Triumph Films

Triumph Films (also known as Triumph Releasing Corporation) was an American independent film studio division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, that geared towards theatre and direct-to-video film production and distribution.

Triumph Films

Final logo used from 1994 to 2014
Formerly	Triumph Releasing Corporation (1988–1994)
Company type	In-name-only division[1]
Industry	Film
Founded	1982; 43 years ago (1982) (original) 1988; 37 years ago (1988) (relaunch)
Defunct	1985; 40 years ago (1985) (original) 2014; 11 years ago (2014) (relaunch)
Fate	Dormant
Successor	Studio: Destination Films Library: Sony Pictures Entertainment (with some exceptions)
Headquarters	10202 West Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California, United States
Key people	Samuel White (Co-President) Benjamin Lewis (Executive Chairman)
Products	Motion pictures
Parent	Columbia Pictures (1982–1985) Gaumont (1982–1985) Sony Pictures Entertainment (1988–2014)

History

It was founded in 1982 as a joint venture between Columbia Pictures and the French company Gaumont to distribute foreign films in the US. In 1984, Marcie Bloom, who was formerly of the New York Film Festival, joined Triumph Films to serve as New York publicity director (Bloom would later co-found Sony Pictures Classics).^[2]

In 1985, Triumph Films announced that they would cut back down on their production slate, focusing on foreign-language films with English subtitles.^[3] Shortly afterwards, Gaumont decided to cut ties, and Columbia Pictures, now the sole owner, decided to shutter Triumph Films, and fold it into the Columbia Pictures label.^[4][5]

On January 5, 1988, the then-newly founded Columbia Pictures Entertainment announced that they would revive the Triumph brand as a new worldwide subsidiary, Triumph Releasing Corporation; this incarnation of Triumph provided administrative services related to the distribution of Columbia Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures in the U.S. and Canada, while internationally, Triumph would be responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of Columbia and Tri-Star films under the direction of each individual studio.^[6] It was officially incorporated on March 24, 1988.^[1] In 1989, Triumph began to distribute films from Crédit Lyonnais's Epic Productions Inc..^[7]

On November 23, 1994, Triumph Releasing Corporation was renamed as Sony Pictures Releasing Corporation,^[1] and the Triumph name was spun off as Triumph Films, now primarily a label for low-budget and direct-to-video releases. After being shut down in 1997, the Triumph Films label was re-activated in 2003. The label went dormant again, becoming an in-name-only division of Sony Pictures Releasing Corporation.^[1] In 2014, the label was revived yet again for the release of The Remaining. Their direct-to-video role has been taken by Destination Films within Sony.

Notable films

Notable films include To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, The Ambulance, Brainscan, Magic in the Water (co-released by TriStar Pictures), The Golden Laws, Steamboy (co-distributed by Destination Films) and the critically panned SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2.

1980s

Release Date	Title
February 10, 1982	Das Boot
June 21, 1982	La vie continue
June 23, 1982	Bob le flambeur
September 14, 1982	Josepha
October 6, 1982	Yol
January 23, 1983	Parsifal
February 11, 1983	We of the Never Never
February 16, 1983	That Night in Varennes
April 21, 1983	Invitation au voyage
April 29, 1983	Querelle
May 13, 1983	La Boum
May 27, 1983	The Trout
September 9, 1983	Moon in the Gutter
September 28, 1983	Danton
November 11, 1983	Purple Haze
December 14, 1983	The Eyes, the Mouth
January 26, 1984	And the Ship Sails On
May 18, 1984	Angel
May 25, 1984	Heat of Desire
June 12, 1984	The Last Battle[N 1]
June 21, 1984	After the Rehearsal
September 20, 1984	Carmen
October 13, 1984	À Nos Amours
November 9, 1984	The Little Bunch
	A Love in Germany
August 2, 1985	Death in a French Garden
August 26, 1985	My Other Husband
October 18, 1985	Acqua e sapone
November 1, 1985	Softly, Softly
December 8, 1989	Triumph of the Spirit[N 2]

1990s

Release Date	Title	Notes
January 12, 1990	Ski Patrol	distribution only; produced by Epic Productions[N 2]
February 16, 1990	Courage Mountain
March 9, 1990	Bad Influence
March 31, 1990	The Ambulance
April 20, 1990	Modern Love
	Why Me?	distribution only; produced by Epic Productions[N 2]
April 27, 1990	Wild Orchid	distribution only; produced by Vision PDG[N 2]
June 1, 1990	Ghosts Can't Do It	distribution only; produced by Epic Productions[N 2]
July 20, 1990	Clownhouse	distribution only: produced by Commercial Pictures[N 2]
August 24, 1990	Men at Work	distribution only; produced by Epic Productions[N 2]
September 28, 1990	Dark Angel	distribution only; produced by Vision PDG[N 2]
October 26, 1990	Sonny Boy	distribution only; produced by Trans World Entertainment[N 2]
November 2, 1990	Waiting for the Light	distribution only; produced by Epic Productions[N 2]
November 9, 1990	Mister Frost
November 21, 1990	Robot Jox	distribution only; produced by Empire Pictures[N 2]
April 12, 1991	Eminent Domain
October 9, 1991	Homicide	U.S. distribution only[N 3]
November 1, 1991	Year of the Gun
February 28, 1992	Gate 2: The Trespassers	distribution only; produced by Vision PDG[N 2]
March 27, 1992	Ruby
April 15, 1992	Brenda Starr	[N 2]
May 8, 1992	Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue	distribution only; produced by Vision PDG[N 2]
August 1, 1992	Jersey Girl
October 23, 1992	Zebrahead
March 5, 1993	Shadow of the Wolf
April 9, 1993	Sidekicks	distribution only; produced by Vision PDG and Gallery Films[N 4]
April 22, 1994	Brainscan
March 3, 1995	Nina Takes a Lover
April 12, 1995	Jury Duty	co-production with TriStar Pictures
August 30, 1995	Magic in the Water
January 26, 1996	Screamers	co-production with Columbia Pictures
August 23, 1996	Solo
October 18, 1996	To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday	co-production with Rastar
April 14, 1997	Bliss
May 2, 1997	Truth or Consequences, N.M.
August 22, 1997	Masterminds	co-production with Columbia Pictures
September 12, 1997	The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca
September 26, 1997	The Assignment

2000s

Release Date	Title	Notes
December 5, 2003	The Golden Laws
August 17, 2004	SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2	co-production with ApolloMedia, Crystal Sky Pictures and Hador BG2 Productions Ltd.
March 18, 2005	Steamboy	US distribution only; co-distributed by Destination Films, produced by Sunrise and Toho
February 17, 2006	The Second Chance	co-production with Provident Films, Ruckus Film and Cedar Partners
January 2, 2007	Shottas	co-distributed by Destination Films
April 18, 2008	Zombie Strippers	theatrical distribution only; produced by Stage 6 Films

2010s

Release Date	Title	Notes
September 5, 2014	The Remaining	distribution only; produced by Affirm Films

Notes

1. U.S. distribution rights to this film have since been transferred to sister company Sony Pictures Classics, which in turn acquired them from producer Gaumont
2. Rights now belong to MGM
3. Distribution rights now belong to Quiver Distribution
4. Distribution rights now belong to Samuel Goldwyn Films