February 1, 1989 – Hollywood Pictures Begins Operations
On February 1, 1989, the Walt Disney Company film division Hollywood Pictures officially began operations. Similar to the Touchstone Pictures label, it was designed to release Disney’s “darker” fare, such as its first release in 1990, Arachnophobia. The studio was originally run by Ricardo Mestres, moving from Touchstone Pictures to run the fledgling studio; he was succeeded by Michael Lynton in 1994. Although the studio had some successes, especially with the works of M. Night Shyamalan, the studio was eventually closed in 2007, as Disney wanted to focus on the internal brand names of the company.
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