Cinerama Releasing Corporation

Cinerama Releasing Corporation, or CRC, is a defunct motion picture company established in 1967 that originally released films produced by its namesake parent company that was considered an "instant major".^{[li 1]}

History

In 1963, the owner of the Pacific Coast Theater chain, William R. Foreman, purchased Cinerama, Inc. In 1967, CRC was set up to be an independent distributor of widescreen motion pictures produced by Cinerama, various foreign films and ABC Pictures, the film production unit of the American Broadcasting Company.^{[1][li 2]} As an instant major by 1970, CRC reached a 10% market share. ABC Circle films ended operations in early 1973, thus CRC moved to primarily distributing non-financed films (acquisitions). By August 1974, CRC had released 125 acquired films at which time its productions and reissues were handled by American International Pictures. Cinerama, Inc., CRC's parent company, was liquidated in May 1978 with the Cinerama name ending up being owned by Pacific Coast Theater.^{[li 2]}

Film library

Films released under the CRC banner include They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Straw Dogs, and Song of Norway (Andrew L. Stone, 1970).^{[li 2]}

CRC was only a distributor of films, without retaining copyright stake over each production. Therefore, the rights to CRC releases rest with their respective production companies:

• Productions by ABC Pictures, as well as the Palomar Pictures International productions that were created for ABC, are owned by The Walt Disney Company (as ABC is now a subsidiary of Disney), with home video rights going to MGM.
• Productions by Bing Crosby Productions are now owned by Paramount Pictures.
• Tales from the Crypt is owned by 20th Century Fox, successor-in-interest to Metromedia.
• Rights to The Mack are owned by New Line Cinema, who is owned by Warner Bros..

References

• Cook, David A. (2000). Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979. University of California Press.

See also

• Major film studios
• National General Pictures, another instant major
• Commonwealth United, a some times instant major

External links

• Cinerama Releasing Corporation at the Internet Movie Database