Cinema International Corporation

Cinema International Corporation
Company typeJoint-venture
Founded1970; 54 years ago (1970)
Defunct1981; 43 years ago (1981)
FateMerged with United Artists International to form United International Pictures
SuccessorUnited International Pictures
ProductsFilm
Owner[1]
DivisionsCIC Video

Cinema International Corporation (CIC) was a film distribution company started by Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures in the early 1970s to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States – it even operated in Canada before it was considered part of the "domestic" market. During the 1970s, CIC was the "most important agent of overseas distribution" for American films.[2] In 1981, CIC merged with United Artists' international units and became United International Pictures. The formation of CIC, and the profit-sharing arrangement that made it work, has been described as the product of "revolutionary thinking".[1]

  1. ^ a b Galloway, Stephen (27 November 2001). "Universal appeal: Twenty years ago, an unprecedented joint venture between three entertainment giants gave rise to universal international pictures -- now the world's biggest, most successful film distributor". Hollywood Reporter. Vol. 371, no. 2. p. S-2. Retrieved 26 July 2020 – via Gale General OneFile.
  2. ^ Cook, David A. (2000). "Formative Industry Trends, 1970-1979". In Harpole, Charles (ed.). Lost Illusions: American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate and Vietnam, 1970-1979. History of American Cinema. Vol. 9. New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-684-31528-7. Retrieved 26 July 2020 – via Gale eBooks.