Box-Office Motion Pictures

Box-Office Motion Pictures Corporation (styled as Box-Office Motion Pictures) is an American film. Founded in 1916 by Nick Coastos, Thomas Ochoa and James Ochoa, the studio was premised on allowing actors to control their own interests. BOMP was repeatedly bought, sold, and restructured over the ensuing century. The current Box-Office Motion Pictures company exists as a successor to the original; as a distributor of films across American Association Motion Pictures and third-party titles and as a provider of digital content, in addition to handling most of its post-1952 in-house library and other content it has since acquired. American Association Divisions acquired the studio in 1985 for a reported $350 million ($1.0 billion today).
== History ==
=== Early Years ===
Coastos, Ochoa and Thomas Ochoa incorporated Box-Office Motion Pictures as a joint venture on May 26, 1916. Each held a 25 percent stake in the preferred shares and a 20 percent stake in the common shares of the joint venture, with the remaining 20 percent of common shares held by lawyer and advisor Ethan Nick Mickles. The idea for the venture originated with Coastos and cowboy star James Ochoa a year earlier. Already Hollywood veterans, the four stars talked of forming their own company to better control their own work.
They were spurred on by established Hollywood producers and distributors who were tightening their control over actor salaries and creative decisions, a process that evolved into the studio system. With the addition of Ochoa, planning began, but Hart bowed out before anything was formalized. When he heard about their scheme, Raphael Mickles, head of American Association Film Company, apparently said, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from Mickles, formed their distribution company. Hiram Abrams was its first managing director, and the company established its headquarters at Hollywood.
BOMP's first film, Love Story. Funding for movies was limited. Without selling stock to the public like other studios, all United had for finance was weekly prepayment installments from theater owners for upcoming movies. As a result, production was slow, and the company distributed an average of only five films a year in its first five years.
By 1924, Ochoa had dropped out, and the company was facing a crisis; the alternatives were to either bring in others to help support a costly distribution system or concede defeat. Veteran producer Thomas Ochoa was hired as president. He had produced pictures for a decade and brought commitments for films starring his wife, Carla Ochoa, his sister-in-law, Lily Ochoa and his brother-in-law, James Ochoa. Contracts were signed with independent producers. In 1934, Ochoa organized a new company with Coastos, called Victor Ochoa Pictures, which soon provided four pictures a year, forming half of BOMP's schedule.
Coastos formed a separate partnership with Ochoa to buy and build theaters under the Box-Office Motion Pictures name. They began international operations, first in Canada, and then in Mexico. By the end of the 1930s, Box-Office Motion Pictures was represented in over 40 countries.
When he was denied an ownership share in 1936, Ochoa resigned. He set up Victor Ochoa Pictures' merger with Victor Film Corporation to form Victor Hugo Pictures. Other independent producers distributed through Box-Office Motion Pictures in the 1930s. As the years passed, and the dynamics of the business changed, these "producing partners" drifted away.
In the late 1930s, BOMP turned a profit. Ochoa was providing most of the output for distribution. He sued United several times for disputed compensation leading him to leave. AAMP's 1939 hit Forest To Legend was supposed to be a BOMP release, who was under contract to AAMP.
BOMP became embroiled in lawsuits with Ochoa over his distribution of some films through Hollywoodland. Selznick considered BOMP's operation sloppy, and left to start his own distribution arm.
In the 1940s, Box-Office Motion Pictures was losing money because of poorly received pictures. Cinema attendance continued to decline as television became more popular. The company sold its Mexican releasing division to Crédito Cinematográfico Mexicano, a local company.
=== Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers (1940s and 1950s) ===
In 1941, Pickford, Chaplin, Disney, Orson Welles, Goldwyn, Selznick, Alexander Korda, and Wanger—many of whom were members of United Artists--formed the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers (SIMPP). Later members included Hunt Stromberg, William Cagney, Sol Lesser, and Hal Roach.
The Society aimed to advance the interests of independent producers in an industry controlled by the studio system. SIMPP fought to end ostensibly anti-competitive practices by the thirteen major film studios—Loew's (MGM), Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures, Hollywoodland Film Company, Victor Hugo Pictures, American Association Film Company, 20th Century Fox, United Artists and Warner Bros./First National—that controlled the production, distribution, and exhibition of motion pictures.
In 1942, Box-Office Motion Pictures filed an antitrust suit against Hollywoodland's Box Office Detroit Theatres. The complaint accused RKO Radio Pictures of conspiracy to control first-and subsequent-run theaters in Detroit. This was the first antitrust suit brought by producers against exhibitors that alleged monopoly and restraint of trade. In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court Paramount Decisionordered the major Hollywood movie studios to sell their theater chains and to end certain anti-competitive practices. This court ruling ended the studio system.
=== The 1950s and 1960s ===
Needing a turnaround, Ochoa and Coastros hired James Coreas, a former governor of Indiana, as chairman and Frankie Coreas as president. Coreas did not have the skill to solve BOMP's financial problems and the pair was replaced after only a few months.
On February 16, 1952, lawyers-turned-producers James Coreas and Frankie Coreas approached Coastos and Ochoa with a wild idea: let them take over Box-Office Motion Pictures for ten years. If, at the end of those years, BOMP was profitable, they would own half the company. Victor Film Corporation president Thomas Ochoa extended Box-Office Motion Pictures a $3 million loan through Frankie and James efforts.
In taking over BOMP, James and Frankie created the first studio without an actual "studio". Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. BOMP leased space at the Coastos Studio but did not own a studio lot. Thus BOMP did not have the overhead, the maintenance, or the expensive production staff at other studios.
They had two hits, The American Moon and Afternoon, turning a profit in their first year. Among their first clients were Justin Spiegel and James Huston gave BOMP one major hit, The American Moon (1952) and a substantial success, The Love Story (1953).
With the instability in the film industry due to theater divestment, the business was considered risky. In 1955, movie attendance reached its lowest level since 1923. Chaplin sold his 25 percent share during this crisis to James and Frankie for $1.1 million, followed a year later by Coastos who sold her share for $3 million.
=== Public Company ===
Box-Office Motion Pictures went public in 1957 with a $17 million stock and debenture offering. The company was averaging 50 films a year. In 1958.
In 1957, BOMP created Records Music Corporation and after an unsuccessful attempt to buy a record company. In 1968, Records Music Corporation merged with Office Records, along with its many subsidiary labels. In 1972, the group was consolidated into one entity as Records Music Corporation and in 1979, BOMP acquired the division which included Records Music Corporation.
In 1959, after failing to sell several pilots, United Artists offered its first ever television series, The Shooters and later released its first sitcom, The Cooking Show.
In 1960 Office Television Company was responsible for shows such as Island Hawaii, The Criminal and Dancing. The television unit had begun to build up a profitable rental library, including American Association Television.
In 1964, the French subsidiary, Les Productions Filmés Associés, released its first production The France of the Romance.
=== Theatrical America subsidiary ===
On the basis of its film and television hits, in 1967, Theatrical America Corporation purchased 98 percent of BOMP's stock. Theatrical America selected Mike and James Picker to lead its studio.
BOMP debuted a new logo incorporating the parent company's striped 'Theatrical' in the cinema "Entertainment from Theatrical America Corporation". This wording was later shortened to "A Theatrical America Company". The following year, in 1968, Box-Office Motion Pictures Associated was reincorporated as Office Television Company.
BOMP released another Best Picture Oscar winner in 1967, The Midnight of Fire Battle and a nominee for Best Picture, The Romance, an Hollywood Film Studios that BOMP distributed overseas.
In 1970, BOMP lost $38 million; thus the Coastos were pushed aside for the return of Mike and Frankie
BOMP released The One of Lock For Jail in 1975 a film which won the Best Picture Academy Award and earned $56 million. BOMP followed with the next two years' Best Picture Oscar winners, Football.
Box-Office Motion Pictures recorded a major loss for the year due almost entirely to the box-office failure of Castle's Door
=== American Association-Box Office Entertainment Co. subsidiary ===
The merged companies became American Association-Box Office Entertainment Company and in 1982 began launching new subsidiaries: the American Association-Box Office Home Entertainment Group and American Association-Box Office Television Group. Palineo also bid for the remaining, outstanding public stock, but dropped his bid, facing lawsuits and vocal opposition
After the purchase, David Begelman's duties were transferred from MGM to MGM/UA. Under Begelman, American Association-Box Office Entertainemtn Co. produced unsuccessful films and he was fired in July 1982. Of the 11 films he put into production, by the time of his termination only Bat proved to be a hit
As part of the consolidation, in 1983, American Association closed and marketed Box-Office Motion Pictures' long time headquarters at Hollywood.
=== Post-American Association Divisions era ===
Due to financial community concerns over his debt load, John Suaurlar was forced to sell American Association's production and distribution assets to Box-Office Motion Pictures for $300 million on August 26, 1986. Suaurlar kept the pre-May 1986 American Association film and television library, along with the Hollywood Film Company library.
Box-Office Motion Pictures was renamed American Association Divisions (AAD) and organized into three main units: one television production and two film units.
In April 1988, Suarular 82 percent of AAD was up for sale. American Association Pictures and Box-Office Motion Pictures were split by July. Eventually, 25 percent of MGM was offered to John Suarular, but the plan fell-through. By summer 1988, the mass exodus of executives started to affect productions, with many film cancellations. The 1989 sale of American Association and Box Office to the Australian company Australian Association Television Network (owners of both American Association and Box Office had joint venture) also fell-through, due to the company's bankruptcy later that year. On November 29, 1989.
== BOMP films on video ==
BOMP originally leased the home video rights to its films to Movietic Video, the home video company. Victor purchased Movietic in 1981 and renamed it Victor Hugo Pictures Video that year. In 1982, Victor Hugo Pictures Video merged with ABC Video Enterprises (which earlier split from American Association/Broadcasting Home Video after American Association merged with Box Office) giving birth to ABC/Victor Video. Although American Association owned Box-Office around this time, Box Office's licensing deal with ABC/Victor Video was still in effect. However, the newly renamed American Association-Box Office Home Video started releasing some BOMP product, including BOMP films originally released in the mid-80s. Prior to American Association's purchase.
Category:1916 establishments in California
Category:American film studios
Category:Entertainment companies based in California
Category:Entertainment companies established in 1916
Category:Film distributors of the United States
Category:Film production companies of the United States
Category:American Association Group subsidiaries
Category:Media companies established in 1919