# Miramax
**Miramax** is an American film and television studio founded in 1979 by brothers Harvey and [Bob Weinstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-weinstein) as a distributor of independent films, named after their parents Miriam and Max.[1](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/miramax) After defining the specialty-film business of the 1990s under Disney ownership, the company was closed by Disney in 2010, sold, and rebuilt; it is now a joint venture of the Qatari beIN Media Group (51 percent) and Paramount (49 percent), headquartered in Los Angeles and led by Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Glickman.[2](https://legalclarity.org/who-owns-miramax-from-disney-to-bein-and-paramount/) • [3](https://www.miramax.com/about/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1979 by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, named for their parents Miriam and Max[1](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/miramax) |
| Disney era | Acquired by Walt Disney Co. in May 1993 for about $75 million (reported elsewhere as $80 million); Weinsteins departed September 30, 2005[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-01-fi-9181-story.html) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html) • [6](https://d23.com/a-to-z/miramax-films/) |
| Closure and sale | Disney closed the offices on January 29, 2010; sold to Filmyard Holdings in 2010, later auctioned to beIN Media Group[6](https://d23.com/a-to-z/miramax-films/) • [7](https://au.variety.com/2025/film/features/miramax-after-weinstein-scary-movie-sydney-sweeney-rebuild-21871/) |
| Current ownership | beIN Media Group 51 percent, Paramount 49 percent, deal closed April 2020[2](https://legalclarity.org/who-owns-miramax-from-disney-to-bein-and-paramount/) |
| Awards record | 278 Academy Award nominations and 68 Oscars, including four Best Picture awards[3](https://www.miramax.com/about/) |
| Signature hits | sex, lies, and videotape ($24 million US), The Crying Game ($62 million), Pulp Fiction (more than $200 million worldwide), Chicago (more than $300 million)[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html) • [8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-31-fi-23931-story.html) |
| Library | Catalog includes Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting, and Chicago[9](https://apnews.com/article/33d35277cdb3dbd2f99ccba6382aa317) |
## Origins and the independent years
The Weinstein brothers began Miramax as a specialist distribution outfit. An early success came from acquiring the Pythonesque Amnesty International fundraiser The Secret Policeman's Ball and its sequel, splicing them into one film, and earning $6 million; the heavy editing earned [Harvey Weinstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/harvey-weinstein) the nickname "Harvey Scissorhands."[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html) An earlier venture saw the brothers buy a decrepit movie house in Buffalo, renovate it, and show films that drew a college crowd.[10](https://time.com/archive/6714393/the-little-hitmakers/)
The company's breakthrough came with [Steven Soderbergh](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-soderbergh)'s 1989 drama *sex, lies, and videotape*, which grossed $24 million in the United States, a sum described as staggering for an independent film at the time.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html) The same year brought healthy returns for [Peter Greenaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-greenaway)'s deliberately non-commercial *The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover*, marketed with the tagline "Lust. Murder. Dessert," and the [Profumo affair](https://www.edgepedia.org/profumo-affair) drama *Scandal*.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html) By the start of the 1990s, Miramax was one of few independent distributors still turning a profit; *sex, lies, and videotape*, *My Left Foot*, and *Cinema Paradiso* cumulatively returned between $18 million and $21.2 million in film rentals (distributor's share of a film's box-office gross).[11](https://yale.imodules.com/s/1667/images/gid6/editor_documents/yacolf22/johnson/indie_inc_miramax_2._the_rise_of_miramax.pdf?cc=1&sessionid=f0519e1e-22d3-40a7-b2f1-603d267acbed)
**Marketing as a method.** The company could not match studio advertising budgets, so it built brand awareness through provocation and awards-season campaigning. It courted drama in the press, at times pursuing X ratings to challenge them in court and win publicity, and sold its foreign films as "universal" while marketing its American films as shocking or titillating.[12](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259729610_Book_Review_Indie_Inc_Miramax_and_the_Transformation_of_Hollywood_by_Alisa_Perren) • [5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html) The film scholar Alisa Perren, author of *Indie, Inc.: Miramax and the Transformation of Hollywood in the 1990s* (University of Texas Press, 2012), argues that Miramax's activities reshaped everything from film festival practices to marketing strategies, talent development, and awards campaigning.[13](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/729124)
## The Disney era
Disney acquired Miramax Film Corp. in May 1993. The Los Angeles Times reported the price as about $75 million, $50 million of it paid upfront to the Weinstein brothers; a later Guardian account put the figure at $80 million.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-01-fi-9181-story.html) • [14](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/28/miramax-closes-disney-harvey-weinstein) Under Disney, Miramax gained access to home video, international distribution, and pay-TV output deals (Prearranged contracts to supply home video/pay-TV platforms) that, in Disney's words, took the company's films "into a whole other league in terms of total worldwide revenues"; the small Italian film *Il Postino* set records overseas when released through Disney's Buena Vista International.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-01-fi-9181-story.html)
The 1990s brought the run of films for which the company is best known: *The Crying Game* (1992), *Pulp Fiction* (1994), *The English Patient* (1996), and *Good Will Hunting* (1997).[13](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/729124) Box-office figures from 1997 show the scale: *The Crying Game* earned $62 million, *The Piano* $40 million, and *Pulp Fiction* more than $200 million worldwide, while the genre label [Dimension Films](https://www.edgepedia.org/dimension-films), overseen by Bob Weinstein, scored with *Scream*, which had grossed $65 million at the time of reporting.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-31-fi-23931-story.html) Miramax's average production cost was around $12.5 million, with average acquisition and marketing costs of $4 million and $5 million respectively, well above most specialty rivals but far below major-studio averages of more than $50 million to make and market a film.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-31-fi-23931-story.html) Between 1992 and 2002 the company achieved 13 Best Picture nominations, winning for *[The English Patient](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-english-patient-film)*, *Shakespeare in Love*, and *Chicago*; *Chicago* became the company's biggest hit in 2002, grossing more than $300 million.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html)
The relationship with Disney frayed as Miramax moved into bigger-budget productions such as *Cold Mountain* and tensions grew between the Weinsteins and Disney chief executive [Michael Eisner](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-eisner). In March 2005 the parties separated, and on September 30, 2005 the Weinsteins left to form [The Weinstein Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-weinstein-company); Disney retained the Miramax name and film library.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html) • [6](https://d23.com/a-to-z/miramax-films/) Under the British-born executive Daniel Battsek, the studio released *The Queen*, *There Will Be Blood*, and *Doubt*, but flops such as *Cheri* and *The Boys Are Back* led Disney to re-evaluate the specialty division.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html)
## Closure and sale
In October 2009 Disney cut Miramax's staff by 70 percent, to about 20 employees, folded marketing and distribution into Walt Disney Studios, and announced a release slate reduced to three films a year.[5](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html) • [15](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-oct-03-fi-ct-miramax3-story.html) On January 29, 2010 Disney closed the Miramax offices and moved operations to its Burbank headquarters.[6](https://d23.com/a-to-z/miramax-films/) The closure coincided with a broader contraction of the specialty-film business; within a few months [New Line Cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-line-cinema), Fine Line Features, Picturehouse, Warner Independent Films, Fox Atomic, and Paramount Vantage also shut down.[16](https://www.thewrap.com/why-indie-movies-are-endangered-species-23785/)
Disney sold Miramax in 2010 to the investment group Filmyard Holdings, which later auctioned the company to beIN Media Group, a Qatari entertainment company.[7](https://au.variety.com/2025/film/features/miramax-after-weinstein-scary-movie-sydney-sweeney-rebuild-21871/) Paramount (then ViacomCBS) acquired a 49 percent stake from beIN, with the deal closing in April 2020; [Paramount Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount-pictures) also gained exclusive long-term distribution rights to the Miramax film library and a first-look agreement for new projects based on its intellectual property.[2](https://legalclarity.org/who-owns-miramax-from-disney-to-bein-and-paramount/) • [17](https://ir.paramount.com/node/49006/pdf)
## The studio today
Miramax now operates as a global film and television studio headquartered in Los Angeles, led by CEO Jonathan Glickman, who took over about a year before April 2025 and has pursued a strategy of franchise revivals with the participation of their original creators, as with the Wayans brothers' return to *Scary Movie*.[3](https://www.miramax.com/about/) • [7](https://au.variety.com/2025/film/features/miramax-after-weinstein-scary-movie-sydney-sweeney-rebuild-21871/) The studio's films have received 278 Academy Award nominations and 68 Oscars, including four Best Picture awards.[3](https://www.miramax.com/about/) Among its recent titles are *Scary Movie*, made with Paramount, which opened to the biggest debut for an R-rated comedy in 12 years and took in over $230 million around the world, along with *Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy*, which brought in $130 million internationally.[3](https://www.miramax.com/about/) *The Beekeeper*, a revenge thriller starring [Jason Statham](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-statham), made more than $160 million globally.[7](https://au.variety.com/2025/film/features/miramax-after-weinstein-scary-movie-sydney-sweeney-rebuild-21871/)
On television, Miramax is behind Netflix's Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated *The Gentlemen*, based on [Guy Ritchie](https://www.edgepedia.org/guy-ritchie)'s action comedy, whose second season reached No. 1 on the platform's global streaming charts, and is developing series adaptations including *Ella Enchanted* with [Anne Hathaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-hathaway) executive producing and *Cop Land* with [James Mangold](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-mangold) set to co-write, direct, and executive produce.[3](https://www.miramax.com/about/) Upcoming film projects include *The Beekeeper 2*, premiering January 2027 with Amazon MGM Studios, and *Supermax*, directed by David Gordon Green and starring Will Smith.[3](https://www.miramax.com/about/)
## Legacy
Miramax's run through the 1990s demonstrated that low-budget, specialized films could achieve commercial appeal on a studio scale, prompting the major studios to build their own specialty divisions.[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-31-fi-23931-story.html) The company's history has also become a standard case in media-industry scholarship: Perren's *Indie, Inc.* treats Miramax not as a story of independent film's mainstreaming but as part of the restructuring of Hollywood itself, with the company's films shaping popular and critical discourses about cinema throughout the decade.[13](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/729124) The company's association with Harvey Weinstein, who was later disgraced, remains part of its history; Variety noted in 2025 that Miramax is still linked to him even two decades after he and his brother ran the studio.[7](https://au.variety.com/2025/film/features/miramax-after-weinstein-scary-movie-sydney-sweeney-rebuild-21871/)
## References
1. [Miramax, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/miramax)
2. [Who Owns Miramax: From Disney to beIN and Paramount, LegalClarity](https://legalclarity.org/who-owns-miramax-from-disney-to-bein-and-paramount/)
3. [About Miramax, Miramax.com](https://www.miramax.com/about/)
4. [On-Screen Chemistry: The Synergy Between Unlikely Partners Miramax and Disney, Los Angeles Times (1995)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-01-fi-9181-story.html)
5. [Miramax - No country for this old maverick, The Independent (2010)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/miramax-no-country-for-this-old-maverick-1889837.html)
6. [Miramax Films, D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/miramax-films/)
7. [Can Miramax Bounce Back? Inside the Post-Weinstein Makeover, Variety (2025)](https://au.variety.com/2025/film/features/miramax-after-weinstein-scary-movie-sydney-sweeney-rebuild-21871/)
8. [The Economics of Independents, Los Angeles Times (1997)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-01-31-fi-23931-story.html)
9. [From HBO Max to 'Harry Potter,' here's what's now under the Skydance umbrella, AP News (2026)](https://apnews.com/article/33d35277cdb3dbd2f99ccba6382aa317)
10. [The Little Hitmakers, TIME (1989)](https://time.com/archive/6714393/the-little-hitmakers/)
11. [Indie, Inc.: The Rise of Miramax (book chapter PDF)](https://yale.imodules.com/s/1667/images/gid6/editor_documents/yacolf22/johnson/indie_inc_miramax_2._the_rise_of_miramax.pdf?cc=1&sessionid=f0519e1e-22d3-40a7-b2f1-603d267acbed)
12. [Book Review: Indie, Inc., ResearchGate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259729610_Book_Review_Indie_Inc_Miramax_and_the_Transformation_of_Hollywood_by_Alisa_Perren)
13. [Alisa Perren, Indie, Inc.: Miramax and the Transformation of Hollywood in the 1990s, JSTOR](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7560/729124)
14. [Disney shuts doors on Miramax, The Guardian (2010)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/jan/28/miramax-closes-disney-harvey-weinstein)
15. [Disney to make drastic cuts at Miramax Films, Los Angeles Times (2009)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-oct-03-fi-ct-miramax3-story.html)
16. [Why Indie Movies Are an Endangered Species, TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/why-indie-movies-are-endangered-species-23785/)
17. [ViacomCBS and beIN MEDIA GROUP Complete MIRAMAX Transaction, Paramount IR](https://ir.paramount.com/node/49006/pdf)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen production organizations › Production companies and industry people › Independent production companies › American and Canadian companies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license