[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carolco_pictures_2016.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Cue the epic Music/JerryGoldsmith theme tune.]]

Carolco Pictures is a production company started by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna back in the late 1970's. Beginning in producing a couple of [[Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures AIP]] films (such as the 1976 science fiction thriller ''Film/{{Futureworld}}'') in addition to a bunch of Creator/ITCEntertainment films (such as the 1977 thriller ''Film/TheDominoPrinciple'') and Canadian films (such as the 1979 comedy ''Film/TheSilentPartner''), they eventually worked their way up by producing ''Film/FirstBlood'' in 1982. Financing their productions through international sales, they created a model in which their films often had high budgets and gave the actors a handsome sum for their services. A few of their movies even broke records for the highest budgeted movies ever (1985's ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'' cost $44 million, 1988's ''Film/RamboIII'' cost $63 million and 1991's ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' cost $102 million, the first film to break that mark). They also had a limited television presence, via the occasional TV-movie, as well as ownership of syndication firm Orbis Communications, which distributed both the 1990 incarnation of ''Series/TheJokersWild'' and the John Davidson version of ''[[Series/{{Pyramid}} The $100,000 Pyramid]]''; they sold Orbis to Multimedia Entertainment (the people who brought us ''Donahue'' and ''Series/JerrySpringer''); that company was subsequently acquired by [[Creator/{{Universal}} Universal Pictures]] in 1996 (and thus dooming ''Joker'' and ''Pyramid'' to legal limbo, as the other versions of those shows are owned by Creator/SonyPicturesTelevision). They also distributed the Hemdale library on television. In 1990 they established a short-lived joint venture with Creator/NewLineCinema called ''Seven Arts'', which mostly distributed Carolco's lower-budget films and some art-house pictures.

Despite their success, the high costs and the company's spending sprees (they also broke into television production, UsefulNotes/{{home video distribut|ors}}ion and owned a studio formerly owned by Dino de Laurentiis in North Carolina) caught up with the company. Vajna left to start his own production company, Creator/CinergiPictures, and Kassar began to spend more to make more. Two 1995 productions, ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' and ''Film/CutthroatIsland'', sealed the company's fate as both films cost a combined $140 million and grossed just a combined $30 million. While ''Showgirls'' [[VindicatedByVideo turned a major profit on home video]], Carolco had sold the film's rights in pre-production (and international rights to ''Film/LastOfTheDogmen'') to Chargeurs.

In 1996, the French broadcaster [=Canal+=] paid $58 million to acquire Carolco. That channel's movie studio, Creator/{{StudioCanal}}, now owns the rights to virtually all of Carolco's library; with the exceptions of ''Showgirls'' (Creator/UnitedArtists and Creator/{{Pathe}}), ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' (the film is owned by [=StudioCanal=] as they co-produced, but Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer owns the rest of [[Franchise/{{Stargate|Verse}} the franchise]]), ''Film/{{Cliffhanger}}'' ([=TriStar=] (in the US & Canada)), and ''Film/LastOfTheDogmen'' (producer Joel B. Michaels). [[Creator/{{Paramount}} Paramount Pictures]] owns American TV and streaming distribution to most of the Carolco library[[note]]thanks to [[Creator/ParamountGlobal Viacom]] acquiring Worldvision Enterprises parent company [[Creator/AaronSpelling Spelling Entertainment Group]] in 1999; Worldvision had a deal with Carolco struck in 1991; Paramount retained Worldvision's theatrical movie collection - including titles owned by sister company Creator/RepublicPictures lock, stock, and barrel, along with titles Worldvision only had US TV rights to - despite Creator/{{CBS}} taking away Worldvision's TV library with the 2005 CBS/Viacom split[[/note]], with Trifecta Entertainment and Media handling distribution for broadcast television, and Creator/{{Sony|Pictures}} and Rialto Pictures handle theatrical re-releases. Domestic video releases are frequently handled by Creator/{{Lionsgate}} due to having acquired Artisan Entertainment, which had a close relationship with Carolco in the early 90s (indeed, Carolco owned a stake in Artisan's predecessors, IVE and Live Entertainment). Coincidentally, Paramount would produce two of their own ''Terminator'' films in the 2010s: ''Film/TerminatorGenisys'' in 2015 and ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate'' in 2019, the latter with [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios Twentieth Century Fox]] and marking a return for Creator/JamesCameron to the franchise for the first time since ''Judgement Day''.

Kassar and Vajna later got back together for a [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines few]] [[Film/BasicInstinct2 productions]] under the C2 Pictures name.

Around 20 years after its closure, Carolco's name and logo were bought by Alex Bafer, who renamed his own Brick Top Productions to carry the Carolco name, even bringing Mario Kassar on as chief development executive.....at least until 2017, when [=StudioCanal=] and Carolco reached an agreement whereby [=StudioCanal=] would have sole control of the Carolco name and logo and the Carolco Pictures company will be renamed to Recall Studios. This settled a legal dispute over the Carolco mark brought by [=StudioCanal=]. The arrangement went into effect on November 29 of that year. The details of which can be seen [[http://m2compliance.com/hosting/company/CRCO/link_files/2017/09-28-2017/FormPre14C_(09-28-2017)_CAROLCOPICTURES,INC/FormPre14C.html here]] and [[http://m2compliance.com/hosting/company/CRCO/link_files/2017/08-21-2017/Form10-Q_(08-21-2017)_CarolcoPicturesInc/Form10-Q.html here]].

Creator/SylvesterStallone and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger were regulars for the Carolco brand. Music/JerryGoldsmith scored the company's fanfare and releases were mostly distributed in the US through Creator/TriStarPictures (though their last films were released by MGM).

Useless trivia: the correct pronunciation of "Carolco" is "cuh-ROLL-co".

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!!Films produced by Carolco Pictures include:
[[index]]
* ''Film/{{Futureworld}}'' - distributed by Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures
* ''Film/TheCassandraCrossing'' - with ITC Entertainment, distributed by Avco Embassy Pictures
* ''Film/TheDominoPrinciple'' - with ITC Entertainment, distributed by Avco Embassy Pictures
* ''Film/TheEagleHasLanded'' - with ITC Entertainment, distributed by Creator/ColumbiaPictures
* ''Film/WinterKills'' - distributed by Avco Embassy Pictures
* ''Film/TheSensuousNurse''
* ''Series/{{Shogun}}'' - international distribution
* ''Film/CaboBlanco'' - distributed by Avco Embassy Pictures
* ''Film/TheLastChase'' - international distribution
* ''Film/EscapeToVictory'' - with Creator/{{Lorimar}}, distributed by Creator/{{Paramount}}
* The first three ''Franchise/{{Rambo}}'' films; ''Film/FirstBlood'', ''Film/RamboFirstBloodPartII'', and ''Film/RamboIII''.
* ''Film/AngelHeart''
* ''Film/ExtremePrejudice''
* ''Film/RedHeat''
* ''Film/TheyLive'' - international distribution
* ''Film/DeepStarSix''
* ''Film/LockUp''
* ''Film/JohnnyHandsome''
* ''WesternAnimation/PoundPuppiesAndTheLegendOfBigPaw''
* ''Film/{{Shocker}}'' - international distribution
* ''Film/MusicBox''
* ''Film/{{Hamlet}}'' - starring Creator/MelGibson, distributed by Creator/WarnerBros
* ''Film/MountainsOfTheMoon''
* ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' - original film
* ''Film/AirAmerica''
* ''Film/NarrowMargin''
* ''Film/JacobsLadder''
* ''Film/LAStory''
* ''Film/{{The Doors|1991}}''
* ''Film/{{The Punisher|1989}}'' - North American distributor, distributed internationally by New World Pictures
* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''
* ''Film/{{Bloodmoon}}'' - home video distribution only
* ''Film/BasicInstinct''
* ''Film/UniversalSoldier1992''
* ''Film/ReservoirDogs'' - original distributor, distribution picked up before release by Creator/MiramaxFilms
* ''Film/{{Chaplin}}''
* ''Film/{{Cliffhanger}}''
* ''Film/WagonsEast''
* ''Film/{{Stargate}}''
* ''Film/{{Showgirls}}''
* ''Film/CutthroatIsland''
[[/index]]
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