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American media production label From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dark Castle Entertainment is a film, TV, and digital projects production label.[2] It is owned by North American sports and entertainment company, OEG Inc.[3] The firm is led by co-CEOs Hal Sadoff[4] and Norman Golightly.[5]
Logo used since 2024 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Hal Sadoff, Norman Golightly, Douglas McClure |
| Products | Motion Pictures, television |
| Parent | OEG Inc. |
| Website | https://darkcastle.com |
The majority of Dark Castle films from the late 1990s to mid 2010s were distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.[6] The company’s later films have also been distributed by Paramount Pictures[7] and Shudder/AMC.[4]
Dark Castle was founded in 1998[8] by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler.[9] The Dark Castle name pays homage to William Castle, a horror filmmaker from the 1950s and 1960s.[6] When first formed, the goal of the company was to remake Castle's horror films. After two remakes, House on Haunted Hill[10] and Thirteen Ghosts,[11] they moved on to producing original material,[12] along with remakes of non-Castle films.[13]
Gothika, starring Halle Berry and Robert Downey Jr., was Dark Castle's first original film in 2003.[12] They followed it up with House of Wax, the company's first remake of a non-Castle film.[9][14]
In 2008, the company moved beyond the horror genre to produce the action film RocknRolla.[15]
In 2009, Dark Castle released the psychological horror film Orphan.[16] The film grossed $80 million on a $20 million budget.[17] Later that year, the company produced its first martial arts film, Ninja Assassin.[18]
In 2010, they produced action film adaptions of The Losers based on the DC Vertigo comic of the same name,[19] and Unknown starring Liam Neeson, which grossed $136 million against its $30 million budget.[20]
After a long relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures as their main distributor,[6] Dark Castle began working with other distributors including Paramount Pictures[7] and Shudder/AMC.[4]
Dark Castle was acquired by Daryl Katz of OEG Inc. in 2015.[2][3] Hal Sadoff was named CEO.[2]
The company released its first film under OEG the following year, neo noir comedy crime movie The Nice Guys, starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling.[21]
Next, Dark Castle produced black comedy crime film Suburbicon directed by George Clooney, written by the Coen Brothers, and starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.[22][23]
In 2018, Dark Castle produced Superfly,[24] a remake of the 1972 film Super Fly.[25]
Dark Castle continued to produce horror films, including Seance, starring Suki Waterhouse,[26] and the prequel to Orphan, Orphan: First Kill, starring Isabelle Fuhrman from the original movie.[27] In 2020, the company began producing television with the sci-fi horror series The Expecting.[28]
In 2023, the company filmed Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz,[29] and financed the films Shell, starring Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson, and directed by Max Minghella,[30] and Last Breath, which is based on the documentary Last Breath and stars Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu.[31]
| Year | Film | Budget | Domestic Box Office | Foreign Box Office | Total | US DVD sales | Total (with DVD sales) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | House on Haunted Hill | $37 million | $40.8 million[54] | $3.5 million (A) | $44.4 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2001 | Thirteen Ghosts | $42 million | $41.7 million[55] | $26.6 million[56] | $68.5 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2002 | Ghost Ship | $20 million | $30.1 million[57] | $38.2 million[57] | $68.3 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 | Gothika | $40 million | $59.7 million[58] | $81.7 million[58] | $141.6 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2005 | House of Wax | $40 million | $32.1 million[59] | $36.7 million[59] | $68.8 million | N/A | N/A |
| 2007 | The Reaping | $40 million | $25.1 million[60] | $37.6 million[60] | $62.8 million | $19.8 million[61] | $82.6 million |
| 2008 | RocknRolla | $15 million | $5.7 million[62] | $20 million | $25.7 million | $7.4 million[63] | $33.1 million |
| 2009 | Orphan | $20 million | $41,596,251[64] | $36,741,122[64] | $78,337,373 | $12,250,443[64] | $90,587,816 |
| 2009 | Whiteout | $35 million | $10,275,638[65] | $7,565,229[65] | $17,840,867 | $3,192,934[66] | $21,033,801 |
| 2009 | Ninja Assassin | $50 million | $38,122,883[67] | $23,471,000 | $61,593,883 | $13,841,623[68] | $75,435,506 |
| 2010 | The Losers | $25 million | $23,591,432[69] | $5,385,903 | $28,977,335 | $6,462,496[70] | $35,439,831 |
| 2010 | Splice | $30 million | $17,010,170[71] | $6,964,022 | $23,974,192 | $3,695,686 | $27,669,878 |
| Budget | Overall Total | US DVD Sales | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| $374 million | $646 million | $62.9 million | $708 million |
(A) Indicates minimum, as that is only two countries totals merged.
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