The Geffen Film Company

The Geffen Company
The Geffen Film Company, Inc.
Geffen Pictures
	Geffen Pictures logo
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Film distributor and production company
Founded	1982; 43 years ago (Original); 2024; 1 year ago (Revival);
Founder	David Geffen
Defunct	1998; 27 years ago (Original)
Fate	Folded into Warner Bros.
Successors	Studio:; DreamWorks Pictures; Library:; Warner Bros.; (through The Geffen Company); Paramount Pictures; (through MTV Entertainment Studios and The Geffen Company); (Beavis and Butt-Head Do America only); Disney–ABC Domestic Television; (Tales from the Crypt syndication rights only)
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, United States
Key people	David Geffen; Eric Eisner
Parent	Warner Bros.
Divisions	Geffen Records (1980–1999); Geffen Television

The Geffen Film Company (also known as The Geffen Company, The Geffen Film Company, Inc., and later Geffen Pictures) is an American film distributor and production company founded by David Geffen, the founder of Geffen Records, and future co-founder of DreamWorks. The spherical Geffen Pictures logo, based on the logo of its record-label counterpart, was created by Saul Bass. Their most famous films are Risky Business (1983), Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Beetlejuice (1988) and its 2024 sequel, and Interview with the Vampire (1994).

History

Geffen founded the company in 1982,^[1] having recruited Eric Eisner as president,^[2] and distributed its films through Warner Bros.^[3] Geffen was operated as a division of Warner Bros. As a result, following the company's shutdown in 1998, Warner Bros. now owns the company's library, with the exception of the 1996 Mike Judge comedy Beavis and Butt-Head Do America, which is owned by Paramount Pictures through MTV Entertainment Studios and The Geffen Company.^[4]

In 1990, The Geffen Film Company was renamed and reorganized as Geffen Pictures.

In 1993, Geffen and MTV Productions struck a two-picture deal.^[5]

The Geffen Pictures brand continued to be used on films by David Geffen until 1998, when it was folded into Warner Bros., who later revived the 2024 brand for the 2024 release of the Beetlejuice sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.^[6]

Filmography

Feature films

1980s

Release date	Title	Director	Notes	Names	Budget	Gross (worldwide)
February 5, 1982	Personal Best	Robert Towne		The Geffen Film Company	$15 million	$5.6 million
August 5, 1983	Risky Business	Paul Brickman			$6.2 million	$63.5 million
March 15, 1985	Lost in America	Albert Brooks			$4 million	$10.1 million
September 13, 1985	After Hours	Martin Scorsese	co-production with Double Play Productions		$4.5 million	$10.6 million
December 19, 1986	Little Shop of Horrors	Frank Oz			$25 million	$39 million
March 30, 1988	Beetlejuice	Tim Burton			$15 million	$74.2 million

1990s

Release Date	Title	Director	Notes	Names	Budget	Gross (worldwide)
February 2, 1990	Men Don't Leave	Paul Brickman		The Geffen Film Company	$7 million	$6 million
March 22, 1991	Defending Your Life	Albert Brooks		Geffen Pictures	N/A	$16.4 million
December 13, 1991	The Last Boy Scout	Tony Scott	co-production with Silver Pictures		$43 million	$114.5 million
October 1, 1993	M. Butterfly	David Cronenberg			$17-18 million	$1.4 million
November 11, 1994	Interview with the Vampire	Neil Jordan			$60 million	$223.7 million
July 26, 1996	Joe's Apartment	John Payson	co-production with MTV Productions		$13 million	$4.6 million
October 11, 1996	Michael Collins	Neil Jordan			$25 million	$27.5 million
December 20, 1996	Beavis and Butt-Head Do America	Mike Judge	co-production with Paramount Pictures and MTV Productions		$12 million	$63.1 million
July 13, 1997	The Butcher Boy	Neil Jordan			N/A	$1.96 million

2020s

Release Date	Title	Director	Notes	Names	Budget	Gross (worldwide)
September 6, 2024	Beetlejuice Beetlejuice	Tim Burton	co-production with Plan B Entertainment, Domain Entertainment and Tim Burton Productions	The Geffen Company	$100 million	$451.1 million

Television series

Years	Title	Networks	Notes	Names	Seasons	Episodes
1989–1996	Tales from the Crypt	HBO	Co-production with Tales from the Crypt Holdings	Uncredited	7	93
1989–1991	Beetlejuice	ABC (seasons 1–3) Fox Kids (season 4)	Co-production with Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Tim Burton, Inc. and Nelvana	The Geffen Film Company (seasons 1–2) Geffen Pictures (seasons 3–4)	4	94

References

^ ^a ^b "David Geffen Fast Facts". CNN. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
^ Shewey, Don (1985). "On the Go With David Geffen". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
^ Cieply, Michael (10 January 1989). "Sean Daniel Quits Universal to Head Geffen's Film Unit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
^ Dilworth, John R. (January 1997). "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America". Animation World Magazine. Retrieved 2 May 2018.
^ Marx, Andy (1993-07-07). "Geffen and MTV pair on 'Apartment'". Variety. Retrieved 2021-10-07.
^ James McKeown (2024-09-06). Warner Bros. Pictures and The Geffen Company Opening Logo (2024). Retrieved 2024-11-02 – via YouTube.