ImageMovers

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ImageMovers
Industry Motion pictures, performance capture & CGI animation
Founded 1997
Headquarters Novato, California, U.S.
Key people
Robert Zemeckis, Doug Chiang, Steve Starkey, Jack Rapke
Products Motion pictures
Owner Independent
Website None

ImageMovers is an American film studio run by director Robert Zemeckis. Founded in 1997, the studio produced such films as Cast Away, What Lies Beneath, and The Polar Express. From 2007 to 2010, Disney and ImageMovers ran a joint animation facility, ImageMovers Digital, which produced two performance captured animated films, A Christmas Carol and Mars Needs Moms, for The Walt Disney Studios.

History

Beginnings

In 1997, by producer-writer-director Robert Zemeckis, along with partners Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey formed the production company ImageMovers. Among ImageMovers' productions were What Lies Beneath (with Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer), Cast Away (with Tom Hanks), The Polar Express (also with Tom Hanks), and its last film, Beowulf (with Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn and Angelina Jolie).

Disney and ImageMovers Digital

ImageMovers Digital logo

In 2007, The Walt Disney Company and ImageMovers set up a joint venture animation facility, ImageMovers Digital, a Marin County-based film company, where Zemeckis would produce and direct 3D animated films using performance capture technology.[1]

On November 6, 2009, ImageMovers Digital released A Christmas Carol, a performance capture film starring Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, and Cary Elwes, each in multiple roles. On March 12, 2010, Disney and ImageMovers announced that ImageMovers Digital would close operations by January 2011, after the production was completed on Mars Needs Moms. Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman said, "...given today's economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model."[2]

The company had previously been reported to have Calling All Robots,[3] a Yellow Submarine remake,[4] a Roger Rabbit sequel[5] and The Nutcracker[6] in development. Disney dropped all of these projects following the box-office failure of Mars Needs Moms.[7]

Universal

In August 2011, it was announced that ImageMovers has entered a two-year first-look producing deal with Universal Studios.[8]

Films

ImageMovers

Year Film Co-production/distributor Budget Gross
2000 What Lies Beneath DreamWorks
20th Century Fox
$100 million $291.4 million
Cast Away $90 million $429.6 million
2003 Matchstick Men Warner Bros. $62 million $65.6 million
2004 The Polar Express $165 million $306.4 million
2005 The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio DreamWorks $12 million $0.7 million
2006 Last Holiday Paramount Pictures $45 million $43.3 million
Monster House Columbia Pictures
Amblin Entertainment
$75 million $140.2 million
2007 Beowulf Paramount Pictures (USA)
Warner Bros. (non-USA)
$150 million $196.4 million
2011 Real Steel Touchstone Pictures
DreamWorks
$110 million $295.1 million
2012 Flight Paramount Pictures
Parkes/MacDonald
$31 million $161.8 million
2015 The Walk[9] TriStar Productions
TriStar Pictures
$35 million $33.8 million

ImageMovers Digital

Year Film Co-production/distributor Budget Gross
2009 A Christmas Carol Walt Disney Pictures $175–200 million $325.3 million
2011 Mars Needs Moms $150 million $39.5 million

References

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External links