The Donners' Company
FormerlyDonner/Shuler-Donner Productions (1986–1999)
TypeProduction company
IndustryFilm production
Founded1986 (1986)
FoundersRichard Donner
Lauren Shuler Donner
Headquarters4000 Warner Boulevard, ,
OwnerLauren Shuler Donner

The Donners' Company (formerly Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions) is the film production company of director Richard Donner and producer Lauren Shuler Donner, founded in 1986. It is notable for the Free Willy and X-Men films.

History

Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions

In 1986, film producer Lauren Shuler Donner announced that she would end her production deal with The Walt Disney Studios.[1] She announced that she would merge with Warner Bros.-based Richard Donner Productions, to create Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions, to be operating on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, California.[1]

The first film released under the name was Radio Flyer, which was directed by Richard Donner, produced by Lauren, and it was released by Columbia Pictures in 1992.[2] It flopped at the box office.[3]

The banner made its first major success in 1993 with box office hits Dave and Free Willy. The latter's success spawned two sequels, and a television series.[4] That year, the studio and Warner Bros. originally made a deal with Hammer Film Productions to do remake film projects based on its existing UK film productions.[5]

In 1994, the studio hit its first television project, with an animated adaption of Free Willy, and it was aired on ABC for two seasons.[6]

The Donners' Company

In 1999, it was announced that Donner/Shuler-Donner Productions was renamed to the better-sounding name The Donners' Company. On April 4, 2000, it was signed a deal with NBC Studios to produce shows for the NBC television network.[7]

That same year, the studio scored a major success with X-Men, which was an instant box office hit, grossing over $296.8 million worldwide.[8]

In 2001, The Donners' Company signed a deal with Winchester Films to produce its feature films from its own.[9]

More recently, the company was producing two X-Men series for television, including Legion on FX, and The Gifted on Fox. In 2019, the latter was cancelled months before the former concluded its third and final season.[10][11]

Richard Donner died on July 5, 2021. He was 91.[12]

Filmography

1990s

Year Title Director Distributor Notes Budget Gross (worldwide)
1992 Radio Flyer Richard Donner Columbia Pictures first film; co-production with Stonebridge Entertainment $35 million $4.6 million
1993 Dave Ivan Reitman Warner Bros. co-production with Northern Lights Entertainment $28 million $63.3 million
Free Willy Simon Wincer co-production with Le Studio Canal+, Regency Enterprises and Alcor Films $20 million $153.6 million
1994 Maverick Richard Donner co-production with Icon Productions $75 million $183 million
1995 Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home Dwight Little as Shuler-Donner/Donner; co-production with Le Studio Canal+., Regency Enterprises and Alcor Films $31 million $30 million
Assassins Richard Donner co-production with Silver Pictures $50 million $83.3 million
1997 Volcano Mick Jackson 20th Century Fox as Shuler Donner/Donner; co-production with Fox 2000 Pictures and Moritz Original $90 million $122.8 million
Free Willy 3: The Rescue Sam Pillsbury Warner Bros. as Shuler Donner/Donner; co-production with Regency Enterprises N/A $3.4 million
Conspiracy Theory Richard Donner as Shuler Donner/Donner Productions; last film released under Donner/Shuler-Donner insignia; co-production with Silver Pictures $80 million $137 million
1998 Bulworth Warren Beatty 20th Century Fox uncredited; co-production with Mulholland Productions $30 million $29.2 million
Lethal Weapon 4 Richard Donner Warner Bros. as DoShuDo Productions; co-production with Silver Pictures $100–150 million $285.4 million
You've Got Mail Nora Ephron as Lauren Shuler Donner $65 million $250.8 million
1999 Any Given Sunday Oliver Stone first film under the branding of The Donners' Company; co-production with Ixtlan Productions $55 million $100.2 million

2000s

Year Title Director Distributor Notes Budget Gross (worldwide)
2000 X-Men Bryan Singer 20th Century Fox co-production with Marvel Entertainment Group and Bad Hat Harry Productions $75 million $296.3 million
2001 Out Cold The Malloys Buena Vista Pictures co-production with Touchstone Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment and Barber/Birnbaum $24 million $14.8 million
2003 Just Married Shawn Levy 20th Century Fox uncredited; co-production with Robert Simonds $18 million $101.5 million
X2 Bryan Singer co-production with Marvel Enterprises and Bad Hat Harry Productions $110 million $407.7 million
Timeline Richard Donner Paramount Pictures co-production with Mutual Film Company, Cobalt Media Group and Artists Production Group $80 million $43.9 million
2005 Constantine Francis Lawrence Warner Bros. Pictures co-production with Vertigo/DC Comics, Village Roadshow Pictures, Batfilm Productions, Weed Road Pictures, 3 Arts Entertainment and di Bonaventura Pictures $100 million $230.9 million
2006 16 Blocks Richard Donner uncredited; Alcon Entertainment, Millennium Films, Cheyenne Enterprises, Emmett/Furla Films, Equity Pictures and Nu Image Films $55 million $65.7 million
She's the Man Andy Fickman Paramount Pictures co-production with DreamWorks Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment $20 million $57.2 million
X-Men: The Last Stand Brett Ratner 20th Century Fox co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious Film Partners $210 million $460.4 million
Unaccompanied Minors Paul Feig Warner Bros. Pictures co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures $26 million $21.9 million
2008 Semi-Pro Kent Alterman New Line Cinema uncredited; co-production with Mosaic Media Group $55 million $43.9 million
The Secret Life of Bees Gina Prince-Bythewood Fox Searchlight Pictures co-production with Overbrook Entertainment $11 million $39.9 million
2009 Hotel for Dogs Thor Freudenthal Paramount Pictures co-production with DreamWorks Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Cold Spring Pictures and The Montecito Picture Company $35 million $117 million
X-Men Origins: Wolverine Gavin Hood 20th Century Fox co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Seed Productions, Dune Entertainment and Ingenious Film Partners $150 million $373.1 million
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant Paul Weitz Universal Pictures co-production with Relativity Media and Depth of Field $40 million $39.2 million

2010s

Year Title Director Distributor Notes Budget Gross (worldwide)
2011 X-Men: First Class Matthew Vaughn 20th Century Fox co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners, and Bad Hat Harry $140–160 million $353.6 million
2013 The Wolverine James Mangold co-production with Marvel Entertainment and TSG Entertainment $100–132 million $414.8 million
2014 X-Men: Days of Future Past Bryan Singer co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Bad Hat Harry, Simon Kinberg and TSG Entertainment $200–220 million $747.9 million
2016 Deadpool Tim Miller co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre and TSG Entertainment $58 million $782.6 million
X-Men: Apocalypse Bryan Singer co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Bad Hat Harry, Hutch Parker, Kinberg Genre and TSG Entertainment $178 million $543.9 million
2017 Logan James Mangold co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Hutch Parker and TSG Entertainment $97 million $619 million
2018 Deadpool 2 David Leitch uncredited; co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Maximum Effort and TSG Entertainment $110 million $785.8 million
2019 Dark Phoenix Simon Kinberg uncredited; co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Hutch Parker and TSG Entertainment $200 million $252.4 million

2020s

Year Title Director Distributor Notes Budget Gross
(worldwide)
2020 The New Mutants Josh Boone 20th Century Studios uncredited; co-production with Marvel Entertainment, Kinberg Genre, Sunswept Entertainment and TSG Entertainment $67–80 million $49.2 million[13][14]

Television

Years Title Creator Network Notes Seasons Episodes
1994–95 Free Willy Patrick Loubert
based on Free Willy by:
Keith A. Walker
Corey Blechman
developed by:
Patsy Cameron
Ted Anasiti
ABC co-production with Le Studio Canal+, Nelvana, Regency Enterprises and Warner Bros. Television 2 21
2017–19 Legion Noah Hawley
based on Legion by:
Chris Claremont
Bill Sienkiewicz
FX co-production with 26 Keys Productions, Kinberg Genre, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Marvel Television and FXP 3 27
The Gifted Matt Nix
based on characters by:
Stan Lee
Jack Kirby
Fox co-production with Flying Glass of Milk Productions, Kinberg Genre, Bad Hat Harry Productions, Marvel Television and 20th Century Fox Television 2 29

In development

Television

Title Developer Network Notes
Our Time[15] Sarah Watson Disney+ co-production with The Jackal Group, Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Television

References

  1. 1 2 "Unknown". Variety. 1980–1999.
  2. Rosenthal, Donna (1990-10-28). "Rolling Along, Finally: New director Richard Donner restarts the troubled 'Radio Flyer,' the first feature for the new regime at Columbia Pictures". MOVIES. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  3. Boyar, Jay (21 February 1992). "'RADIO FLYER' IS A FLOP". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  4. Klady, Leonard (1993-07-06). "Free Willy". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  5. "Warner strikes Hammer deal". Variety. 1993-08-02. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  6. Lowry, Brian (1994-03-17). "'Beethoven,' 'Willy' hit TV". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  7. Schneider, Michael (2000-04-04). "Donners party with NBC pact". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  8. "X-Men (2000) – Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  9. Fleming, Michael; Harris, Dana (2001-05-14). "Donners shoot for Winchester". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  10. "'Legion' Will End with Season 3 on FX". The Hollywood Reporter. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (2019-04-18). "'The Gifted' Canceled By Fox After 2 Seasons; Marvel Drama Could Potentially Find New Home At Disney". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-06-28.
  12. Hipes, Patrick (5 July 2021). "Richard Donner Dies: 'Superman', 'Lethal Weapon' And 'The Goonies' Director Was 91". Deadline. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  13. "The New Mutants". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  14. "The New Mutants". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  15. Michael Schneider (December 15, 2021). "Warner Bros. TV Lands 'Goonies' Project at Disney Plus, the Latest Example of Its 'Never Say Die' Approach (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
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