Carolco Pictures

Carolco Pictures, Inc.
Company type	Private
Industry	Entertainment
Founded	March 30, 1976
Founders	Mario Kassar; Andrew G. Vajna
Defunct	December 22, 1995
Fate	Bankruptcy, assets and name now owned by StudioCanal
Successors	Company: C2 Pictures; Library: StudioCanal (with some exceptions) Paramount Pictures (through Melange Pictures) (television, online streaming and digital distribution rights only);
Headquarters	Los Angeles, California, United States
Key people	Mario Kassar; (Chairman & CEO)
Products	Motion pictures
Divisions	Carolco Television Productions
Subsidiaries	Orbis Communications; The IndieProd Company
Website	www.carolcofilms.com

Carolco Pictures, Inc. was an American independent film studio that existed from 1976 to 1995, founded by Mario Kassar and Andrew G. Vajna.^[1] Kassar and Vajna ran Carolco together until 1989, when Vajna left to form Cinergi Pictures. Carolco hit its peak in the 1980s and early 1990s, with blockbuster successes including the first three films of the Rambo franchise, Total Recall, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Basic Instinct, Universal Soldier, Cliffhanger and Stargate. Nevertheless, the company was losing money overall and required a corporate restructuring in 1992. The 1995 film Cutthroat Island, intended to be a comeback for the studio, instead lost $147 million and brought the company to an end.^[2]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Carolco Pictures [Das Lexikon der Filmbegriffe]". filmlexikon.uni-kiel.de (in German). Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
^ Lambie, Ryan (March 11, 2014). "The rise and fall of Carolco". Den of Geek. Retrieved March 11, 2014.