Novitiate | ||
| November 24, 2017 | Call Me by Your Name | ||
| December 22, 2017 | Happy End | ||
| December 29, 2017 | Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool | ||
| February 2, 2018 | A Fantastic Woman | ||
| February 16, 2018 | Loveless | ||
| March 2, 2018 | Foxtrot | ||
| March 9, 2018 | The Leisure Seeker | ||
| March 23, 2018 | Final Portrait | ||
| April 13, 2018 | The Rider | ||
| May 11, 2018 | The Seagull | ||
| June 22, 2018 | Boundaries | ||
| July 27, 2018 | Puzzle | ||
| August 17, 2018 | The Wife | ||
| September 14, 2018 | American Chaos | ||
| October 10, 2018 | The Happy Prince | ||
| November 2, 2018 | Maria by Callas | ||
| December 14, 2018 | Capernaum |
Future releases[edit source][]
| Release Date | Title | December 28, 2018 | Stan & Ollie |
|---|
No release date set[edit source][]
The following films have been announced by Sony Pictures Classics, but have "to be determined" release dates.
- The White Crow
- Never Look Away
- The Fall of the American Empire
- Ruben Brandt, Collector
- Sunset