Cinergi Pictures Inc. was an American independent film production company founded by Andrew G. Vajna in 1989, after he had sold his interest in his first production company, Carolco International Pictures. The company had a number of major hit films, most notably Tombstone, Die Hard with a Vengeance and Evita. However, the majority of their films lost money. A string of box office bombs – including Renaissance Man, Color of Night, Judge Dredd, The Scarlet Letter, Nixon, Shadow Conspiracy, Deep Rising and An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn – ultimately did the company in, and it was dissolved on February 27, 1998. Cinergi Pictures' library is now owned by Disney.[1]
Andrew G. Vajna, a Hungarian native, launched his career in the entertainment industry with his purchase of motion picture theaters in the Far East. Later, he founded Panasia Films Limited in Hong Kong before forming Carolco with Mario Kassar in 1976. In less than four years, Carolco became one of the top three foreign sales organizations in motion pictures.
In 1982, Vajna and Kassar made their film production debut with the highly successful First Blood, starring Sylvester Stallone. Rambo: First Blood Part II was released in 1985, generating more than $300 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable films in the history of filmmaking.
Vajna and Kassar were executive producers on such films as Alan Parker's Angel Heart, Rambo III, and Johnny Handsome. Other projects included Music Box, Total Recall, Air America, Mountains of the Moon, Narrow Margin, and Jacob's Ladder.
Cinergi Pictures Entertainment was founded in 1989 after leaving Carolco.[2] Vajna's strategy was to develop long-term relationships with certain talent and to produce a steady supply of two to four event motion pictures per year. Upon forming Cinergi, Vajna established an alliance with The Walt Disney Company for distribution of Cinergi motion pictures in the United States, Canada and Latin America.
Cinergi's first production, Medicine Man starring Oscar-winner Sean Connery, was followed by Super Mario Bros. in co-production with Allied Filmmakers and Lightmotive, Tombstone starring Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell and Renaissance Man starring Danny DeVito. In 1994, Cinergi released Color of Night starring Bruce Willis, Jane March, and Lesley Ann Warren. With the exception of Tombstone, all of those films flopped at the box office.