1924
A Studio Is Born CBC Film Sales Corporation, a studio on Hollywood’s Poverty Row, is founded in 1918 by brothers Harry and Jack Cohn and Joe Brandt. In 1924, the trio reorganize the company, creating Columbia Pictures (Brandt is eventually bought out). Unlike the other majors, Columbia did not own theaters, sticking to making budget-friendly fare like Westerns and comedies. Harry, an autocratic figure, would become one of the biggest players in Columbia’s history until his death in 1958.
1928
The Feel-Good Frank Capra Era Now-iconic filmmaker Frank Capra is hired by Harry Cohn to direct movies in 1928, resulting in one of the studio’s most impactful working relationships. By 1939, Capra makes 25 films for Columbia, with some early hits including 1938’s You Can’t Take It With You helping to elevate the studio’s profile.
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1932-39
The Great Depression Gives a Boost By 1932, Harry Cohn (right) is president and Capra has his own production unit. Thanks to films like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Capra’s last for Columbia, the studio bucks the trend to thrive in the Depression. His Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable-led It Happened One Night is the first film to sweep five major Oscar categories.
1948
Theaters Go Bye In 1938, the Department of Justice files an antitrust suit against eight studios, including Columbia, alleging they conspired to control the industry via ownership of distribution and exhibition. The Paramount Decrees force them to drop their theater chains. For Columbia, this evens the field. In 2020, a judge would grant a motion to end the Decrees.
1954
The Push for Prestige Through the ’50s, Columbia moves away from lower-budget movies. On the Waterfront, from director Elia Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg, is one of the studio’s defining critical successes. The New Jersey-set crime film starring Marlon Brando wins eight Oscars.
1973
Wall Street Steps In After Cohn’s death in 1958, the studio spends most of the ’60s struggling financially under new management led by Abe Schneider. Outside help comes in the form of Allen & Company. The Wall Street firm takes a stake in the studio and ushers in a new era under appointed CEO Alan Hirschfield and studio president David Begelman.
1976-77
New Leadership Might Have Started Off Strong Begelman helps guide Columbia to success with wins for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver in 1976 and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977. A year later, Begelman is ousted for forging checks, leading to Hirschfield being booted as well.
1982
Coca-Cola Swallows Columbia In 1982, Coca-Cola coughs up approximately $752million to acquire the studio. Studio president Frank Price is then reportedly tasked with churning out more and more movies, according to Sam Wasson’s introduction in the historical chronicle Columbia Pictures: 100 Years of Cinema. Price leaves Columbia in 1983.
1982-84
Enduring Comedies at Columbia Sydney Pollack’s Tootsie (starring Dustin Hoffman) is a critical and box office success, the third-highest-grossing film in 1982 with a final global tally of nearly $180million. It wins Jessica Lange her first Oscar. Thirty-seven years later, the 2019 Broadway musical adaptation earns 10 Tony nominations. Ivan Reitman’s Ghostbusters, out in 1984, becomes a lasting hit franchise, its latest iteration, Frozen Empire, driving more than $200million worldwide this year.
1987
Dawn Steel, the Real Deal Studio head Dawn Steel’s tenure is short — from 1987 through 1990 — but her impact is long-lasting, beginning with her greenlighting of the provocative Casualties of War. The tenure of one of the first female studio heads is marked by Coca-Cola’s waning interest in the movie business and a writers strike. Then comes a major shift …
1989
Sony Buys Columbia The start of modern-day Columbia is rooted in Coca-Cola selling the studio to Sony for $3.4 billion. The electronics giant moves its HQ from the Burbank lot to MGM’s Culver City digs (right), amid trepidation (a Newsweek cover features the logo lady in a kimono with the title “Japan Invades Hollywood”) and scant movie experience, installing Jon Peters and Peter Guber, whose wild overspending leads to their ousters in 1991 and 1994, respectively.
1990-93
The Price Is Right Seven years after leaving the first time, Frank Price returns to lead Columbia, ushering in some of the studio’s most iconic films, including Boyz n the Hood, directed by John Singleton, and Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day, starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. The Library of Congress inducts Boyz n the Hood into the National Film Registry for its cultural impact in 2002.
1999
A Fresh Superhero Franchise In 1999, Amy Pascal is named Columbia Pictures chair. She has overseen production of the entire Spider-Man franchise, first as a studio executive for the 2002 hit with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, then as an independent producer on the Tom Holland films, as well as Spider-Verse animated features.
2014
The Sony Hack Guardians of Peace hack internal communications from Sony Pictures in an attempt to strong-arm the studio into pulling its Seth Rogen and James Franco-led film The Interview, which features a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In the wake of the hack’s embarrassing revelations, Pascal steps down from her role as Sony co-chairman, a position she has held since 2006. In 2015, Tom Rothman takes over as chairman-CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group.
2024
A Rom-Com Revival While the Tom Rothman-led Columbia Pictures has enjoyed plenty of wins, none feels more relevant and modern than the box office darling Anyone But You. The sleeper launches Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell into A-list stardom and becomes a hit via viral TikToks, earning more than $200 million to date worldwide.
This story first appeared in the July 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
