History ChannelHop / Film

* Impatient about Creator/UniversalPictures and Creator/AmblinEntertainment putting off making a sequel to ''Film/{{Casper}}'', franchise owners Harvey Comics made a deal with Creator/SabanEntertainment and Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox Home Entertainment to produce DirectToVideo follow-ups ''Film/CasperASpiritedBeginning'' and ''Film/CasperMeetsWendy''. The reason they went straight-to-video was thanks to LoopholeAbuse: Harvey sold the film rights to Universal, as in ''theatrical'' films; movies produced for video didn't count.[[note]]The same loophole was exploited by Saban for the direct-to-video ''Film/AddamsFamilyReunion'' (the sequel to Paramount's ''Addams Family'' movies and ''Richie Rich's Christmas Wish'' (a sequel to Warner Bros.' ''Film/RichieRich'').[[/note]] Funnily enough, through a series of acquisitions, the Casper character would become outright owned by Universal, including the rights to some of the DTV films, and they released a DVD set including the 1995 film and ''A Spirited Beginning'' in 2019. ''Casper Meets Wendy'' appears to have been retained by Fox and Saban's successor, Disney, however.

* Orion -- owners of Filmways, which made ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' -- was having financial issues and elected to sell domestic rights to Paramount for [[Film/TheAddamsFamily the first film]] in order to cover some debt (they had a deal with Columbia for overseas distribution). After they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Paramount picked up the sequel rights from Orion (though was not involved in the [[WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily1992 1992 cartoon series]] produced by Creator/HannaBarbera for Creator/ABC, despite owning a trademark on ''The Addams Family'' at the time). And things don't stop there: Saban got the rights in the late nineties and did a sitcom out of them (with Warner Bros. distributing on home video the pilot, ''Film/AddamsFamilyReunion''), and then MGM -- current owners of Orion, [[WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily2019 made an animated flick]] complete with a sequel to boot.

* Impatient about Creator/UniversalPictures and Creator/AmblinEntertainment putting off making a sequel to ''Film/{{Casper}}'', franchise owners Harvey Comics made a deal with Creator/SabanEntertainment and Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox Home Entertainment to produce DirectToVideo follow-ups ''Film/CasperASpiritedBeginning'' and ''Film/CasperMeetsWendy''. The reason they went straight-to-video was thanks to LoopholeAbuse: Harvey sold the film rights to Universal, as in ''theatrical'' films; movies produced for video didn't count.[[note]]The same loophole was exploited by Saban for the direct-to-video ''Film/AddamsFamilyReunion'' (the sequel to Paramount's ''Addams Family'' movies and ''Richie Rich's Christmas Wish'' (a sequel to Warner Bros.' ''Film/RichieRich''.[[/note]] Funnily enough, through a series of acquisitions, the Casper character would become outright owned by Universal, including the rights to some of the DTV films, and they released a DVD set including the 1995 film and ''A Spirited Beginning'' in 2019. ''Casper Meets Wendy'' appears to have been retained by Fox and Saban's successor, Disney, however.

* Impatient about Creator/UniversalPictures and Creator/AmblinEntertainment putting off making a sequel to ''Film/{{Casper}}'', franchise owners Harvey Comics made a deal with Creator/SabanEntertainment and Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox Home Entertainment to produce DirectToVideo follow-ups ''Film/CasperASpiritedBeginning'' and ''Film/CasperMeetsWendy''. The reason they went straight-to-video was thanks to LoopholeAbuse: Harvey sold the film rights to Universal, as in ''theatrical'' films; movies produced for video didn't count. Funnily enough, through a series of acquisitions, the Casper character would become outright owned by Universal, including the rights to some of the DTV films, and they released a DVD set including the 1995 film and ''A Spirited Beginning'' in 2019. ''Casper Meets Wendy'' appears to have been retained by Fox and Saban's successor, Disney, however.

* Orion -- owners of Filmways, which made ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'' -- was having financial issues and elected to sell domestic rights to Paramount for [[Film/TheAddamsFamily the first film]] in order to cover some debt (they had a deal with Columbia for overseas distribution). After they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, Paramount picked up the sequel rights from Orion (though was not involved in the [[WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily1992 1992 cartoon series]] produced by Creator/HannaBarbera for Creator/ABC, despite owning a trademark on ''The Addams Family'' at the time). And things don't stop there: Fox got the rights in the late nineties and did a sitcom out of them (with Warner Bros., the cur distributing on home video the pilot, ''Film/AddamsFamilyReunion''), and then MGM -- current owners of Orion, [[WesternAnimation/TheAddamsFamily2019 made an animated flick]] complete with a sequel to boot.

** United Artists also purchased the distribution rights to the entire Creator/RKOPictures library, which also ended up in the Turner deal, and now belongs to Warner, at least in North America (various entities distribute much of the RKO library overseas, and they're all in the PublicDomain in Japan). Exceptions include ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'', which is owned by Creator/{{Paramount}} because it was produced by Liberty Films[[note]]Paramount bought Liberty from Frank Capra originally, then sold its library to a precursor of National Telefilm Associates, which became Republic Pictures in 1985 and was brought back into the fold when Viacom merged with Blockbuster Video and Spelling Entertainment in 1994. That sale is also why ''It's a Wonderful Life'' isn't with Universal.[[/note]] and RKO was only the distributor (Universal has the UK rights). Howard Hughes also retained the rights to two films he was personally involved in as head of RKO, ''Film/TheConqueror'' and ''Jet Pilot''; those two ended up at Universal. Several other RKO films were acquired by other studios when they purchased the remake rights; the 1933 version of ''Little Women'' was bought by David O. Selznick (who previously worked at RKO) and later MGM, and is now owned outright by Warner.

* ''Film/LittleMonsters'' and ''Film/BlueSteel'' were financed by Vestron Pictures but ended up being distributed by [[Creator/{{MGM}} MGM/UA]] due to Vestron's financial issues. MGM's rights to both have since lapsed and have reverted to Vestron's successor, Lionsgate, which released the former on Blu-Ray in September 2020 and will release the latter in November 2022 - both as part of its Vestron Collector's Series line.

** ''Film/{{Rebecca}}'' and ''Film/{{Spellbound}}'', ''Film/TheParadineCase'', and ''Film/{{Notorious|1946}}'' were all produced by Selznick International Pictures, but the first two were distributed theatrically by United Artists and the latter by RKO Radio Pictures, while ''Paradine'' was released independently by Selznick, who retained ownership to all four. However, the rights later ended up with ABC/Disney, who licensed the films to several companies for home video, including Anchor Bay, MGM (with distribution through Fox), Kino Lorber (''Paradine'' only), and Criterion (the other three).

* For ''Anime/DragonBallZBattleOfGods'', [=FUNimation=] partnered up with Screen Vision to release the film into US and Canadian cinemas. When it came time to release ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'' and ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', they had their own theatrical distribution arm, ([=FUNimation=] Films), and released the them into theaters themselves in partnership with Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox. Following Sony's purchase of both Funimation and Creator/{{Crunchyroll}}, ''Anime/DragonBallSuperSuperHero'' went out under the Crunchyroll label.

* ''Film/DaddyDayCare'' was released by Columbia, while its sequel ''Film/DaddyDayCamp'' was released by Tristar. Due to a deal with Creator/{{Universal}} and Creator/RevolutionStudios, the third installment ''Grand Daddy Day-Care'' was released by Universal. Similarly, ''Film/{{Benchwarmers}}'' was released by Columbia, while ''Benchwarmers 2'' was released by Universal.

* ''Film/LittleMonsters'' and ''Film/BlueSteel'' were financed by Vestron Pictures but ended up being distributed by [[Creator/{{MGM}} MGM/UA]] due to Vestron's financial issues. MGM's rights to the former has since lapsed and have reverted to Vestron's successor, Lionsgate, which then released the film on Blu-Ray in September 2020.

* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' started out being produced by Walden Media and released by Walt Disney Pictures. After the second film underperformed, Walden jumped ship to 20th Century Fox for the third film. After ''that'' underperformed, Walden chose not to renew their contract with [[Creator/CSLewis C.S. Lewis]]' estate, and production on a fourth film fell into DevelopmentHell. After ''this'' did not materialize, Netflix ultimately acquired the rights to the franchise through C.S. Lewis' estate.

* Outside of home country Japan, where Creator/{{Toho}} exclusively handles distribution, the ''Film/{{Pokemon}}'' films have gone through many distributors:

** The [[Film/TheEvilDead1981 original film]] was released theatrically by Creator/NewLineCinema and on home video by Thorn EMI simultaneously in the US, and by numerous other distributors internationally (notably Palace Video in the UK, where it ended up as a notorious [[Main/VideoNasties "Video Nasty"]]). In the US, the film has since been released on home video by HBO/Cannon Video (VHS), Congress Video (VHS), Elite Entertainment (Laserdisc), and for over 20 years by Anchor Bay (VHS, DVD, Blu-ray). Lionsgate inherited the US rights after folding AB into their company, and they released the film on 4K UHD in 2018. Their rights expired in 2023, and the film reverted to Sony, who has long been the film's distributor internationally.

* Creator/SamRaimi's ''Franchise/EvilDead'' series. All of them were produced by Raimi's Creator/RenaissancePictures, but the distributor has changed with each and every film:
** The [[Film/TheEvilDead1981 original film]] was released theatrically by Creator/NewLineCinema and on home video by Thorn EMI simultaneously in the US, and by numerous other distributors internationally (notably Palace Video in the UK, where it ended up as a notorious [[Main/VideoNasties "Video Nasty"]]). The film has since been released on home video by HBO/Cannon Video (VHS), Congress Video (VHS), Elite Entertainment (Laserdisc), and for over 20 years by Anchor Bay (VHS, DVD, Blu-ray). Lionsgate now owns the US rights after folding AB into their company, and they released the film on 4K UHD in 2018. Internationally, the film is owned by Sony.

** The [[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre1974 first film]] was produced and released independently by Bryanston Pictures, and was later reissued theatrically by Creator/NewLineCinema. The rights are currently with Vortex/Heron Communications, who has licensed the home video rights to MPI Media Group, under their Dark Sky Films banner. It was previously licensed to Media Home Entertainment and Wizard Video for VHS, Elite Entertainment for Laserdisc, and most notably Pioneer Home Entertainment (better known for their anime releases) for VHS and DVD back in the 90s/early 2000s.
** ''Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre2'' was released by Creator/TheCannonGroup. Along with the rest of the Cannon library, it's currently owned by MGM, except for the broadcast/streaming rights, which are held by Paramount[[note]]Cannon had struck a deal with Viacom for TV distribution, which transferred to Paramount when Viacom bought Paramount in 1994[[/note]], and home video, which were formerly handled by 20th Century Fox, and now by Warner. Shout! Factory also licensed the film for a Blu-ray.
** ''Film/LeatherfaceTheTexasChainsawMassacreIII'' was released by New Line Cinema, and is now owned by Warner Bros. RCA/Columbia and Turner both released the film on VHS, and Warner Archive released it on Blu-ray.
** ''Film/TexasChainsawMassacreTheNextGeneration'' was produced independently, but later picked up by Columbia Pictures. The [[TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment film sat on the shelf]] for a long time before Columbia finally partnered up with Cinepix Film Properties for a theatrical release. Sony released it on DVD in 2003, and the disc is now out-of-print. According to Amazon, the film is (as of March 2018) distributed digitally by Lionsgate. Scream Factory released the film on Blu-ray, under license from Sony.

** Lionsgate later acquired the franchise, and released ''Film/TexasChainsaw3D'' and ''Film/{{Leatherface}}'' (a sequel and prequel respectively to the original film), with the latter being dumped on video-on-demand.
** Creator/LegendaryPictures now has the rights, and produced [[Film/TexasChainsawMassacre2022 another sequel]] that struggled to come before a Creator/{{Netflix}} release in 2022.

* Similarly, almost every feature film from Creator/{{Paramount}} made before 1950 now belongs to Universal. Paramount saw little value in its film library, and in 1958 sold these films to MCA, who planned on licensing them for television broadcast. MCA merged with Universal in 1962.
* Perhaps because of their severe lack of back catalog (aside from UA's own stuff), MGM spent much of the 1990s (following the Giancarlo Parretti fiasco that saw a merger with Creator/TheCannonGroup) buying up other companies and/or film libraries. This included Creator/OrionPictures (whose earlier films are still with Warner Bros.) and some of their predecessor companies (namely Creator/{{Filmways}} and Creator/AmericanInternationalPictures), The Samuel Goldwyn Company, and the pre-1996 library of Creator/PolyGramFilmedEntertainment (post-1996 films are still with Universal), which in turn included the Epic library, a hodge-podge of film libraries taken from clients of the French bank Credit Lyonnais (who had been involved in the aforementioned Parretti mess) including films from [[Film/TheTerminator Hemdale]], [[Film/BillAndTed Nelson]] (including pre-1994 Creator/CastleRockEntertainment films and video rights to the Embassy Pictures catalog), [[Film/ValleyGirl Atlantic]] [[Film/TeenWolf Releasing]], [[Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossThe8thDimension Sherwood Productions]]/[[Film/{{Mannequin}} Gladden Entertainment]] and others.

* ''Film/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' started out being produced by Walden Media and released by Walt Disney Pictures. After the second film underperformed, Walden jumped ship to 20th Century Fox for the third film. After ''that'' underperformed, Walden chose not to renew their contract with [[Creator/CSLewis C.S. Lewis]]' estate, and production on a fourth film fell into DevelopmentHell until The Mark Gordon Company picked up the rights to the series, and the next installment was going to be distributed by Sony Pictures in the US (under their [=TriStar=] banner), and Entertainment One overseas. After ''this'' did not materialize, Netflix ultimately acquired the rights to the franchise through C.S. Lewis' estate.

** Other Creator/JimHenson works have hopped too. ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' was a ITC/Universal Pictures release that originally was released by Thorn EMI Video in TheEighties, then reissued by HBO later in the decade, followed by Buena Vista Home Video (via Jim Henson Video) in TheNineties, all on behalf of Henson. At the end of that decade, Columbia/[=TriStar=] Home Entertainment picked it up. (and yet [[Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance the prequel show]] was a solo endeavor by The Jim Henson Company distributed by Netflix) ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' was originally released by Creator/TriStarPictures but the initial video release was through Embassy (later Nelson) Home Entertainment, then New Line acquired the video rights in the early '90s and licensed it to Image for a deluxe laserdisc release. Again, Columbia/[=TriStar=] (re)claimed it at the end of TheNineties.

* ''Film/Titanic1997'' started out as a Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox production entirely. As the production budget soared, however, Fox decided to sell the domestic rights to Creator/{{Paramount}} to hold off potential losses (they still released the movie internationally). The potential losses never occurred, as the film became the highest-grossing one in history worldwide. Disney now distributes the film outside North America.
* In a similar vein, ''Film/ThePrestige'' was initially just a Warner Bros. production before WB agreed to sell the US/Canada rights to Creator/TouchstonePictures[=/=]Creator/{{Disney}} to avoid cost overruns (WB still released the movie internationally).

* ''Film/TheElectricalLifeOfLouisWain'' was distributed by Creator/AmazonStudios in the US, but by Creator/StudioCanal in the UK.
* ''Film/BoxingDay'' was distributed theatrically by Creator/WarnerBros in the UK, direct to Creator/AmazonPrime in the US, and theatrically by Rocket Science everywhere else.

** The original ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' was released independently by the Walter Reade Organization, but because they accidentally forgot to put a copyright notice on the film prints (as per US copyright law at the time), the film immediately entered the public domain, and Romero refused to ever work with them again. It has been released to home video by a number of different studios, but "officially" from Anchor Bay, Elite Entertainment, [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] (in a colorized edition), Creator/DimensionFilms, and Creator/TheCriterionCollection.

* [[TheProductionCurse Chronic]] with the ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' films. Every. single. movie. Actual distribution is even worse. First one: Orion theatrically, currently MGM; Second: Creator/TriStarPictures theatrically and some video releases, currently Creator/{{Studiocanal}}[[note]]who purchased the library of production company Creator/CarolcoPictures[[/note]]; Third/Fourth: Warner domestically, Sony overseas; Fifth: Paramount; Sixth: Paramount domestically, Disney/Fox overseas.

** {{UsefulNotes/Home video|distributors}} is complicated too for the first two movies. MGM has the first film and has licensed it to Sony, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, and Paramount for various home video releases. It was also sublicensed in the '90s by Live Entertainment, which had the home video rights to the Carolco library, including the sequel, and its successor Artisan released ''Judgement Day'' [=DVDs=] until they were bought by Lionsgate; but internationally, Studiocanal licenses the ''T2'' [=DVDs=] and Blu-rays to Universal.

** ''Film/HalloweenII1981'' and ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'' were co-produced by Dino De Laurentiis and Universal, who also distributed. Universal has released both films to various home video formats themselves, but has also licensed both to [=GoodTimes=] Home Entertainment (VHS and DVD) and Scream Factory (DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD). Universal would later return to the franchise in 2018, with [[Creator/BlumhouseProductions Blumhouse]] producing the second reboot series.
** After ''III'' disappointed critically and commercially, Moustapha Akkad, who executive produced the first three films, leased out John Carpenter and Debra Hill's share of the rights, and produced ''Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers'' and ''Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers'', and released both independently through his Galaxy International Pictures and 20th Century Fox. The films are owned directly by Trancas International, and both were released to VHS by CBS/Fox, and later to VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray by Anchor Bay. Lionsgate briefly held home video rights before Scream Factory licensed them in 2021 for Blu-ray and 4K UHD releases. 20th Century Studios, now under Disney, still has television and streaming rights to both, and they usually open with the 80s Fox logo and fanfare whenever they play on TV.

** Creator/WarnerBros also licensed home video rights to most of Paramount's catalog in 2012, and released the whole ''Friday the 13th'' franchise in one Blu-ray boxset, along with individual releases. The license expired in 2015, and Paramount reissued the first 8 films to Blu-ray themselves, while both Paramount and Warner licensed their films in the series to Scream Factory for a another complete collector's boxset.

* ''Film/HomeAlone'' was initially a Creator/WarnerBros production until the film went over budget, resulting in Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox taking over production and the rights to the franchise.
* The first four ''Film/{{Scream}}'' films were released by Dimension Films, but they switched from being under Miramax (distribution by Disney) to The Weinstein Company between the third and fourth films. Lionsgate released the first three films to Blu-ray, and Anchor Bay released the fourth (before they were bought out by Lionsgate). Today, Paramount now distributes the first three films after buying a minority stake in Miramax. After The Weinstein Company shut down in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, their assets were purchased by Lantern Entertainment, who were eventually merged into Spyglass Media Group, who sold TWC's films, including ''Scream 4'', to Lionsgate in 2021. ''Film/Scream2022'' was co-produced by Spyglass and Paramount, who also distributed. ''Scream 6'' will also be released under Paramount.

** Other Creator/JimHenson works have hopped too. ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' was a ITC/Universal Pictures release that originally was released by Thorn EMI Video in TheEighties, then reissued by HBO later in the decade, followed by Walt Disney Home Video in TheNineties. At the end of that decade, Columbia/[=TriStar=] Home Entertainment picked it up. (and yet [[Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance the prequel show]] was a solo endeavor by The Jim Henson Company distributed by Netflix) ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' was originally released by Creator/TriStarPictures but the initial video release was through Embassy (later Nelson) Home Entertainment, then New Line acquired the video rights in the early '90s and licensed it to Image for a deluxe laserdisc release. Again, Columbia/[=TriStar=] (re)claimed it at the end of TheNineties.

** ''Anime/MyNeighborTotoro'' was dubbed very faithfully by Streamline themselves in 1989 and picked up for North American distribution by, of all companies, Creator/{{Troma}}, who released the film to VHS, Laserdisc, and DVD through their deal with 20th Century Fox, which was the largest release of a Ghibli film before Disney. To this day, many older anime fans have fond memories of the original Streamline dub.

** Averted in the UK, where the Studio Ghibli catalog has always been handled by Optimum Releasing, who were rebranded as Studio Canal UK in 2011. Additionally, Madman Entertainment has been the exclusive distributor for the entire catalog in Australia.

** In the US, the first three films were distributed by Warner Bros., until their rights expired a decade after each film's respective release. Films 4-7 were distributed by Miramax, who are now owned by current Miramax owner beIN Media Group, with home video transferring to Echo Bridge, and later to Lionsgate and currently Paramount. Films 8 onward have been with Viz Media (who distributes through Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and they also have the home video rights to the anime), with the strange exception of the 11th film, which was released by Universal at first, though Viz released it themselves in 2015. Also, Cinedigm distributed the 14th film in select theaters in the US (the "White" version), otherwise, starting with the sixth movie, the films have all been straight-to-video or TV in the US. The first three films also got a new release in 2016, courtesy of Viz, meaning that, at least in the USA, the only films that The Pokémon Company International hasn't gotten the rights back to are #4-7 because they permanently stay with Paramount through Miramax. However, TPCI did briefly get the digital distribution rights to [[Anime/Pokemon4Ever the fourth movie]], before being pulled again for reasons unknown over a year later before the TPCI gained digital distribution rights to all the prior films in 2018.

** Warner Bros. returned to distributing ''Pokémon'' movies with ''Film/PokemonDetectivePikachu''. However, unlike previous films, this movie was actively co-produced by WB and is not set in the same continuity as the anime (Toho still distributes in Japan, though), it is in fact a live-action film, the first based on a Nintendo property since ''Film/SuperMarioBros1993'' 26 years earlier (and was much more successful than that film).

* Starting with ''Film/TheForceAwakens'', the ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise would be distributed by Walt Disney Studios under the Lucasfilm banner after Disney's buyout of said company, displacing 20th Century Fox. However, under the terms of the deal, Fox was to retain the distribution rights to the first six films until May 2020, and would own ''Film/ANewHope'' in perpetuity. Ultimately, Disney would acquire Fox in March 2019, bringing all ''Star Wars'' movies under one roof permanently. On digital platforms, Fox, as a separate unit of Disney, is still listed as the distributor of ''A New Hope''.

** [=DreamWorks=] Animation was under [=DreamWorks=]' wing until 2004, when they spilt into a separate entity. Their former parent still distributed for DWA until 2006, when the former was acquired by Viacom, leading to Paramount distributing for them until 2012. The studio was with 20th Century Fox from 2013-2017. However, with DWA's acquisition by [[Creator/{{NBC}} NBC]][[Creator/{{Universal}} Universal]] in 2016, once their deal with Fox ended in 2017 with ''WesternAnimation/CaptainUnderpantsTheFirstEpicMovie'', Universal took over distribution permanently (starting with ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragonTheHiddenWorld''), bringing both [=DreamWorks=] and DWA under the same roof once again [[note]]On a lesser note, ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'' was co-produced with French studio Pathé, who distributed the film in European territories, making ''Chicken Run'' technically not count as a DWA film over there[[/note]].

* The film adaptation for ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys1'' was first set up at New Line/Warner Bros. before ExecutiveMeddling and budget problems led to Warner Bros. putting the film in turnaround, effectively cancelling the project. Blumhouse quickly bought the rights from Warner, and Creator/ChrisColumbus is attached as director and writer.

* Creator/{{Laika}} had their first four movies released through Creator/{{Universal}}'s Creator/FocusFeatures unit. For ''WesternAnimation/MissingLink'', they broke off with Universal/Focus and sold the US distribution rights to Creator/AnnapurnaPictures (who, in turn, transferred them to Creator/{{MGM}}'s Creator/UnitedArtists unit when they set up a distribution joint venture with them) and the international rights to Creator/{{Lionsgate}}.

** And it happened again with the ''Fallen'' series, as ''Angel Has Fallen'' will be distributed by Lionsgate. Three films, same production companies, three distributors.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' was originally produced by Creator/DesiluStudios and aired on Creator/{{NBC}}. Desilu Studios was bought out by Creator/{{Paramount}} during the show's run, and with the CBS-Viacom split, Paramount's original television division stayed on Creator/{{CBS}}'s side. Paramount would distribute all the ''Star Trek'' movies. None of the spin-offs (other than ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'') aired on NBC or an NBC-affiliated network, with ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' broadcast in first-run syndication, ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' and ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' airing on Creator/{{UPN}}, and ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', ''Series/StarTrekPicard'', and ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' airing on Creator/CBSAllAccess, later rebranded Creator/ParamountPlus. So after NBC canceled the series, it became a CashCowFranchise and not only has NBC not seen a dime of it, the money all goes to the people who own their rival. Call it LaserGuidedKarma if you want. (Ironically, CBS originally passed on ''Star Trek'' in favor of ''Series/LostInSpace''.)

* [=StudioCanal=] cancelled Creator/TheWeinsteinCompany's North American distribution of ''Film/Paddington2'' in the wake of the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, saying they didn't want a family film to be associated with those events. Creator/WarnerBros, who already distributed the first film in Spain, acquired the North American rights to the sequel for $32 million.

** ''Webcomic/{{Nimona}}'' was in mid-production at Creator/BlueSkyStudios when Disney shuttered the company in 2021 as a cost-cutting measure, cancelling the film in the process ([[https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-disapproved-same-sex-kiss-nimona-movie-former-staffers-say-2022-3 though several Blue Sky staffers have said that Disney higher-ups already had issues with certain elements of the film beforehand]]). The project was later acquired by Creator/{{Netflix}} and Creator/AnnapurnaPictures, with [[Creator/DoubleNegativeVFX DNEG Animation]] picking up where Blue Sky left off.

* ''Film/{{Suffragette}}'' was bought for US and Canadian distribution by Creator/{{Relativity Media}}, However, due to Relativity's financial troubles due to poor box office returns from their films, the film's US and Canadian distribution rights was sold to Creator/{{Focus Features}} as a result of Relativity's financial troubles.

* ''Film/Suffragette'' was bought for US and Canadian distribution by Creator/{{Relativity Media}}, However, due to Relativity's financial troubles due to poor box office returns from their films, the film's US and Canadian distribution rights was sold to Creator/{{Focus Features}} as a result of Relativity's financial troubles.

* ''[[Film/TheLobster]]'' was bought for US distribution by indie film company Alchemy, and was due for release in March 2016. However, due to Alchemy's financial troubles, the film was sold to fellow indie studio [=A24=] and the planned March release date was bumped back to May of the same year.
* ''[[Film/Suffragette]]'' was bought for US and Canadian distribution by Creator/{{Relativity Media}}, However, due to Relativity's financial troubles due to poor box office returns from their films, the film's US and Canadian distribution rights was sold to Creator/{{Focus Features}} as a result of Relativity's financial troubles.
* ''[[Film/ExMachina]]'' was released by Creator/{{Universal}} internationally, in North America the film's distribution is handled by A24 due to Universal's US arm rejecting it.

* ''Film/TheLobster'' was bought for US distribution by indie film company Alchemy, and was due for release in March 2016. However, due to Alchemy's financial troubles, the film was sold to fellow indie studio [=A24=] and the planned March release date was bumped back to May of the same year.
* ''Film/Suffragette'' was bought for US and Canadian distribution by Creator/{{Relativity Media}}, However, due to Relativity's financial troubles due to poor box office returns from their films, the film's US and Canadian distribution rights was sold to [=Focus Features=] as a result of Relativity's financial troubles.
* ''Film/ExMachina'' was released by Creator/{{Universal}} internationally, in North America the film's distribution is handled by A24 due to Universal's US arm rejecting it.

** The [[Film/TheEvilDead1981 original film]] was released theatrically by Creator/NewLineCinema and on home video by Thorn EMI simultaneously in the US, and by numerous other distributors internationally (notably Palace Video in the UK, where it ended up as a notorious [[Main/VideoNasties "Video Nasty"]]). The film has since been released on home video by HBO/Cannon Video (VHS), Congress Video (VHS), Elite Entertainment (Laserdisc), and for over 20 years by Anchor Bay (VHS, DVD, Blu-ray). Lionsgate now owns the US rights after folding AB into their company, and they released the film on 4K UHD in 2018.

** [[Film/TheEvilDead1981 original film]] was released theatrically by Creator/NewLineCinema and on home video by Thorn EMI simultaneously in the US, and by numerous other distributors internationally (notably Palace Video in the UK, where it ended up as a notorious [[Main/VideoNasties "Video Nasty"]]). The film has since been released on home video by HBO/Cannon Video (VHS), Congress Video (VHS), Elite Entertainment (Laserdisc), and for over 20 years by Anchor Bay (VHS, DVD, Blu-ray). Lionsgate now owns the US rights after folding AB into their company, and they released the film on 4K UHD in 2018.