 Logo used since 2024 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1998; 26 years ago (1998) |
| Headquarters | Beverly Hills, California |
| Key people | Hal Sadoff, Norman Golightly, Douglas McClure |
| Products | Motion Pictures, television |
| Parent | OEG Inc. |
| Website | https://darkcastle.com |
Dark Castle Entertainment is a film, TV, and digital projects production label. It is owned by North American sports and entertainment company, OEG Inc. The firm is led by co-CEOs Hal Sadoff and Norman Golightly.
The majority of Dark Castle films from the late 1990s to mid 2010s were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The company’s later films have also been distributed by Paramount Pictures and Shudder/AMC.
History
1998—2003: Homage to William Castle, the early years
Dark Castle was founded in 1998 by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler. The Dark Castle name pays homage to William Castle, a horror filmmaker from the 1950s and 1960s. When first formed, the goal of the company was to remake Castle's horror films. After two remakes, House on Haunted Hill and Thirteen Ghosts, they moved on to producing original material, along with remakes of non-Castle films.
2003—2013: More horror, action
Gothika, starring Halle Berry and Robert Downey Jr., was Dark Castle's first original film in 2003. They followed it up with House of Wax, the company's first remake of a non-Castle film.
In 2008, the company moved beyond the horror genre to produce the action film RocknRolla.
In 2009, Dark Castle released the psychological horror film Orphan. The film grossed $80 million on a $20 million budget. Later that year, the company produced its first martial arts film, Ninja Assassin.
In 2010, they produced action film adaptions of The Losers based on the DC Vertigo comic of the same name, and Unknown starring Liam Neeson, which grossed $136 million against its $30 million budget.
After a long relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures as their main distributor, Dark Castle began working with other distributors including Paramount Pictures and Shudder/AMC.
2015—Present: New ownership and commercial success
Dark Castle was acquired by Daryl Katz of OEG Inc. in 2015. Hal Sadoff was named CEO.
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.
Next, Dark Castle produced black comedy crime film Suburbicon directed by George Clooney, written by the Coen Brothers, and starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.
In 2018, Dark Castle produced Superfly, a remake of the 1972 film Super Fly.
Dark Castle continued to produce horror films, including Seance, starring Suki Waterhouse, and the prequel to Orphan, Orphan: First Kill, starring Isabelle Fuhrman from the original movie. In 2020, the company began producing television with the sci-fi horror series The Expecting.
In 2023, the company filmed Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, and financed the films Shell, starring Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson, and directed by Max Minghella, and Last Breath, which is based on the documentary Last Breath and stars Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu.
Filmography
Lifetime grosses
| 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 | $3.5 million (A) | $44.4 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2001 | Thirteen Ghosts | $42 million | $41.7 million | $26.6 million | $68.5 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2002 | Ghost Ship | $20 million | $30.1 million | $38.2 million | $68.3 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 | Gothika | $40 million | $59.7 million | $81.7 million | $141.6 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2005 | House of Wax | $40 million | $32.1 million | $36.7 million | $68.8 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2007 | The Reaping | $40 million | $25.1 million | $37.6 million | $62.8 million | $19.8 million | $82.6 million |
| 2008 | RocknRolla | $15 million | $5.7 million | $20 million | $25.7 million | $7.4 million | $33.1 million |
| 2009 | Orphan | $20 million | $41,596,251 | $36,741,122 | $78,337,373 | $12,250,443 | $90,587,816 |
| 2009 | Whiteout | $35 million | $10,275,638 | $7,565,229 | $17,840,867 | $3,192,934 | $21,033,801 |
| 2009 | Ninja Assassin | $50 million | $38,122,883 | $23,471,000 | $61,593,883 | $13,841,623 | $75,435,506 |
| 2010 | The Losers | $25 million | $23,591,432 | $5,385,903 | $28,977,335 | $6,462,496 | $35,439,831 |
| 2010 | Splice | $30 million | $17,010,170 | $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.
References
- "Dark Castle Entertainment | LinkedIn". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2024-05-05.
- ^ Hipes, Partick (April 27, 2015). "Joel Silver Teams With Financier Daryl Katz, Launches New Company; Hal Sadoff CEO". Deadline.
- ^ Fisher, Eric (April 6, 2023). "The Next Chapter for Daryl Katz and OEG". NHL.com.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (February 25, 2021). "Simon Barrett-Helmed Horror Pic 'Seance' Scores U.S. Deal Via RJLE Films And Shudder; IFC Films Scare up Right To 'Werewolves Within' – Film Briefs". Deadline.
- "Norman Golightly".
- ^ Garrahan, Matthew (December 17, 2006). "The Matrix: Recapitalised". Financial Times.
- ^ Chapman, Wilson (July 13, 2022). "'Orphan: First Kill' Trailer: Isabelle Fuhrman Rerturns as Esther in Long-Awaited Horror Prequel". Variety.
- Caddell, Ian (March 28, 2007). "Dark Castle strikes out on its own". The Georgia Straight.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott (December 7, 2021). "Egyptian Star Mohamed Karim, Dark Castle Team on Horror Film 'Book of Chaos'(Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter.
- ^ Carver, Benedict (January 14, 1999). "Oh, the horror!". Variety. Archived from the original on 2023-04-29.
- ^ Valle, Avi (August 13, 2023). "Thirteen Ghosts Set to be Revived as New 13-Part Spook Filled Series". Movie Web.
- ^ Craft, Dan (November 29, 2003). "Lunatics running this wacko movie asylum". p. D8 – via Newspapers.com.
- Guthrie, Luna (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era". Collider.
- Guthrie, Luna (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era". Collider.
- Stone, Jay (September 10, 2008). "Ritchie swept away by films". p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Rodriguez, Rene (October 30, 2009). "Modest little picture's a frightful romp". p. 20G – via Newspapers.com.
- Donnelly, Matt (November 2, 2020). "'Orphan' Prequel Enlists Isabelle Fuhrman to Reprise Role of Esther (Exclusive)". Variety.
- ^ Fritz, Ben (November 30, 2009). "'Blind Side' No. 2 but takes spotlight from 'New Moon'". p. 20G – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Debruge, Peter (April 21, 2010). "The Losers". Variety.
- Andreeva, Nellie (June 29, 2021). "'Unknown' Series Sequel To Movie In Works At TNT With Liam Neeson Producing, Jaume Collet-Serra Directing". Variety.
- "The Nice Guys". Dark Castle.com.
- Truitt, Brian (October 24, 2017). "Review:George Clooney's messy 'Suburbicon' disappoints as a retro dark comedy". USA Today.
- ^ Rooney, David (September 2, 2017). "'Suburbicon': Film Review". Hollywood Reporter.
- "Superfly". Dark Castle.com.
- McNary, Dave (May 25, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Sony Opening Crime Thriller 'Superfly' Two Days Earlier". Variety.
- Wiseman, Andreas (October 22, 2019). "Suki Waterhouse To Star In Horror 'Seance' For Dark Castle Entertainment, HanWay & Ingenious – AFM". Deadline.
- D’Alessandro, Anthony (November 6, 2020). "Rossif Sutherland Joins eOne &Dark Castle's Horror Prequel 'Orphan: First Kill'". Deadline.
- Grater, Tom (June 12, 2020). "Olivia Munn To Star In & Produce Action Pic 'Replay' -Cannes". Deadline.
- ^ Stephan, Katcy (March 12, 2024). "The Avenue Lands North American Rights to 'Old Guy' (Exclusive)". Variety.
- Wiseman, Andreas (February 5, 2024). "Arian Moayed, Este Haim, Lionel Boyce, Ziwe & More Join Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson & Kaia Gerber In Max Minghella's Thriller 'Shell'(Exclusive)". Yahoo News.
- "Last Breath". Dark Castle.com.
- Germain, David (October 25, 2002). "'Ghost Ship' best left on the sea floor". p. D4 – via Newspapers.com.
- Rooney, David (November 16, 2003). "Gothika". Variety.
- Guthrie, Luna (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era". Collider.
- Hart, Hugh (April 1, 2007). "Real scare for cast of 'Reaping'". SF Gate.
- Garcia, Víctor (2007-10-16), Return to House on Haunted Hill (Crime, Fantasy, Horror), Amanda Righetti, Cerina Vincent, Erik Palladino, Warner Premiere, Dark Castle Entertainment, BUFO
- "WarnerBros.com | Rocknrolla | Movies". www.warnerbros.com.
- Leydon, Joe (March 2, 2009). "Eschelon Conspiracy". Variety.
- Sena, Dominic (2009-09-11), Whiteout (Action, Crime, Mystery), Kate Beckinsale, Gabriel Macht, Tom Skerritt, Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, StudioCanal
- Parker, Dave (2009-09-29), The Hills Run Red (Horror, Mystery, Thriller), Sophie Monk, Tad Hilgenbrink, William Sadler, Warner Premiere, Dark Castle Entertainment, Fever Dreams, retrieved 2024-04-17
- D’arcy, David (January 25, 2010). "Splice". Screen Daily.
- "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
- Lincoln, Todd (2012-08-24), The Apparition (Horror, Thriller), Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton, Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, StudioCanal
- Kilday, Gregg (June 10, 2011). "Joel Silver's Dark Castle Boards Sylvester Stallone Action Film". Hollywood Reporter.
- O'Neill, Morgan (2013-06-01), The Factory (Crime, Mystery, Thriller), John Cusack, Dallas Roberts, Vincent Messina, Dark Castle Entertainment, Mel's Cite du Cinema, Silver Pictures
- Foundas, Scott (August 28, 2013). "Film Review: 'Getaway". Variety.
- Collis, Cork (October 5, 2020). "A pregnancy turns terrifying in trailer horror show The Expecting". Entertainment Weekly.
- Mack, Andrew (February 26, 2021). "Simon Barrett's Seance Heading to Shudder And RLJE Films". Screen Anarchy.
- Goff, Oscar (August 19, 2022). "Review"Orphan: First Kill (2022) Dir. William Brent Bell". Boston Hassle.
- Wiseman, Andreas (May 4, 2023). "Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson & Kaia Gerber To Star In Thriller 'Shell' For Director Man Minghella, Automatik & Black Bear International – Cannes Market Hot Package". Deadline.
- Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 6, 2022). "Hot Cannes Package: Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Djimon Hounsou In 'Last Breath,' Alex Parkinson's Narrative Remake of His Harrowing Docu". Deadline.
- House on Haunted Hill (1999)
- Thirteen Ghosts (2001)
- Thirteen Ghosts (2001) - International Box Office Results
- ^ Ghost Ship (2002)
- ^ Gothika (2003)
- ^ House of Wax (2005)
- ^ The Reaping (2007)
- The Reaping DVD (2007)
- RocknRolla (2008)
- RocknRolla DVD (2008)
- ^ Orphan (2009)
- ^ Whiteout (2009)
- Whiteout DVD (2009)
- Ninja Assassin(2009)
- Ninja Assassin DVD (2009)
- The Losers (2009)
- The Losers DVD (2010)
- Splice (2010)
| Dark Castle Entertainment | |
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| Founders | |
| Other | |