Cinema International Corporation: Difference between revisions

'''Cinema International Corporation''' (CIC) was a film distribution company founded by [[Paramount Pictures]] and [[Universal Pictures]] in April 9, 1970 to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States, as a response to declining movie-going audiences and national anti-trust laws. It even operated in Canada and the Caribbean Basin before those territories were considered part of the "domestic" North American market. CIC was registered in England and Wales, but was headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company began operations on January 1, 1971. In 1973, [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios|MGM]] closed down its distribution offices and became a partner in CIC, which took over international distribution for MGM's films; however, [[United Artists]] took over the North American distribution of MGM films. In 1981, MGM purchased United Artists, which had its own international distribution and sales unit. CIC refused to let MGM drop out of the venture at the time, which led to the reorganization of the company as "[[United International Pictures]]".  [[The Walt Disney Company|Walt Disney]]/[[Buena Vista International|Buena Vista]] also made distribution deals with CIC in Italy (inherited from Universal) until 1987 (under UIP) and Australia through CIC-Fox until 1986. CIC also distributed [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]]' releases in South Africa. CIC also entered the home video age, with its subsidiary [[Cinema International Corporation Video|CIC Video]]. MGM, however, had its own home video distribution unit (originally a partnership between MGM and [[CBS Home Entertainment|CBS Video Enterprises]]).