Dark Castle Entertainment

History

1998–2003: Homage to William Castle, the early years

Dark Castle was founded in 1998 by Joel Silver, Robert Zemeckis, and Gilbert Adler. The Dark Castle name pays homage to William Castle, a horror filmmaker from the 1950s and 1960s. When first formed, the goal of the company was to remake Castle's horror films. After two remakes, House on Haunted Hill and Thirteen Ghosts, they moved on to producing original material, along with remakes of non-Castle films.

2003–2013: More horror, action

Gothika, starring Halle Berry and Robert Downey Jr., was Dark Castle's first original film in 2003. They followed it up with House of Wax, the company's first remake of a non-Castle film.

In 2008, the company moved beyond the horror genre to produce the action film RocknRolla.

In 2009, Dark Castle released the psychological horror film Orphan. The film grossed $80 million on a $20 million budget. Later that year, the company produced its first martial arts film, Ninja Assassin.

In 2010, they produced action film adaptions of The Losers based on the DC Vertigo comic of the same name, and Unknown starring Liam Neeson, which grossed $136 million against its $30 million budget.

After a long relationship with Warner Bros. Pictures as their main distributor, Dark Castle began working with other distributors including Paramount Pictures and Shudder/AMC.

2015–present: New ownership and commercial success

Dark Castle, with its then-parent company Silver Pictures, were acquired by Daryl Katz of OEG Inc. in 2015. Hal Sadoff was named CEO.

The company released its first film under OEG the following year, neo noir comedy crime movie The Nice Guys, starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling.

Next, Dark Castle produced the black comedy crime film Suburbicon directed by George Clooney, written by the Coen Brothers, and starring Matt Damon and Julianne Moore.

In 2018, Dark Castle produced Superfly, a remake of the 1972 film Super Fly.

Dark Castle continued to produce horror films, including Seance, starring Suki Waterhouse, and the prequel to Orphan, Orphan: First Kill, starring Isabelle Fuhrman from the original movie. In 2020, the company began producing television with the sci-fi horror series The Expecting.

In 2023, the company filmed Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, and financed the films Shell, starring Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson, and directed by Max Minghella, and Last Breath, which is based on the documentary Last Breath and stars Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu.

Filmography

Lifetime grosses

(A) Indicates minimum, as that is only two countries totals merged.

References

References

1. "Dark Castle Entertainment {{!}} LinkedIn".
2. Hipes, Partick. (April 27, 2015). "Joel Silver Teams With Financier Daryl Katz, Launches New Company; Hal Sadoff CEO".
3. Fisher, Eric. (April 6, 2023). "The Next Chapter for Daryl Katz and OEG".
4. Hipes, Patrick. (February 25, 2021). "Simon Barrett-Helmed Horror Pic 'Seance' Scores U.S. Deal Via RJLE Films And Shudder; IFC Films Scare up Right To 'Werewolves Within' – Film Briefs".
5. "Norman Golightly".
6. Garrahan, Matthew. (December 17, 2006). "The Matrix: Recapitalised".
7. Chapman, Wilson. (July 13, 2022). "'Orphan: First Kill' Trailer: Isabelle Fuhrman Rerturns as Esther in Long-Awaited Horror Prequel".
8. Caddell, Ian. (March 28, 2007). "Dark Castle strikes out on its own".
9. Roxborough, Scott. (December 7, 2021). "Egyptian Star Mohamed Karim, Dark Castle Team on Horror Film 'Book of Chaos'(Exclusive)".
10. Carver, Benedict. (January 14, 1999). "Oh, the horror!".
11. Valle, Avi. (August 13, 2023). "Thirteen Ghosts Set to be Revived as New 13-Part Spook Filled Series".
12. Craft, Dan. (November 29, 2003). "Lunatics running this wacko movie asylum".
13. Guthrie, Luna. (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era".
14. Guthrie, Luna. (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era".
15. Stone, Jay. (September 10, 2008). "Ritchie swept away by films".
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17. Donnelly, Matt. (November 2, 2020). "'Orphan' Prequel Enlists Isabelle Fuhrman to Reprise Role of Esther (Exclusive)".
18. Fritz, Ben. (November 30, 2009). "'Blind Side' No. 2 but takes spotlight from 'New Moon'".
19. Debruge, Peter. (April 21, 2010). "The Losers".
20. Andreeva, Nellie. (June 29, 2021). "'Unknown' Series Sequel To Movie In Works At TNT With Liam Neeson Producing, Jaume Collet-Serra Directing".
21. "The Nice Guys".
22. Truitt, Brian. (October 24, 2017). "Review:George Clooney's messy 'Suburbicon' disappoints as a retro dark comedy".
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25. McNary, Dave. (May 25, 2018). "Film News Roundup: Sony Opening Crime Thriller 'Superfly' Two Days Earlier".
26. Wiseman, Andreas. (October 22, 2019). "Suki Waterhouse To Star In Horror 'Seance' For Dark Castle Entertainment, HanWay & Ingenious – AFM".
27. D’Alessandro, Anthony. (November 6, 2020). "Rossif Sutherland Joins eOne &Dark Castle's Horror Prequel 'Orphan: First Kill'".
28. Grater, Tom. (June 12, 2020). "Olivia Munn To Star In & Produce Action Pic 'Replay' -Cannes".
29. Stephan, Katcy. (March 12, 2024). "The Avenue Lands North American Rights to 'Old Guy' (Exclusive)".
30. Wiseman, Andreas. (February 5, 2024). "Arian Moayed, Este Haim, Lionel Boyce, Ziwe & More Join Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson & Kaia Gerber In Max Minghella's Thriller 'Shell'(Exclusive)".
31. "Last Breath".
32. Germain, David. (October 25, 2002). "'Ghost Ship' best left on the sea floor".
33. Rooney, David. (November 16, 2003). "Gothika".
34. Guthrie, Luna. (June 14, 2023). "2005's 'House of Wax' Introduced Us to Classic Horror While Ushering In a New Era".
35. Hart, Hugh. (April 1, 2007). "Real scare for cast of 'Reaping'".
36. Garcia, Víctor. (2007-10-16). "Return to House on Haunted Hill". Warner Premiere, Dark Castle Entertainment, BUFO.
37. "WarnerBros.com {{!}} Rocknrolla {{!}} Movies".
38. Leydon, Joe. (March 2, 2009). "Eschelon Conspiracy".
39. Sena, Dominic. (2009-09-11). "Whiteout". Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, StudioCanal.
40. Parker, Dave. (2009-09-29). "The Hills Run Red". Warner Premiere, Dark Castle Entertainment, Fever Dreams.
41. D’arcy, David. (January 25, 2010). "Splice".
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43. Lincoln, Todd. (2012-08-24). "The Apparition". Warner Bros., Dark Castle Entertainment, StudioCanal.
44. Kilday, Gregg. (June 10, 2011). "Joel Silver's Dark Castle Boards Sylvester Stallone Action Film".
45. O'Neill, Morgan. (2013-06-01). "The Factory". Dark Castle Entertainment, Mel's Cite du Cinema, Silver Pictures.
46. Foundas, Scott. (August 28, 2013). "Film Review: 'Getaway".
47. Collis, Cork. (October 5, 2020). "A pregnancy turns terrifying in trailer horror show The Expecting".
48. Mack, Andrew. (February 26, 2021). "Simon Barrett's Seance Heading to Shudder And RLJE Films".
49. Goff, Oscar. (August 19, 2022). "Review"Orphan: First Kill (2022) Dir. William Brent Bell".
50. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (May 6, 2022). "Hot Cannes Package: Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, Djimon Hounsou In 'Last Breath,' Alex Parkinson's Narrative Remake of His Harrowing Docu".
51. Wiseman, Andreas. (May 4, 2023). "Elisabeth Moss, Kate Hudson & Kaia Gerber To Star In Thriller 'Shell' For Director Man Minghella, Automatik & Black Bear International – Cannes Market Hot Package".
52. Marc, Christopher. (September 3, 2025). "‘Shell’ Trailer: Elisabeth Moss & Kate Hudson Star In Max Minghella’s Comedic Wellness Slasher Arriving October 3".
53. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (9 December 2025). "'Orphan' Prequel From Dark Castle Acquired By Republic Pictures".
54. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1213761025/ House on Haunted Hill (1999)]
55. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl507610625/weekend/ Thirteen Ghosts (2001)]
56. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr140595717/ Thirteen Ghosts (2001) - International Box Office Results]
57. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3411379713/ Ghost Ship (2002)]
58. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl844596737/ Gothika (2003)]
59. [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/House-of-Wax-(2005)#tab=summary House of Wax (2005)]
60. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl342722049/ The Reaping (2007)]
61. [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Reaping-The#tab=summary The Reaping DVD (2007)]
62. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=rocknrolla.htm RocknRolla (2008)]
63. [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/RocknRolla#tab=summary RocknRolla DVD (2008)]
64. [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Orphan-(2009)#tab=summary Orphan (2009)]
65. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl310085121/ Whiteout (2009)]
66. [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Whiteout#tab=summary Whiteout DVD (2009)]
67. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1583842817/ Ninja Assassin(2009)]
68. [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Ninja-Assassin#tab=summary Ninja Assassin DVD (2009)]
69. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2573305345/ The Losers (2009)]
70. [https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Losers-The#tab=summary The Losers DVD (2010)]
71. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl510887425/ Splice (2010)]