Summit Entertainment

The company's original logo, used from 1996 to 2007

Summit Entertainment was founded in 1991[2] by film producers Bernd Eichinger, Arnon Milchan, and Andrew G. Vajna (Carolco Pictures and Cinergi) to handle film sales in foreign countries.[2] Summit officially launched in 1993 by Patrick Wachsberger, Bob Hayward, and David Garrett under the name Summit Entertainment LP as a distribution and sales organization. By 1995 they were producing and co-financing films, and by 1997 they started fully financing films.[2] Among the company's early successes was American Pie, which Summit distributed outside of English-speaking territories.[2] In 2006, it became an independent film studio with over a billion dollars in financing backed by Merrill Lynch.[3]

After a string of flops including P2, Never Back Down and Sex Drive, Summit found success in November 2008 with the release of Twilight, a teen romance about vampires based on the best-selling book of the same name by Stephenie Meyer that made $408,773,703 worldwide. In the spring of 2009, Summit released Knowing, the company's second movie to open #1 at the box office and made $182,492,056 worldwide.

In November 2009, Summit released the sequel to Twilight titled The Twilight Saga: New Moon, also based on the popular novel by Stephenie Meyer, breaking box office records for first weekend grosses at the time, taking in $142,839,137 in the first three days.[4] In June 2010 Summit released the third film of the Twilight series, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It broke a midnight screening record of over $30 million and set a one-day Wednesday record of $68.5 million. It became the first movie in the series to cross the $300 million mark domestically.

In 2008, Summit Entertainment ranked in eighth place among the studios, with a gross of $226.5 million, almost entirely because of the release of Twilight.[5] In 2009, Summit ranked 7th among studios with a gross of $482.5 million.[6]

Other Summit Entertainment releases include: Ender's Game (released November 1, 2013 in the United States; an adaptation of Orson Scott Card's 1985 novel); Next Day Air ($10,027,047 US box office); The Hurt Locker ($16,400,000 US box office; it garnered Summit its first Best Picture Oscar); the animated Astro Boy; teen horror film Sorority Row ($11,965,282 US box office); the low-budget Push ($31,811,527 US box office); Bandslam ($5,210,988 US box office); Letters to Juliet ($53,032,453 US box office); and, the sleeper hit, RED ($87,940,198 US box office; nominated for a 2010 Golden Globe in the Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical category).

On February 1, 2009, it was announced that Lionsgate would acquire Summit Entertainment, along with its library of six films and rights to the Twilight franchise,[7] but two days later, these merger negotiations broke down due to concerns over changing content.[8] On January 13, 2012, Lionsgate officially acquired Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million.[9] Lionsgate continues to operate Summit Entertainment as a label.