Sony Pictures Releasing

Background

Sony Pictures Releasing is the successor of the Triumph Releasing Corporation and is the film distribution unit of Sony Pictures. The company distributes films from Sony's Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems and TriStar Pictures labels, among others. The company also operates Sony Pictures Releasing International, a international branch that handles distribution of titles from SPE in foreign markets.

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. (A-la the Alliance Atlantis prototype logo)

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 INTERNATIONAL" replaces "HOME ENTERTAINMENT".

Variants:

A Spanish variant exists where the logo freeze-frames before "INTERNATIONAL" can appear, "Distribuida por Sony Pictures Releasing de España, S.A." appears below the logo, along with the Sony Pictures Entertainment byline, all in Sony's font.
An open-matte fullscreen version of the logo has been spotted on fullscreen releases of Paprika and the trailer for the 40th anniversary theatrical re-release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
On the trailer of the Spanish film Veronica, the logo is red tinted. On the teaser trailer for the film, the logo is sped up.

FX/SFX: Same as the SPHE logo. Something to note is that in the Spanish variant, the freeze-frame is made even more obvious due to the fact that "RELEASING" has not even finished fading in when the bottom text appears.

Music/Sounds: Same as the SPHE logo.

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

Availability: Very rare in the U.S. and Canada, but common outside it. It 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).

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:

RELEASED BY
SONY PICTURES RELEASING

in white.

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

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Only seen at the end of Basic Instinct 2.

Editor's Note: None.