Hoyts Distribution (1978-1993)

Background
This is the film and video distribution arm of The Hoyts Group, an Australian cinema operator, originally established in 1978 by former employees of 20th Century Fox's Australian operations. One of the company's earliest hits was the Australian release of Halloween and The Muppet Movie, and ITC Entertainment Group was one of the company's earliest clients. In 1983, Hoyts Distribution inked a distribution deal with RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video, resulting in RCA/Columbia distributing Hoyts titles for the Australian market. The two separate labels were combined later on to form RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts Video Pty. Ltd., which was a joint venture between the two companies. The company also maintained a separate video distribution in cooperation with PolyGram Video, Hoyts-PolyGram Video. Later in its life, the company begin distributing titles from Cannon Films and Weintraub Entertainment Group. In 1993, amid struggles, the company became TMS Distribution, following struggles from the company. The library was sold off to Becker Entertainment in 1999.

1st Logo (1981-1988)


Logo: We first start off with a yellow background. Then, with a flash, the word "Hoyts" in a blocky gold font zooms out. Sparkles shoot out below from left to right, causing the word "PRESENTS" to zoom up. The BG turns light blue, and the words sparkle and shine.

Variant: On a 2017 NITV/SBS on Demand print of Bush Christmas, the logo is cropped to widescreen.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: A synth choir fanfare with sparkling sounds. The music is pitched down on Bush Christmas.

Availability: Rare; seen on old Aussie tapes from the period, such as the 1983 Australian VHS of 1990: The Bronx Warriors. Check eBay.com.au! Was also seen on Aussie film releases from the period.

2nd Logo (1985-1993)


Logo: Against a purplish background with a grid below, some orange, red, yellow, brown and gray buildings on the right, and a red sun in the distance, we see a 3D Hoyts logo rise up letter by letter, with each letter fading to blue, except the T, which is red. As the logo is fully formed, it jarringly changes into a 2D image with two spotlights circling it, and the background turns to black. Below are the words "A FILM FROM" and "HOYTS DISTRIBUTION", which said text is in the same font as the logo above.

Variant: During the 1980s, a variant of this logo was used at the end of TV spots for movies shown at cinemas belonging to the Hoyts chain in Australia. The text "NOW YOU'RE REALLY SEEING THINGS", in gold, rises out of some CGI squares in the middle of a lighted version of the normal scenery. The camera pans across the text as the scenery darkens and the normal animation plays at the end, but below the finished product a marquee is shown with text reading either "STARTS [insert day here]" or "NOW SHOWING".

Technique: CGI animation made by MAGI/Synthavision.

Music/Sounds: A loud, rising synth sound (think a warp-speed THX) ending with an echoing voice shouting "HOYTS!". The variant used a disco-like tune with a chorus singing "Now you're really seeing things, HOYTS!", only the ending doesn't echo as much and the rising sound isn't nearly as loud.

Availability: Very rare. Only appeared at the start and/or end of Hoyts-distributed movies on Australian TV, as well as on MAGI/Synthavision's 1984 demo reel.

3rd Logo (1988-1993)


Logo: On a space background, several neon red outlines of the Hoyts logo zoom out, followed by several more in blue, yellow, green, and white. They then flash and turn gold. A spot of light wipes in "PRESENTS" below the logo from left to right. The logo sparkles several times to the rhythm of the music, then flashes at the end.

Trivia: The entirety of the logo is animated by Pike Productions.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: An abridged version of "Reaching High" by Roger Loubet.

Availability: Rare; seen on Aussie tapes from the period. This was also used in Hoyts cinemas at the time.