Orion Classics

Orion Classics started in 1982 as the distribution label for the then independent film production company Orion Pictures, now owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was relaunched in 2018. 
The original focus of 1980-era Orion Classics was on acquiring independent and foreign films for North American distribution, as headed by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom. In addition it aimed to produce some arthouse films of its own. It was launched when Barker, Bernard and Donna Gigliotti moved from UA Classics, a United Artists specialty division. Among its most notable films were Babette's Feast, Pedro Almodóvar's Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train and Richard Linklater's Slacker.
Since its relaunch Orion Classics has released Mike P. Nelson's The Domestics and Jim Cummings' The Wolf of Snow Hollow, among others.
==History==
Orion Classics was formed by Orion Pictures in 1982 as an autonomous division for specialty films. United Artists Classics executives, Tom Bernard, Michael Barker and Donna Gigliotti, having a dispute with its parent United Artists left to fill Orion Classic's executive ranks, thus mirroring Orion Pictures' formation. With the UA Classics executives, the division had built in connection with the art house film community. While the three executives had different titles and responsibilities they acted as all having the same responsibilities.
The division took on the early UA Classic Modus operandi of frugal marketing spending and strict staggered releasing with few prints. Thus 10 to 50 prints would be made based on its potential success with an average marketing budget of $225,000 would be first released in New York City before moving on to other metropolitan areas and given time to find its position.
The team was able to get French filmmaker Eric Rohmer to switch from UA Classics to Orion. He was then the source of its first film and box office hit with Pauline at the Beach in July 1983. Thus Orion Classic released four out of five of Rohmer's 1980s films and investing in a few of them. Orion's last acquisition in 1983 was its first independent US movie, Strangers Kiss (1984).
In August 1983, the company had indicated that they would be into production of its own material by late 1984 or early 1985. However, Orion Pictures was having more box office failures then successes thus those plans were put on hold.
In late 1991, when Orion Pictures was in serious financial trouble, Barker, Bernard, and Bloom left Orion Classics, taking the rights to the highly anticipated Merchant Ivory Productions adaptation of Howards End with them; at the invitation of former Orion president Mike Medavoy, who was now relocated at TriStar Pictures, the three set up Sony Pictures Classics, with Howards End as the company's first release. 
In the mid-1990s, Metromedia acquired Orion, and merged the classics division into the Samuel Goldwyn Company. Both Orion and SGC were sold to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1997, with the latter's function of producing and/or distributing independent films being assumed by MGM's United Artists division.
=== Relaunch ===
In May 2018, it was announced that Orion Classics would be revived as a multiplatform distribution label, with 8 to 10 films being released per year. Orion Classics will be MGM's method of getting into the day-and-date theatrical-VOD business. The label's first film is Mike P. Nelson's The Domestics, which was released in theaters on June 28, 2018 and on VOD and digital the next day.
==Films==
Title 	Release Date
Heads I Win, Tails You Lose 	1982
The Pool Hustlers 	1982
Beyond the Door 	September 5, 1982
Pauline at the Beach 	July 29, 1983
Carmen 	October 20, 1983
Scrubbers 	January 31, 1984
Privates on Parade 	April 13, 1984
Sugar Cane Alley 	April 13, 1984
Another Country 	June 29, 1984
Strangers Kiss 	August 13, 1984
Old Enough 	August 24, 1984
Full Moon in Paris 	September 7, 1984
Swann in Love 	September 14, 1984
Wandering Clouds 	November 16, 1984
Where the Green Ants Dream 	February 8, 1985
My New Partner 	March 8, 1985
MacArthur's Children 	May 17, 1985
Henry IV 	June 28, 1985
The Life of a Boy 	July 12, 1985
Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart 	August 9, 1985
Came a Hot Friday 	October 4, 1985
Colonel Redl 	October 4, 1985
Ran 	December 20, 1985
A.K. 	January 29, 1986
My Beautiful Laundrette 	March 7, 1986
A Great Wall 	May 30, 1986
Gwen: The Book of Sand 	June 20, 1986
The Green Ray 	August 29, 1986
Restless Natives 	September 12, 1986
The Sacrifice 	November 1986
El Amor brujo 	December 23, 1986
One Woman or Two 	February 6, 1987
Devil in the Flesh 	May 22, 1987
The Adventures of Enrico 	June 19, 1987
Jean de Florette 	June 26, 1987
Rita, Sue and Bob Too 	July 17, 1987
End of the Line 	August 28, 1987
Dancing in Water 	September 18, 1987
Manon of the Spring 	November 5, 1987
Au Revoir Les Enfants 	December 1987
A Month in the Country 	February 19, 1988
Babette's Feast 	March 4, 1988
Wings of Desire 	May 6, 1988
Loose Connections 	July 8, 1988
Boyfriends and Girlfriends 	July 15, 1988
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown 	November 11, 1988
Field of Honor 	January 20, 1989
Murmur of the Heart 	February 3, 1989
Chocolat 	March 10, 1989
The Reader 	April 21, 1989
The Music Teacher 	July 7, 1989
Mystery Train 	November 7, 1989
Camille Claudel 	December 21, 1989
Too Beautiful for You 	March 2, 1990
The Journey to Melonia 	April 6, 1990
Monsieur Hire 	April 20, 1990
Jesus of Montreal 	May 25, 1990
May Fools 	June 22, 1990
Wait Until Spring, Bandini 	June 29, 1990
Life and Nothing But 	September 14, 1990
Leningrad Cowboys Go America 	November 2, 1990
Cyrano de Bergerac 	December 1, 1990
Open Doors 	March 8, 1991
Love Without Pity 	May 31, 1991
My Father's Glory 	June 14, 1991
Europa Europa 	June 28, 1991
Slacker 	July 5, 1991
My Mother's Castle 	July 26, 1991
Opera 	September 6, 1991
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe 	September 27, 1991
Rhapsody in August 	December 20, 1991
Raise the Red Lantern 	March 13, 1992
A Woman's Tale 	May 1, 1992
The Adjuster 	May 29, 1992
A Tale of Springtime 	July 17, 1992
Rain Without Thunder 	February 5, 1993
Boxing Helena 	September 3, 1993
Nostradamus 	September 16, 1994
Bar Girls 	April 7, 1995
Jeffrey 	August 18, 1995
Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey 	August 24, 1995
Maybe, Maybe Not 	July 12, 1996
Ed's Next Move 	September 27, 1996
Trees Lounge 	October 11, 1996
Prisoner of the Mountains 	January 31, 1997
This World, Then the Fireworks 	July 11, 1997
One Man's Hero 	September 24, 1999
The Domestics 	June 28, 2018
Unlovablehttps://variety.com/2018/film/news/unlovable-orion-classics-1202927184/ 	November 1, 2018
Jinnhttps://deadline.com/2018/08/orion-classics-jinn-acquisition-nijla-mumin-zoe-renee-simone-missick-1202444937/ 	November 15, 2018
Clara's Ghosthttps://www.screendaily.com/news/orion-classics-picks-up-claras-ghost/5130059.article 	December 6, 2018
Mainehttps://www.thewrap.com/orion-classics-grabs-north-american-rights-to-thomas-mann-drama-maine/ 	December 14, 2018
All These Small Momentshttps://deadline.com/2018/10/all-these-small-moments-release-date-jemima-kirke-orion-classics-1202485271//	January 17, 2019
Valley Girlhttps://ew.com/movies/valley-girl-remake-first-look// 	May 8, 2020
The Wolf of Snow Hollowhttps://variety.com/2020/film/news/jim-cummings-the-wolf-of-snow-hollow-trailer-1234773341/ 	October 9, 2020
==References==
==External links==
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Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Category:Orion Pictures
Category:Film production companies
Category:Film production companies of the United States