[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aip_logo_1_8152.gif]]
[[caption-width-right:350:AIP's first logo.]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aip_logo_2_4200.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:AIP's second logo.]]

American International Pictures (AIP) was a BMovie production company based in UsefulNotes/LosAngeles. It was founded in 1954 by James H. Nicholson (no relation to Creator/JackNicholson, who did coincidentally enough appear in several AIP movies) and Samuel Z. Arkoff as American Releasing Corporation, and changed its name to American International Pictures two years later.

AIP's 1950s films, released as double features to [[DriveInTheater drive-in theaters]], were largely targeted towards the youth market, and included many teenage melodramas and science fiction movies. Many of these were produced or directed by Creator/RogerCorman or Creator/BertIGordon, and had lurid but memorable titles and a focus on "edgy" youth UsefulNotes/{{subcultures}} and trends like RockAndRoll and hot rod culture.

This was hardly an accident: coming up with [[HighConcept a title and subject matter]] was how production usually began at AIP. In an interview in the '80s, Arkoff described the so-called "[[FunWithAcronyms ARKOFF]] formula" that AIP had used during the height of its popularity, which went as follows:
* '''A'''ction (exciting, entertaining drama),
* '''R'''evolution (anti-establishment themes and ideas),
* '''K'''illing (just that),
* '''O'''ratory (highly memorable and quotable dialogue and lines),
* '''F'''antasy (WishFulfillment), and
* '''F'''ornication ([[HotterAndSexier sex appeal]]).

The studio's marketing strategy was likewise known as "Franchise/PeterPan Syndrome", which stated that targeting young men in their teens and early twenties was the best way to appeal to the greatest audience. The logic was that little kids will watch pretty much anything that older kids will, but older kids [[AnimationAgeGhetto won't watch "kiddie" movies]]; likewise, girls will watch pretty much anything that boys will, but boys [[GirlShowGhetto won't watch "chick flicks"]].

In the early 1960s, AIP produced a series of horror films inspired by works of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe, and began releasing many dubbed foreign films (primarily lowbrow Italian movies and Japanese {{Kaiju}} films) in the US.[[note]]Titan Productions in New York and ELDA in Rome were responsible for most of the actual dubbing.[[/note]] In the mid '60s, AIP launched the "beach party" genre, which helped turn Creator/AnnetteFunicello and Frankie Avalon into {{teen idol}}s. The beach movies were succeeded later in the decade by movies about bikers and hippies. With the formation of the American International Television (AIP-TV) unit in 1964, television became as important a market as movie theaters for AIP's films.

No less than 34 of their films have ended up on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', which is the highest for any single source on that show.

James H. Nicholson resigned from the company in 1972 (and died soon later). AIP caught the {{Blaxploitation}} trend around this time, but in the middle of the decade tried to move into higher-budget fare, with little success. Arkoff sold AIP in 1979 to Creator/{{Filmways}}, and under other names AIP continued to exist as units of Filmways and Creator/OrionPictures. Today, Creator/{{MGM}} owns the rights to most of AIP's films.

In 2020, MGM revived AIP as as a label for films acquired by MGM for distribution (both digitally and theatrically).
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Films produced and/or distributed by AIP (pre-1980)]]
[[index]]
* ''Film/TheAbominableDrPhibes''
** ''Film/DrPhibesRisesAgain''
* ''Film/ActOfVengeance''
* ''Film/TheAmazingColossalMan''
* ''Film/TheAmazingTransparentMan''
* ''Film/{{The Amityville Horror|1979}}''
* ''Film/AngelAngelDownWeGo''
* ''Film/TheAngryRedPlanet''
* ''Film/AttackOfTheGiantLeeches''
* ''Film/AttackOfThePuppetPeople''
* ''Film/BeachBlanketBingo''
* ''Film/BeachParty''
* ''Film/BikiniBeach''
* ''Film/BlackCaesar''
* ''Film/BlackMamaWhiteMama''
* ''Film/{{Blacula}}''
** ''Film/ScreamBlaculaScream''
* ''Film/BloodyMama''
* ''Film/BobbieJoAndTheOutlaw''
* ''Film/BoxcarBertha''
* ''Film/TheBrainThatWouldntDie'' (theatrical distributor)
* ''Film/BreakerBreaker''
* ''Film/ABucketOfBlood''
* ''Film/CircusOfHorrors''
* ''Film/{{Coffy}}''
* ''Film/TheComedyOfTerrors''
* ''Film/CooleyHigh''
* ''[[Film/CountYorga Count Yorga, Vampire]]''
** ''The Return of Count Yorga''
* ''Film/CryOfTheBanshee''
* ''Film/DaddyO''
* ''Film/{{Dementia 13}}''
* ''Film/DieMonsterDie''
* ''Film/Dillinger1973''
* ''Film/DrGoldfootAndTheBikiniMachine''
* ''Literature/TheDunwichHorror''
* ''Film/EarthVsTheSpider''
* ''Film/EmpireOfTheAnts''
* ''Film/TheEyeCreatures''
* ''Film/TheFoodOfTheGods''
* ''Film/ForceTenFromNavarone''
* ''Film/FoxyBrown''
* ''Film/{{Frogs}}''
* ''Film/{{Gunslinger}}'' (as American Releasing Corp.)
* ''Film/TheHauntedPalace''
* ''Film/TheHoneymoonKillers'' (theatrical distributor)
* ''Film/HorrorsOfTheBlackMuseum''
* ''Film/HouseOfUsher''
* ''Film/HowToStuffAWildBikini''
* ''Film/HowToMakeAMonster''
* ''Film/IWasATeenageWerewolf''
* ''Film/TheIncredibleMeltingMan''
* ''Film/InvasionOfTheSaucerMen''
* ''Film/TheIslandOfDrMoreau1977''
* ''Film/ItConqueredTheWorld''
* ''Film/ItLivesByNight''
* ''Film/{{Jennifer}}''
* ''Film/TheLastManOnEarth''
* ''Film/TheLittleGirlWhoLivesDownTheLane''
* ''Film/LoveAtFirstBite''
* ''Film/Madhouse1974''
* ''Film/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath''
* ''Film/MasterOfTheWorld''
* ''Film/{{Meteor}}''
* ''Film/MurdersInTheRueMorgue1971''
* ''Film/NightOfTheBloodBeast''
* ''Film/NightOfTheEagle''
* ''WesternAnimation/TheNineLivesOfFritzTheCat''
* ''Film/PanicInYearZero''
* ''Film/ThePawnbroker''
* ''Film/ThePhantomPlanet''
* ''Film/ThePitAndThePendulum''
* ''Film/PlanetOfTheVampires'' (a.k.a. ''Terrore nello spazio'').
* ''Film/ThePrematureBurial''
* ''Film/PsychOut''
* ''Film/QueenOfBlood''
* ''Film/TheRaven1963''
* ''Film/RiotOnSunsetStrip''
* ''Film/RollingThunder''
* ''Film/ScreamAndScreamAgain''
* ''Film/TheScreamingSkull''
* ''Film/Seven1979''
* ''Film/ShakeRattleAndRock''
* ''Film/TheSheCreature''
* ''Film/Sisters1973''
* ''Film/{{Squirm}}''
* ''Film/SugarHill1974''
* ''Film/TalesOfTerror''
* ''Film/TAMIShow''
* ''Film/TeenageCaveman''
* ''Film/TheTerror''
* ''Film/TerrorFromTheYear5000''
* ''Film/TheThingWithTwoHeads''
* ''Film/ThunderAlley1967''
* ''Film/TheTimeTravelers''
* ''Film/TheTombOfLigeia''
* ''Film/TheTownThatDreadedSundown''
* ''Film/TheTrip1967''
* ''Film/TheUndead''
* ''Film/TheVampireLovers''
* ''Film/VikingWomenAndTheSeaSerpent''
* ''Film/WarOfTheColossalBeast''
* ''Film/WhoeverSlewAuntieRoo''
* ''Film/TheWildAngels''
* ''Film/WildInTheStreets''
* ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral''
* ''Literature/WutheringHeights'' (1970 version)
* ''Film/XTheManWithTheXRayEyes''
* ''Film/ZontarTheThingFromVenus''
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Foreign films dubbed and/or released by AIP]]
* ''Anime/AlakazamTheGreat''
* ''[[Literature/{{Pellucidar}} At the Earth's Core]]''
* ''Film/{{Atragon}}''
* ''[[Film/GameraVsGuiron Attack of the Monsters]]''
* ''[[Film/{{Matango}} Attack of the Mushroom People]]''
* ''Film/{{Black Sabbath|1963}}''
* ''Film/CannibalGirls''
* ''Film/ColossusAndTheHeadhunters''
* ''Film/DeathLine''
* ''Film/{{Deranged}}''
* ''[[Film/{{Dogora}} Dagora, the Space Monster]]''
* ''Film/TheDayTheEarthFroze''
* ''Film/DestroyAllMonsters''
* ''[[Film/GameraVsViras Destroy All Planets]]''
* ''Film/LaDolceVita''
* ''Film/FrankensteinConquersTheWorld''
* ''[[Film/GameraVsJiger Gamera vs. Monster X]]''
* ''[[Film/GodzillaVsHedorah Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster]]''
* ''[[Film/MothraVsGodzilla Godzilla vs. the Thing]]''
* ''Film/{{Holocaust 2000}}''
* ''Anime/JackAndTheWitch''
* ''Film/JourneyToTheSeventhPlanet''
* ''Film/TheLandThatTimeForgot''
* ''[[Anime/HorusPrinceOfTheSun The Little Norse Prince]]''
* ''Film/MadMax1''
* ''[[Film/CircusOfFear Psycho-Circus]]''
* ''Film/{{Reptilicus}}''
* ''[[Film/GameraVsGyaos Return of the Giant Monsters]]''
* ''Film/SpiritsOfTheDead''
* ''Film/SummerHoliday''
* ''Film/TheTwoFacesOfDrJekyll''
* ''Film/TheVampireLovers''
* ''[[Film/PlanetOfStorms Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet]]''
* ''[[Film/PlanetOfStorms Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women]]''
* ''[[Film/GameraVsBarugon War of the Monsters]]''
* ''Film/WhatsUpTigerLily''
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Films distributed by American International Pictures (post-2021)]]
* ''Film/BreakingNewsInYubaCounty''
* ''How It Ends''
* ''Minimata''
[[/index]]
[[/folder]]
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