Sony Pictures Releasing

Background: Sony Pictures Releasing is the successor of the Triumph Releasing Corporation and is the film distribution unit of Sony Corporation. The company distributes films from Sony's Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems and TriStar Pictures labels, among others.

1st Logo (1996-199?)
Nickname: "The Red Line"

Logo: On a black background, we see the text "SONY PICTURES RELEASING", with "SONY PICTURES" above and "RELEASING" below all in Garamond font. A red line separates the text.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen before the trailer for The Last Supper, which can be seen on the 1996 VHS release of Heavy Metal.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2005- )
Nickname: "The Shining Bars"

Logo: It's exactly the same as the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment logo, except "RELEASING" replaces "HOME ENTERTAINMENT".

Variants:

FX/SFX: Same as the SPHE logo.
 * Sometimes, the byline "Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing [country] a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company" appears below, depending on the country and its native language.
 * Another variant of this logo says "RELEASING INTERNATIONAL".
 * On the trailer of Spanish film Veronica, the logo is red tinted. On the teaser trailer for the film, the logo is sped up.

Music/Sounds: Same as the SPHE logo.

Music/Sound Variant: On The Squid and the Whale, the logo is silent.

Availability: Very rare in the U.S., but common outside it. Currently seen on theatrical trailers of export films by Sony, and at the start of international theatrical releases. Can be seen on The Squid and The Whale, and on most prints (DVDs and Blu-rays) of Paprika after the Sony Pictures Classics logo (on streaming prints, only the latter is shown before the Madhouse logo). This logo also makes an appearance on the IMAX 3D version of Resident Evil: Afterlife (may be on the 3D Blu-ray release as well). Starting with the international releases of Heaven is for Real, this logo has been phased out in favor of the current Sony logo that surges into the TriStar/Columbia Pictures logos.

Editor's Note: Same as the SPHE logo.

3rd Logo (March 31, 2006)
Logo: Just an in-credit logo. On a black background in the middle are the words:

Sony Pictures Releasing RELEASED BY SONY PICTURES RELEASING

in white.

FX/SFX: No effects, just a still in-credit logo.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen at the end of Basic Instinct 2.

Editor's Note: None.