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The Donners' Company (formerly Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions) is the film production company of director Richard Donner and producer Lauren Shuler Donner, founded in 1986. It is notable for the X-Men film series.
History[]
Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions[]
In 1986, film producer Lauren Shuler Donner announced that she would end her production deal with The Walt Disney Studios.[1] She announced that she would merge with Warner Bros.-based Richard Donner Productions, to create Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions, to be operating on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California.[1]
The first film released under the name was Radio Flyer, which was directed by Richard Donner, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, and it was released by Columbia Pictures.[2] It flopped at the box office.[3]
The banner made its first major success in 1993, with the box office hit Free Willy. Its success spawned two sequels, and a television series.[4]
The same year, the studio and Warner Bros. made a deal with Hammer Film Productions to do remake film projects based on its existing UK film productions.[5]
In 1994, the studio hit its first television project, with an animated adaptation of the motion picture Free Willy, and it was aired on ABC for two seasons.[6]
The Donners' Company[]
In 1999, it was announced that Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions was renamed to the better-sounding name The Donners' Company. On April 4, 2000, it was signed a deal with NBC Studios to produce shows for the NBC television network.[7]
That same year, the studio scored their first major success with X-Men, which was an instant box office hit, grossing over $296.8 million worldwide.[8]
In 2001, The Donners' Company signed a deal with Winchester Films to produce its feature films from its own.[9]
More recently, the company was producing two X-Men series for television, including Legion on FX, and The Gifted on Fox, both of which received cancellations in 2019.[10][11]
Filmography[]
1990s[]
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Radio Flyer | Richard Donner | Columbia Pictures | first film; co-production with Stonebridge Entertainment | $35 million | $4.6 million |
| 1993 | Dave | Ivan Reitman | Warner Bros. | co-production with Northern Lights Entertainment | $28 million | $63.3 million |
| Free Willy | Simon Wincer | co-production with Regency Enterprises, Le Studio Canal+ and Alcor Films | $20 million | $153.6 million | ||
| 1994 | Maverick | Richard Donner | co-production with Icon Productions | $75 million | $183 million | |
| 1995 | Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home | Dwight H. Little | co-production with Regency Enterprises, Le Studio Canal+ and Alcor Films | $31 million | $30 million | |
| Assassins | Richard Donner | co-production with Silver Pictures | $50 million | $83.3 million | ||
| 1997 | Volcano | Mick Jackson | 20th Century Fox | co-production with Fox 2000 Pictures and Moritz Original | $90 million | $122.8 million |
| Free Willy 3: The Rescue | Sam Pillsbury | Warner Bros. | co-production with Regency Enterprises | N/A | $3.4 million | |
| Conspiracy Theory | Richard Donner | last film released under Donner/Shuler-Donner insignia, co-production with Silver Pictures | $80 million | $137 million | ||
| 1998 | Bulworth | Warren Beatty | 20th Century Fox | uncredited; co-production with Mulholland Productions | $30 million | $29.2 million |
| Lethal Weapon 4 | Richard Donner | Warner Bros. | as DoShuDo Productions, co-production with Silver Pictures | $100–150 million | $285.4 million | |
| You've Got Mail | Nora Ephron | uncredited | $65 million | $250.8 million | ||
| 1999 | Any Given Sunday | Oliver Stone | first film under the branding of The Donners' Company, co-production with Ixtlan Productions | $55 million | $100.2 million |
2000s[]
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | X-Men | Bryan Singer | 20th Century Fox | co-production with Marvel Entertainment Group and Bad Hat Harry Productions | $75 million | $296.3 million |
| 2001 | Out Cold | The Malloys | Buena Vista Pictures | co-production with Touchstone Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment and Barber/Birnbaum Productions | $24 million | $14.8 million |
| 2003 | Just Married | Shawn Levy | 20th Century Fox | uncredited; co-production with Robert Simonds Productions | $18 million | $101.5 million |
| X2 | Bryan Singer | co-production with Marvel Enterprises and Bad Hat Harry Productions | $110 million | $407.7 million | ||
| Timeline | Richard Donner | Paramount Pictures | co-production with Mutual Film Company, Cobalt Media Group and Artists Production Group | $80 million | $43.9 million | |
| 2005 | Constantine | Francis Lawrence | Warner Bros. Pictures | co-production with Vertigo/DC Comics, Village Roadshow Pictures, Batfilm Productions, Weed Road Pictures, 3 Arts Entertainment and di Bonaventura Pictures | $100 million | $230.9 million |
| 2006 | 16 Blocks | Richard Donner | co-production with Alcon Entertainment, Millennium Films, Cheyenne Enterprises, Emmett/Furla Films, Equity Pictures and Nu Image Films | $55 million | $65.7 million | |
| She's the Man | Andy Fickman | Paramount Pictures | co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Lakeshore Entertainment | $20 million | $57.2 million | |
| X-Men: The Last Stand | Brett Ratner | 20th Century Fox | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious Film Partners | $210 million | $460.4 million | |
| Unaccompanied Minors | Paul Feig | Warner Bros. Pictures | co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures | $26 million | $21.9 million | |
| 2008 | Semi-Pro | Kent Alterman | New Line Cinema | co-production with Mosaic Media Group | $55 million | $43.9 million |
| The Secret Life of Bees | Gina Prince-Bythewood | Fox Searchlight Pictures | co-production with Overbrook Entertainment | $11 million | $39.9 million | |
| 2009 | Hotel for Dogs | Thor Freudenthal | Paramount Pictures | co-production with DreamWorks Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Cold Spring Pictures and The Montecito Picture Company | $35 million | $117 million |
| X-Men Origins: Wolverine | Gavin Hood | 20th Century Fox | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Seed Productions, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious Film Partners | $150 million | $373.1 million | |
| Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant | Paul Weitz | Universal Pictures | co-production with Relativity Media and Depth of Field | $40 million | $39.2 million |
2010s[]
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes | Budget | Gross (worldwide) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | Matthew Vaughn | 20th Century Fox | co-production with Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners, Marvel Entertainment and Bad Hat Harry Productions | $140–160 million | $353.6 million |
| 2013 | The Wolverine | James Mangold | co-production with Marvel Entertainment and TSG Entertainment | $100–132 million | $414.8 million | |
| 2014 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | Bryan Singer | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Kinberg Genre and Bad Hat Harry Productions | $200–220 million | $747.9 million | |
| 2016 | Deadpool | Tim Miller | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre and TSG Entertainment | $58 million | $782.6 million | |
| X-Men: Apocalypse | Bryan Singer | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Bad Hat Harry Productions and Kinberg Genre | $178 million | $543.9 million | ||
| 2017 | Logan | James Mangold | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Kinberg Genre and Hutch Parker Entertainment | $97 million | $619 million | |
| 2018 | Deadpool 2 | David Leitch | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Maximum Effort and TSG Entertainment | $110 million | $785.8 million | |
| 2019 | Dark Phoenix | Simon Kinberg | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Hutch Parker Entertainment and TSG Entertainment | $200 million | $252.4 million |
2020s[]
| Year | Title | Director | Distributor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The New Mutants | Josh Boone | 20th Century Studios | co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Sunswept Entertainment and TSG Entertainment |
Television[]
| Years | Title | Creator | Network | Notes | Seasons | Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994-1995 | Free Willy | created by: Patrick Loubert based on Free Willy by: Keith A. Walker Corey Bleachman developed by: Patsy Cameron Ted Anasiti |
ABC | as Donner/Shuler Donner Productions; co-production with Le Studio Canal+, Nelvana, Regency Enterprises and Warner Bros. Television | 2 | 21 |
| 2017-2019 | Legion | Noah Hawley based on Legion by: Chris Claremont Bill Sienkiewicz |
FX | co-production with 26 Keys Productions, Kinberg Genre, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Marvel Television and FX Productions | 3 | 27 |
| The Gifted | Matt Nix based on characters by: Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
Fox | co-production with Flying Glass of Milk Productions, Kinberg Genre, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Marvel Television and 20th Century Fox Television | 2 | 29 |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Unknown", Variety, unknown, c. 1980s/1990s.
- ↑ Rosenthal, Donna (1990-10-28). Rolling Along, Finally: New director Richard Donner restarts the troubled 'Radio Flyer,' the first feature for the new regime at Columbia Pictures (en-US).
- ↑ Boyar, Jay. 'RADIO FLYER' IS A FLOP (en-US).
- ↑ Klady, Leonard (1993-07-06). Free Willy (en).
- ↑ Warner strikes Hammer deal (en) (1993-08-02).
- ↑ Lowry, Brian (1994-03-17). ‘Beethoven,’ ‘Willy’ hit TV (en).
- ↑ Schneider, Michael (2000-04-04). Donners party with NBC pact (en).
- ↑ X-Men (2000) - Financial Information.
- ↑ Donners shoot for Winchester (en) (2001-05-14).
- ↑ 'Legion' Will End with Season 3 on FX (en).
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (2019-04-18). ‘The Gifted’ Canceled By Fox After 2 Seasons; Marvel Drama Could Potentially Find New Home At Disney (en).