Sony Pictures Classics

Arthouse division of Sony Pictures Entertainment

"Sony Classics" redirects here. For the record label, see Sony Classical Records.

Sony Pictures Classics, Inc.

Company type| Division
Industry| Entertainment
Founded| January 1992; 33 years ago (January 1992), in New York, New York, U.S.
Founders|

* Michael Barker
* Tom Bernard
* Marcie Bloom

Headquarters| New York City, U.S.

Area served

| Worldwide

Key people

* Michael Barker (co-president)
* Tom Bernard (co-president)

Products| Motion pictures

Number of employees

| 25[1]
Parent|

* Sony Pictures Entertainment (1992–present)

Website| sonyclassics.com

Sony Pictures Classics Inc. is an American arthouse film production and distribution company that is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment and part of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. It was founded in January 1992 by former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom.[2] It distributes, produces and acquires specialty films such as documentaries, independent and arthouse films. As of 2015, Barker and Bernard are co-presidents of the division.

## History

[edit]

Co-founder and co-president Michael Barker

Sony Pictures Classics (also known as Sony Classics or SPC) was formed in 1992 by Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom, and set up as an autonomous division of Sony Pictures[2] to produce, acquire and/or distribute independent films from the United States and internationally.[3]

It has released films that have won 38 Academy Awards and received 164 nominations,[4] including Best Picture nominations for I’m Still Here, The Father, Call Me By Your Name, Whiplash, Amour, Midnight in Paris, An Education, Capote, Howards End, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.[5]

SPC has a history of making reasonable investments for small films and getting a decent return.[2][6][7] It has a history of not overspending.[2][8] Its largest commercial success of the 2010s is Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris (2011), which grossed over $56 million in the U.S., becoming Allen's highest-grossing film ever in the United States.

SPC has been a pioneer in theatrical distribution. In 2001 championed the Chinese-language film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which earned the most Oscar nominations ever for a non-English-language film and win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and a Golden Globe in 2001. The film earned over $213 million worldwide on a $17 million budget, including $128 million in the U.S. as a Sony Pictures Classics release.[9]

In 2006, SPC promoted The Lives of Others to an Oscar and BAFTA, after it was rejected by the Cannes, Berlin, Venice and New York Film Festivals.[10]

Co-founder and co-president Tom Bernard

SPC occasionally agrees to release films for Sony's other film divisions; however, under its structure within Sony, none of the other divisions (including the parent company) can force SPC to release any film it does not want to release.[2][11]

In 2025, The New York Times polled over 500 filmmakers, actors, and film buffs around the world, compiling a list of the 100 greatest films of the 21st century by collating voters' top ten submitted films; ten titles released by Sony Pictures Classics made the list: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, A Separation, A Prophet, Call Me By Your Name, Amélie (re-released by SPC in 2024), The Lives of Others, Toni Erdmann, Whiplash, Amour, and Volver.[12]

## Film library

[edit]

Main article: List of Sony Pictures Classics films

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Sony Pictures Classics Bosses Shop Cannes Quality". ABC News. Retrieved July 28, 2010.
2. ^ a b c d e Thompson, Anne (October 17, 2006). "Sony Pictures Classics at 15". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2010. "They stay behind the films and manage to find a significant core audience for a large number of them, with the occasional $130 million blowout like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' [former United Artists president Bingham] Ray says. 'But they spend a fraction of what a major studio would spend to get the same number. Their philosophy is not to pile a lot of money on everything. They run a tight ship; they don't have an army of people working for them. They keep things simple." Alt URL
3. ^ "Sony Pictures Classics – About Us". SonyClassics.com.
4. ^ "Sony Pictures Classics | About Us". sonyclassics.com. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
5. ^ "SONY PICTURES CLASSICS TO RELEASE JUHO KUOSMANEN'S 'COMPARTMENT NO. 6' IN THEATERS". The Scope Weekly. Retrieved September 3, 2022.
6. ^ Pond, Steve (November 16, 2009). "Sony Classics' Embarrassment of Oscar Riches". The Wrap. Retrieved July 28, 2010. "It doesn't release blockbusters or Best Picture winners, but its understated business plans reduce risk and keep it in business."
7. ^ Kaufman, Anthony (January 29, 2008). "PARK CITY '08 | Sundance Buying Spree Stirs Talk; Sony Classics Adds "Baghead," "River," and "Wackness" to '08 Slate". Indiewire. Retrieved February 9, 2012. "As Bernard explained, 'We're not looking for home runs; we're looking for singles and doubles.' [...] The tortoise-rather-than-the-hare strategy helped the company capture movies that were under the radar of buyers, and as Bernard argued, even sellers."
8. ^ "Duncan Jones is Unhappy About Moon – Thompson on Hollywood". Indiewire. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 4, 2010. Retrieved July 28, 2010. "SPC had nothing to do with the DVD release, which Jones is unhappy about."
9. ^ "Hollywood Flashback: 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' Captured Oscar Gold 20 Years Ago". The Hollywood Reporter. January 10, 2021.
10. ^ "LAFF: Sony Pictures Classics' Tom Bernard, Michael Barker Get Spirit of Independence Award". The Hollywood Reporter. June 17, 2014.
11. ^ Ross, Matt (February 6, 2006). "Translating foreign pix to U.S. hits: SPC finds creative solutions to bring home best in overseas fare". Variety.
12. ^ Times, The New York (June 23, 2025). "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 1, 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Sony

History

Founders|

* Masaru Ibuka
* Akio Morita

Primary businesses|

* Sony Corporation
* Sony Semiconductor Solutions
* Sony Entertainment
* Sony Music Group
* Entertainment
* Publishing
* Sony Pictures
* Sony Financial Group
* Sony Life
* Sony Bank
* Sony Interactive Entertainment
* PlayStation
* Sony Music Entertainment Japan
* Aniplex
* A-1 Pictures
* CloverWorks
* Hayate Inc.

Technologies
and brands|

* α (Alpha)
* Archival Disc
* Betacam
* Bionz
* Blu-ray
* Bravia
* CD
* Cell
* Cyber-shot
* Dash
* Dream Machine
* DVD
* Exmor
* FeliCa
* Handycam
* HDCAM/HDCAM-SR
* HMZ-T1
* Inzone
* LocationFree
* Memory Stick
* MiniDisc
* MiniDV
* MicroMV
* mylo
* PlayNow
* PlayStation
* Reader
* S/PDIF
* SDDS
* 8 channel films
* Sony Entertainment Network
* SXRD
* Sony Tablet
* Tunnel diode
* TransferJet
* UMD
* Vaio
* Video8/Hi8/Digital8
* Vision-S
* Walkman
* XDCAM
* Xperia

Historical products|

* AIBO
* CV-2000
* DAT
* Betamax
* Sony CLIÉ
* Discman
* Jumbotron
* Lissa
* Mavica
* NEWS
* Optiarc
* PVM-4300
* Qualia
* Rolly
* TR-55
* Trinitron
* FD series
* 1 inch Type C
* U-matic
* Vaio
* Watchman
* WEGA

Electronics|

* Sony Creative Software
* FeliCa Networks (57%)

Online distribution
platforms|

* PlayStation Network
* PlayStation Plus
* PlayStation Store
* Sony Pictures Core
* SonyLIV
* Crunchyroll
* mora
* Great American Pure Flix (joint venture with Great American Media)

| Former/Defunct|

* Sony Entertainment Network
* Sony Connect
* PlayNow
* PlayStation Now
* PlayStation Video
* PlayStation Vue
* Anime Digital Network
* Anime on Demand
* AnimeLab
* Crackle
* Minisodes
* Funimation
* PressPlay
* VRV
* Wakanim

|

Other businesses|

* Sony DADC
* Sony Network Communications
* Sony Professional Solutions
* Sony Honda Mobility (50%)
* M3 (39.4%)
* Vaio (4.9%)

Other assets|

* Sony Corporation of America (umbrella company in the US)
* Other subsidiaries
* List of acquisitions
* List of libraries

Nonprofit organizations|

* Sony Institute of Higher Education Shohoku College

Other|

* Sony Toshiba IBM Center of Competence for the Cell Processor
* Sony timer

* v
* t
* e

Sony Pictures

Key personnel|

* Tony Vinciquerra
* Tom Rothman

Motion
Picture Group|

* Columbia Pictures
* Ghost Corps
* TriStar Pictures
* TriStar Productions
* Screen Gems
* Classics
* Imageworks
* Animation
* Worldwide Acquisitions
* Destination Films
* Stage 6 Films
* Affirm Films
* Great American Pure Flix
* Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
* Sony Pictures Kids Zone

Television|

| U.S. production|

* Embassy Row
* Great American Pure Flix

|

International production|

* Bad Wolf
* Eleven
* Left Bank Pictures
* Curio Pictures
* Sony Pictures Television Kids
* Sony Pictures Television Nonfiction
* The Intellectual Property Corporation
* 19 Entertainment
* Sharp Entertainment
* Stellify Media
* Stolen Picture
* Teleset

* v
* t
* e

Sony Pictures TV channels

Sony Channel|

* United States
* Sony Movies
* Cine Sony
* Latin America

AXN|

* Brazil
* Latin America
* Portugal
* AXN White
* AXN Movies
* AXN Now
* Spain
* AXN Movies
* AXN Now

Others|

* Game Show Network
* Get

Former|

| Sony Channel|

* Baltics
* Sony Sci-Fi
* Sony Turbo
* Germany
* Sony AXN
* Russia
* Sony Sci-Fi
* Sony Turbo
* Turkey
* Sony Çocuk
* Sony Max (Hungary)
* Sony Movie Channel (Hungary)
* Sony One

|

Others|

* Animax
* Japan
* Middle East
* Southeast Asia
* Taiwan
* AXN
* Adria
* Hungary
* Southeast Asia
* Taiwan
* AXN Black
* CEE
* AXN White
* CEE
* AXN Now
* Hungary
* AXN Spin
* Crackle
* Film1
* Film1 Action
* Film1 Drama
* Film1 Family
* Film1 Premiere
* Gem
* Hollywood Suite
* Kids Station
* Planet Mutfak
* Planet Türk
* Viasat Hungary
* Viasat 3
* Viasat 6

Defunct|

* 3net
* Animax
* CEE
* Germany
* Latin America
* Portugal
* South Africa
* Spain
* AXN
* Israel
* Italy
* AXN Beyond
* AXN Black
* Portugal
* AXN Crime
* AXN Sci-Fi
* CEE
* Italy
* Cine Sony
* Italy
* BeTV
* Fearnet
* Film1 Festival
* Film1 Sundance
* Hooq
* Locomotion
* Pop (Italy)
* Sony Channel
* Southeast Asia
* Sony Max
* Sony Spin

* v
* t
* e

Sony Pictures Networks

Hindi|

* Sony Entertainment Television
* Sony Max
* Sony Max 2
* Sony Pal
* Sony Sab
* Sony Wah

English|

* Sony Pix

Bengali|

* Sony Aath

Marathi|

* Sony Marathi

Sports|

* Sony Sports Ten
* 1
* 2
* 3
* 4
* 5

Children's|

* Sony Yay

Factual|

* Sony BBC Earth (50%; Joint venture with BBC Studios)

Online VOD|

* Sony LIV

International channels|

* Sony Kal

Former|

* Animax
* AXN
* Sony ESPN (50%; joint venture with ESPN Inc.)
* Sony Le Plex HD
* Sony Mix
* Sony Rox HD
* TEN Cricket International

* v
* t
* e

Television channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland operated by Sony Pictures Television

Currently broadcasting but sold to another company|

Narrative Capital Partners LLC

Great! TV
Great! Movies
Great! Action
Great! Romance
Pop
Tiny Pop

Former|

Bliss
Flava
More Than Movies
Movies4Men
Movies4Men 2
Pop Girl
Scuzz
Sony Crime Channel
True Crime
True Drama
True Entertainment
True Movies
True Movies 2
TruTV

Sold and later closed|

Pop Max
Starz TV
Trace Hits
Trace Latina
Trace Vault

Miscellaneous|

* Sony Pictures Television
* CSC Media Group
* animaxtv.co.uk (VOD, defunct)
* Funimation

Other|

* Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
* Crunchyroll, LLC (with Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex)
* Crunchyroll
* Crunchyroll EMEA
* Crunchyroll SAS
* Crunchyroll SA
* Crunchyroll GmbH
* Crunchyroll Films
* Crunchyroll Games LLC
* Crunchyroll Studios
* Crunchyroll Store Australia
* Crunchyroll UK and Ireland
* Nozomi Entertainment
* Digital
* Mobile
* Entertainment Japan
* Studios
* Madison Gate Records

Defunct/Former|

* 2waytraffic
* Adelaide Productions
* AnimeLab
* Anime on Demand
* Columbia Pictures Television
* Columbia TriStar Television
* Crackle
* The Minisode Network
* Culver Entertainment
* ELP Communications
* Funimation
* Jim Henson Pictures
* Kazé
* Merv Griffin Enterprises
* Right Stuf
* Sony Pictures Family Entertainment Group
* TriStar Television
* Triumph Films
* VRV
* Wakanim

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel
* Catalonia

Other|

* MusicBrainz label
* Yale LUX

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