Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American home entertainment and production company originally formed in 1995. They distributed Thomas & Friends on VHS and DVD in the US from 1995 to 2008 and in Canada from 2001 to 2008. During its time of distribution by Anchor Bay, Thomas reached platinum-selling status and, in 2002, ranked consistently on the VideoScan ranking top 50 chart of children's weekly video sales.[1]
History
Original Company (1995-2017)
Anchor Bay Entertainment was formed through the merger of Video Treasures and StarMaker, two competing video distribution companies, when they were sold to the Handleman Company and formed a new corporate umbrella, Anchor Bay Entertainment, on 2 May 1995.
Previously, Video Treasures had purchased Strand Home Video from VCI in December 1993[2], inheriting the Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends distribution rights in the process. Video Treasures began distributing Thomas on VHS in 1994, still using the Strand Home Video logo on VHS tapes that year. In the early months of 1995, Video Treasures distributed Thomas on VHS using its own logo but, later that year, it was merged to form Anchor Bay Entertainment, though the Video Treasures logo continued to be used on Thomas VHS tapes for the next two years. Video Treasures also had Canadian branch named HGV Video Productions formed in 1989, which was largely unaffected by the 1995 merger until 2001. HGV Video Productions distributed Thomas on VHS in Canada from 1992 to 2001, after which it was folded into its new parent company and was renamed Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada, Limited.[1]
In the 1990s and 2000s, Anchor Bay was primarily known for its distribution of horror and cult films but it did distribute some children's shows as well. In addition to Thomas & Friends, Anchor Bay also distributed Shining Time Station, Eloise: The Animated Series, Bobby's World, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Roseanne, Tickety Toc, Chuggington and Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! Anchor Bay also had a film studio known as Anchor Bay Films, which mainly distributed direct-to-video and independent films.
In 2003, Handleman sold Anchor Bay to IDT Entertainment, at the time a newly formed entertainment division of telecommunications company IDT Corporation. In 2006, Liberty Media, the owner of the Starz cable network, purchased IDT Entertainment from IDT Corporation and renamed it Starz Media. On 3 April 2007, Anchor Bay was renamed as Starz Home Entertainment but, in early 2008, Starz Home Entertainment was changed back to Anchor Bay Entertainment.
On 30 June 2016, Lionsgate agreed to purchase Anchor Bay's parent company Starz Inc. for $4.4 billion in cash and stock. The merger was completed on 8 December 2016. On 29 August 2017, Lionsgate folded Anchor Bay into their own home media division. In June 2021, Lionsgate was purchased by Shake Creations, Inc. for over $7 billion.
New Company (2024-2025)
In 2024, Lionsgate sold the Anchor Bay Entertainment name and trademark (but not their library, which Lionsgate retained) to Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz, co-founders of film finance and production company Umbrelic Entertainment. According to co-founder Thomas Zambeck, "We had an opportunity to take the name of a beloved genre film brand, one we feel a personal connection to, for our new company. This is a new venture, unaffiliated with any previous incarnations." The new company specialises in genre films, undiscovered treasures, cult classics and remastered catalogue releases.[3]
Thomas & Friends Releases
Originals
1995
Thomas and the Special Letter and Other Stories (15 August 1995)
1996
Thomas and His Friends Help Out (2 February 1996)
The Gallant Old Engine and Other Thomas Stories (6 August 1996)
1997
Sing-Along and Stories (11 February 1997)
Thomas Meets the Queen and Other Stories (19 August 1997)
1998
Thomas and His Friends Get Along (10 February 1998)
Thomas Comes to Breakfast and Other Thomas Adventures (18 August 1998)
A Big Day for Thomas (18 August 1998)
1999
Thomas' Useful Stories (Blockbuster-exclusive) (2 February 1999)
Cranky Bugs and Other Thomas Stories (2 February 1999)
Races, Rescues and Runaways and Other Thomas Adventures (10 August 1999)
10 Years of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (14 September 1999)
2000
Spills and Chills and Other Thomas Thrills (29 February 2000)
Make Someone Happy and Other Thomas Adventures (25 July 2000)
Thomas' Christmas Wonderland and Other Thomas Adventures (26 September 2000)
2001
Thomas' Trackside Tunes and Other Thomas Adventures (13 February 2001)
Best of Percy (24 July 2001)
Best of Thomas (25 September 2001)
2002
Best of James (5 March 2002)
Thomas' Fan Favorite Adventures (Blockbuster-exclusive) (5 March 2002)
Thomas' Magical Musical Ride (Blockbuster-exclusive) (5 March 2002)
Salty's Secret and Other Thomas Adventures (24 September 2002)
2003
Percy's Chocolate Crunch and Other Thomas Adventures (25 February 2003)
Two Thomas Adventures (25 February 2003)
Best of Gordon (22 July 2003)
James and the Red Balloon and Other Thomas Adventures (22 July 2003)
Thomas' Sodor Stories (22 July 2003)
Fun with Thomas (22 July 2003)
Thomas' Snowy Surprise and Other Adventures (14 October 2003)
2004
New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures (16 March 2004)
Thomas and the Jet Engine and Other Adventures (20 July 2004)
The Early Years (26 October 2004)
2005
Hooray for Thomas and Other Adventures (25 January 2005)
Quarry Adventures on Sodor (3 May 2005)
Percy Saves the Day and Other Adventures (26 July 2005)
2006
Thomas and the Really Brave Engines and Other Adventures (7 February 2006)
On Site with Thomas and Other Adventures (15 August 2006)
Thomas' Halloween Adventures (29 August 2006)
2007
Thomas' Trusty Friends (1 May 2007)
Thomas and the Toy Workshop (18 September 2007)
Ultimate Christmas (23 October 2007)
2008
Thomas and the Treasure (29 January 2008)
Mud Glorious Mud (6 May 2008)
Re-releases
1995
Thomas Gets Tricked and Other Stories
James Learns a Lesson and Other Stories
Trust Thomas and Other Stories
Thomas Gets Bumped and Other Stories
Thomas, Percy and the Dragon and Other Stories
Daisy and Other Thomas Stories
Percy's Ghostly Trick and Other Thomas Stories
1996
James Goes Buzz Buzz and Other Thomas Stories
Thomas' Christmas Party and Other Favorite Stories
Rusty to the Rescue and Other Thomas Stories
DVD Packs
2003
Best of Thomas, Percy and James Platinum Edition (22 July 2003)
Best of Collection (14 October 2003)
2004
Totally Thomas! Volume 1 (22 June 2004)
Totally Thomas! Volume 2 (22 June 2004)
Totally Thomas! Volume 3 (22 June 2004)
2005
Percy Saves the Day and James and the Red Balloon 2 Pack DVD (11 October 2005)
10 Years of Thomas & Friends and Best of Gordon 2 Pack DVD (11 October 2005)
Thomas' Snowy Surprise and Percy Saves the Day 2 Pack DVD (11 October 2005)
James Learns a Lesson and New Friends for Thomas 2 Pack DVD (11 October 2005)
2006
Thomas and the Jet Engine and Races, Rescues and Runaways 2 Pack DVD (7 February 2006)
- Best of Thomas and Best of Percy 2 Pack DVD (7 February 2006)
Thomas and the Really Brave Engines and Percy's Chocolate Crunch 2 Pack DVD (7 February 2006)
2008
Totally Thomas Volume 4 (12 August 2008)
Totally Thomas Volume 5 (12 August 2008)
Totally Thomas Volume 6 (12 August 2008)
Totally Thomas Volume 7 (7 October 2008)
Totally Thomas Volume 8 (7 October 2008)
Totally Thomas Volume 9 (7 October 2008)
Ultimate Thomas Collection (14 October 2008)
Double Features
Thomas Gets Tricked/Percy's Ghostly Trick (2007)
Thomas' Trusty Friends/On Site with Thomas and Other Adventures (2007)
Thomas and the Toy Workshop/Thomas and the Really Brave Engines (2007)
Trust Thomas/A Big Day for Thomas (2007)
James Goes Buzz Buzz/Thomas and the Special Letter (2008)
Percy Takes the Plunge/Thomas Gets Bumped (2008)
Trackside Tunes/Thomas and His Friends Help Out (2008)
Thomas and the Treasure/Thomas, Percy and the Dragon (2008)
Shining Time Station VHS Release
1997
'Tis a Gift (7 October 1997)