| This article is about Gullane Pictures. You may be looking for Gullane Entertainment. |
Gullane Pictures was a subsidiary of The Britt Allcroft Company. It co-financed Thomas and the Magic Railroad with Destination Films, and was the films' international distributor.
History[]
Gullane Pictures was founded by Britt Allcroft on 20 November 1997[1] as an American distribution arm of The Britt Allcroft Company, with $50 million USD[2] ($100.9 million in 2025)[3] used as starting capital partially financed by Catalyst Entertainment,[2] long-time Canadian associate of The Britt Allcroft Company.
Its main purpose was for the development, production, and distribution of films in the United States. In-development at the pre-production stage was a TV series adaptation of the 1990 sci-fi film, Spaced Invaders, a TV series and film based on The Blob franchise, and the film Row Your Boat - produced in association with Preferred Films, 49th Parallel Productions, and Waterstreet Productions.[2] Only the latter, Row Your Boat, ended-up materialising to mixed reception in 1998.
In 1999, the company signed a deal with Destination Films to co-finance Thomas and the Magic Railroad, as well as handle all international sales rights, excluding the UK and Ireland.[4] The company closed down as Gullane Pictures in late 2000 after the failure of Thomas and the Magic Railroad. Afterwards, the name was used for The Britt Allcroft Company's rebrand: Gullane Entertainment, although the name, "Gullane," had also been briefly used for a consultancy subsidiary of The Britt Allcroft Company now known as HIT Attractions.[5]
It was renamed to Gullane Entertainment LLC (limited liability company),[1] as Gullane Entertainment's US branch, with an office in California, and continued in this fashion as a dormant subsidiary of Gullane Entertainment under the ownership of HiT Entertainment, and Apax Partners until 2012, when Mattel acquired HiT, and the company was officially dissolved on 14 December 2012.[1]
Trivia[]
- Many Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends' North American VHS releases from 1999 to 2000 have credited Gullane Pictures in the ending credits.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 OpenCorporates entity details for GULLANE ENTERTAINMENT LLC
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://variety.com/1997/film/news/guillane-hits-u-s-1200324784/
- ↑ Calculated via CPI inflation calculator
- ↑ https://variety.com/1999/film/news/thomas-the-tank-engine-tuner-pic-toots-at-destination-1117491208/
- ↑ https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/03606954