Associated Film Distribution

Associated Film Distribution was a short-lived British film distribution company. It was set up in the 1970s by ITC Entertainment and EMI Films to distribute their films in the US.

Michael Deeley, head of EMI at the time, opposed the move. He thought it was motivated by Sir Lew Grade's belief that his films had failed in the US due to poor distribution.

The company was launched in 1978 with $40 million in capitalisation. It aimed to distribute 12 films a year. The initial slate included:

Universal Pictures

The company wound up in 1981, having enjoyed only one hit, The Muppet Movie. The theatrical rights to their films and distribution of their future projects were acquired by Universal.[2][3]

Sidney J. Sheinberg, president of MCA who owned Universal, said the agreement went for three years involved all the movies that A.F.D. had ready for distribution including:

Grade said, "If we had ordinary pictures, I doubt that Universal would have wanted us."[3]

Select filmography
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References
  1. "FILM CLIPS: A New Dimension for a Brother Act" Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 28 Oct 1978: b11.
  2. "WRITERS AND PRODUCERS BREAK OFF TALKS AGAIN" ALJEAN HARMETZ, Special to the New York Times. 15 June 1981: C.14.
  3. "UNIVERSAL TO MARKET FILMS FROM A.F.D." ALJEAN HARMETZ New York Times 24 Feb 1981: D.6.
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