Orion Pictures (legally
Orion Releasing LLC) was formed as the
Orion Pictures Company in March 1978 as a joint venture between
Warner Bros. and former
United Artists executives Arthur B. Krim, Eric Pleskow and Robert S. Benjamin. When the studio was formed, they produced films that would be released through Warner Bros. In 1982, Orion bought Filmways, Inc. after Orion was unhappy with distribution agreements with Warner Bros. In June 1982,
Filmways Pictures was reincorporated as
Orion Pictures Corporation. In 1983, Orion introduced
Orion Classics as an arthouse division. On May 22, 1986, Metromedia purchased a minor stake in the studio and later purchased 67% of the studio on May 20, 1988. In the late 1980s, Orion began to struggle financially, and would declare bankruptcy on December 11, 1991. In 1996, Orion Pictures under Metromedia acquired
Samuel Goldwyn Entertainment. On April 11, 1997,
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. acquired Metromedia's film studios (Orion, Goldwyn and the
Motion Picture Corporation of America) and the deal was closed in July. A year later, Orion was folded into MGM, and the Motion Picture Corporation of America separated from MGM to become independent. Orion survived as an in-name-only unit of MGM during that time frame. In 2013, MGM revived the Orion Pictures brand for use on genre films and became a standalone division with the same purpose in late 2017. In 2020, the division was revamped again, this time with a new focus on minorities. Currently, most of Orion's post-1982 films are owned by MGM (with Orion retaining the copyright). Warner Bros. continues to own all pre-1982 films, select films that they released afterwards (however, MGM/Orion still owns
A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy and
Zelig, two Orion films they released after the initial deal), and films produced by The Saul Zaentz Company.
StudioCanal owns
First Blood through producer
Carolco Pictures,
HBO Films owns North American distribution rights to
Three Amigos (MGM retains TV and foreign rights, however),
Paramount Pictures owns North American distribution rights to
The Addams Family and
Lionsgate Films owns films produced by
LIVE Entertainment. Films produced by
Nelson Entertainment and
Hemdale Film Corporation were originally distributed by Orion and became owned by MGM (with Orion holding the copyright) after MGM purchased the pre-March 31, 1996
PolyGram Filmed Entertainment library.