# The Zanuck Company
**The Zanuck Company** is an American film production company formed in 1988 by producer [Richard D. Zanuck](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-d-zanuck) with his wife, Lili Fini Zanuck, and the financier Jerry Perenchio, after the end of Zanuck's 18-year producing partnership with David Brown.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html) Its debut production, *Driving Miss Daisy*, won the [Academy Award for Best Picture](https://www.edgepedia.org/academy-award-for-best-picture), and the company's credits include *Deep Impact*, *Planet of the Apes*, *Big Fish*, *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*, and *[Alice in Wonderland](https://www.edgepedia.org/alice-in-wonderland-2010-film)*.[2](https://www.backstage.com/resources/detail/production-company/the-zanuck-company-50278/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1988, by Richard D. Zanuck, Lili Fini Zanuck, and Jerry Perenchio, who provided the bulk of the financing[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html) |
| Predecessor | The Zanuck/Brown Company, run with David Brown from the early 1970s until the partnership ended in 1988[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html) |
| First production | *Driving Miss Daisy* (1989), directed by Bruce Beresford; nine Academy Award nominations, four Oscars including Best Picture[3](https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=2082&tpl=archnews) |
| Business model | Financed development of its own films, about 10 to 12 a year, before bringing them to a studio; the partners planned to produce two films a year[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html) |
| Location | Beverly Hills, California; Dun & Bradstreet lists 1131 Miradero Rd[4](https://www.dandb.com/businessdirectory/thezanuckco-beverlyhills-ca-41615.html) |
| Personnel | Richard D. Zanuck, founder; Lili Fini Zanuck, CEO; Dean Zanuck joined in 1995 as Vice-President of Development[2](https://www.backstage.com/resources/detail/production-company/the-zanuck-company-50278/) • [5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F71%2F7116f9e4-d7e6-446d-8e1e-da9e2a91fa91.pdf) |
| Notable releases | *Deep Impact* (1998), which grossed close to $349 million worldwide; *Planet of the Apes* (2001); *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory* (2005)[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2006/International-Television-Almanac-2006-Whos-Who.pdf) • [5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F71%2F7116f9e4-d7e6-446d-8e1e-da9e2a91fa91.pdf) |
## Formation in 1988
Richard Zanuck announced the new company in December 1988, formally ending his partnership with David Brown, with whom he had produced *The French Connection*, *The Sting*, and *Jaws* under the Zanuck/Brown banner.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html) Zanuck said the partnership had been drifting apart for some time and that Brown "had always said that at a certain point he wanted to drop out and do his own thing."[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html)
The new firm, called the Zanuck Co., was designed to finance the development of its own films before taking them to a studio, which Zanuck described as a freedom to develop and buy projects the partnership had never had; Zanuck/Brown had worked under a production contract with MGM.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html) Perenchio, who provided the bulk of the financing, had sold two companies he co-owned, Tandem/TAT Communications and [Embassy Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/embassy-pictures), to [Coca-Cola](https://www.edgepedia.org/coca-cola), and in 1986 sold Loews Theaters to Tri-Star Pictures.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html)
Lili Fini Zanuck had spent ten years at Zanuck/Brown, rising from what she described as a gofer to co-producer of *Cocoon: The Return*; before film she had worked as a marketing researcher at Carnation Co. and a research assistant at the World Bank.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html) Dun & Bradstreet's directory entry for The Zanuck Co. in Beverly Hills states that "since 1972 the company has been providing Motion Picture Production And Distribution," a founding date that conflicts with the 1988 formation reported by the Los Angeles Times and industry profiles; the D&B record is itself marked unverified.[4](https://www.dandb.com/businessdirectory/thezanuckco-beverlyhills-ca-41615.html) • [1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html)
## Driving Miss Daisy
The company's first production was *Driving Miss Daisy*, starring [Jessica Tandy](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessica-tandy), Morgan Freeman, and [Dan Aykroyd](https://www.edgepedia.org/dan-aykroyd), written by Alfred Uhry and directed by Bruce Beresford.[3](https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=2082&tpl=archnews) Although based on Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the film's commercial value as a feature was considered questionable by many in the industry.[3](https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=2082&tpl=archnews)
The film earned nine Academy Award nominations and won four Oscars, for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Screenplay, and Best Achievement in Makeup.[3](https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=2082&tpl=archnews) It grossed in excess of $100 million at the domestic box office against a cost of $5 million, which industry accounts place among the most profitable releases in Warner Bros. history, and it was named Best Picture (musical or comedy) by the Hollywood Foreign Press and the [National Board of Review](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-board-of-review); the Zanucks were named Producers of the Year by the Producers Guild of America.[3](https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=2082&tpl=archnews) • [6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2006/International-Television-Almanac-2006-Whos-Who.pdf) At the Berlin Film Festival the film also took home a pair of Golden Bears, and the British Film Academy put it up for Best Picture.[3](https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=2082&tpl=archnews)
## Later slate
After the debut, the company produced a mix of commercial and prestige films. Its 1998 release *Deep Impact*, for DreamWorks SKG and Paramount, grossed close to $349 million worldwide.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2006/International-Television-Almanac-2006-Whos-Who.pdf) Backstage's credits for the company include *Road to Perdition*, *Rush*, *True Crime*, *Rules of Engagement*, *Reign of Fire*, *Big Fish*, *Sweeney Todd*, *Clash of the Titans*, and *Alice in Wonderland*, alongside Zanuck/Brown-era titles such as *The Verdict*, *Cocoon*, *The Sting*, and *Jaws*.[2](https://www.backstage.com/resources/detail/production-company/the-zanuck-company-50278/)
Richard Zanuck later produced six movies directed by [Tim Burton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-burton), including *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*, *Alice in Wonderland*, and *[Dark Shadows](https://www.edgepedia.org/dark-shadows-film)*.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-jul-14-la-me-richard-zanuck-20120714-story.html)
**Dean Zanuck's role.** Dean Zanuck, Richard's son, joined The Zanuck Company in 1995 as Vice-President of Development after serving as an assistant to producer [Brian Grazer](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-grazer) during the production of *Apollo 13*.[5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F71%2F7116f9e4-d7e6-446d-8e1e-da9e2a91fa91.pdf) At the company he oversaw production on *Deep Impact*, *Planet of the Apes*, and *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*, and served as a production executive on *True Crime*, *Rules of Engagement*, *Big Fish*, and *Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street*.[5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F71%2F7116f9e4-d7e6-446d-8e1e-da9e2a91fa91.pdf) His first producing effort was *Road to Perdition* (2002), directed by [Sam Mendes](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-mendes), which was nominated for six Academy Awards and won one.[5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F71%2F7116f9e4-d7e6-446d-8e1e-da9e2a91fa91.pdf) In 2009 he formed Zanuck Independent, focused on high-quality independent films; its first release, *Get Low* (2009), became [Sony Pictures Classics](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures-classics)' highest-grossing film of 2010 and won an Independent Spirit Award.[5](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F71%2F7116f9e4-d7e6-446d-8e1e-da9e2a91fa91.pdf)
## After Richard Zanuck's death
Richard D. Zanuck died on July 13, 2012, in Beverly Hills of a heart attack at age 77, shortly after finishing production on *Dark Shadows*.[8](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/blockbuster-producer) Backstage's listing records Lili Fini Zanuck as CEO, with Richard D. Zanuck as founder, and lists the company's production types as scripted TV and film, with a policy of no unsolicited submissions.[2](https://www.backstage.com/resources/detail/production-company/the-zanuck-company-50278/)
## Context in the Zanuck producing line
The company sits in a three-generation producing lineage. Richard's father, [Darryl F. Zanuck](https://www.edgepedia.org/darryl-f-zanuck), co-founded Twentieth Century Pictures with Joseph M. Schenck in 1933, and in 1935 the company merged with [Fox Film](https://www.edgepedia.org/fox-film) to form Twentieth Century-Fox, where Darryl became head of production.[9](https://cobbles.com/simpp_archive/zanuck-schenck.htm) Richard Zanuck was production chief and president of 20th Century Fox from 1962 to 1970, and under his leadership the studio won Best Picture Oscars for *The Sound of Music*, *Patton*, and *The French Connection*.[1](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html) • [8](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/blockbuster-producer) The International Television Almanac notes that Richard Zanuck's Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award made him the only second-generation recipient of that award, in company with his father.[6](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2006/International-Television-Almanac-2006-Whos-Who.pdf) Producer Joe Roth, who worked with Zanuck and Tim Burton on *Alice in Wonderland*, said of him: "He's the history of Hollywood."[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-jul-14-la-me-richard-zanuck-20120714-story.html)
## References
1. [Nina J. Easton, "Zanuck, Wife Forming Film Development Company," Los Angeles Times, December 13, 1988](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-13-ca-266-story.html)
2. [The Zanuck Company, Production Company listing, Backstage](https://www.backstage.com/resources/detail/production-company/the-zanuck-company-50278/)
3. ["'Reign of Fire' - Profile of the Producers," Irish Film & Television Network](https://www.iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=73&force=1&only=1&rid=2082&tpl=archnews)
4. [The Zanuck Co, Dun & Bradstreet business directory](https://www.dandb.com/businessdirectory/thezanuckco-beverlyhills-ca-41615.html)
5. [*The Zero Theorem* Production Notes (Dean Zanuck biography)](https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.filmtrackonline.com/mongrelmedia/starcm_vault_root/images%2Ffiles%2F71%2F7116f9e4-d7e6-446d-8e1e-da9e2a91fa91.pdf)
6. [International Television Almanac 2006, Who's Who (Richard D. Zanuck entry), worldradiohistory.com](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-International-Television-Almanac/2006/International-Television-Almanac-2006-Whos-Who.pdf)
7. ["Scion made name for himself," Los Angeles Times, July 14, 2012](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-jul-14-la-me-richard-zanuck-20120714-story.html)
8. [Julie Muller Mitchell, "Blockbuster Producer," Stanford Magazine, November/December 2012](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/blockbuster-producer)
9. [J.A. Aberdeen, "The Formation of Twentieth Century-Fox," Hollywood Renegades excerpt](https://cobbles.com/simpp_archive/zanuck-schenck.htm)
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*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 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license