De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group

Company type	Public
Industry	Entertainment production and distribution
Founded	1984
Founder	Dino De Laurentiis
Defunct	1989
Fate	Bankruptcy; assets sold to Paravision and later acquired by StudioCanal; studios sold to Carolco Pictures and Village Roadshow
Headquarters	Wilmington, North Carolina , United States
Area served	North America, Australia
Key people	Dino De Laurentiis (founder), Martha Schumacher (president of North Carolina Film Corporation), Raffaella De Laurentiis (former president of production)
Products	Motion pictures, television programs

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) was a company specializing in entertainment production and distribution, established by the Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis. DEG gained recognition for movies such as Manhunter, Blue Velvet, the horror films Near Dark and Evil Dead II, along with titles like King Kong Lives and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. The company also handled distribution for The Transformers: The Movie.

Based in Wilmington, North Carolina, the facilities once operated by DEG later became known as EUE/Screen Gems Studios. DEG released its initial slate of films in 1986 but filed for bankruptcy just two years later, following financial failures at the box office including Million Dollar Mystery. In 1989, Carolco Pictures took over DEG.

History

Dino De Laurentiis produced Firestarter in Wilmington in 1983, an effort that led to state-backed incentives and enabled him to transform a local warehouse into a functioning studio. Early in 1984, he founded the North Carolina Film Corporation with Martha Schumacher appointed as president.

In 1985, DEG broadened its scope by purchasing Embassy Pictures from The Coca-Cola Company, which secured distribution rights across North America. Meanwhile, Dino De Laurentiis continued to pre-sell films internationally. DEG went public in May 1986, successfully raising $240 million. The company also established an Australian branch named De Laurentiis Entertainment Limited (DEL), where it constructed a studio on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Most of DEG’s film productions were budgeted below $10 million, undercutting the industry norm, except for larger scale projects such as King Kong Lives and Tai-Pan.

DEG entered the television market with syndicated programs including Honeymoon Hotel and California Girls, collaborating with producers Fred Silverman and Gordon Farr.

By August 1987, DEG had accumulated $16.5 million in debt due to multiple box-office underperformers. Dino De Laurentiis rejected acquisition offers, aiming to retain majority control. Around this period, his daughter Raffaella stepped down from her position as president of production. In 1988, Dino De Laurentiis resigned and went on to create Dino de Laurentiis Communications.

After DEG’s dissolution, its Wilmington studios were sold to Carolco Pictures, while the Gold Coast facility was purchased by Village Roadshow, which used it as the foundation for its Silver Series and contributed personnel to Village Roadshow Pictures.

Currently, StudioCanal owns most of the DEG film catalog through acquiring Paravision International. Distribution rights are split among various companies: MGM holds titles originally distributed by United Artists; Warner Bros. Discovery controls HBO Pictures releases; home video rights are divided between MGM Home Entertainment and Lionsgate Films. Hasbro acquired rights to properties such as My Little Pony: The Movie and The Transformers: The Movie following its purchase of Sunbow Entertainment’s assets.

Films released

Release Date	Title	Notes
June 6, 1986	Raw Deal	jointly owned by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
	My Little Pony: The Movie	property of Hasbro
July 25, 1986	Maximum Overdrive	ownership shared by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
August 8, 1986	The Transformers: The Movie	Hasbro holds ownership
August 15, 1986	Manhunter	co-owned by MGM and StudioCanal
September 19, 1986	Blue Velvet	MGM ownership
	Radioactive Dreams
October 24, 1986	Trick or Treat
November 7, 1986	Tai-Pan	jointly owned by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
December 12, 1986	Crimes of the Heart	shared ownership between Lionsgate and StudioCanal
December 19, 1986	King Kong Lives	co-owned by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
January 30, 1987	The Bedroom Window	Lionsgate and StudioCanal co-ownership
February 6, 1987	From the Hip	partnership between Lionsgate and StudioCanal
March 13, 1987	Evil Dead II	distributed via Rosebud Releasing Corporation to avoid MPAA restrictions; ownership shared by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
June 12, 1987	Million Dollar Mystery	co-owned by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
October 2, 1987	Near Dark	joint Lionsgate and StudioCanal ownership
October 16, 1987	Weeds
November 6, 1987	Hiding Out	co-owned by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
November 20, 1987	Date with an Angel	joint ownership between Lionsgate and StudioCanal
December 4, 1987	The Trouble with Spies	distribution only; produced by HBO Pictures
December 11, 1987	Cobra Verde	released direct-to-video in the U.S.
May 13, 1988	Illegally Yours	U.S. release through United Artists; MGM owns rights
August 17, 1988	Traxx	direct-to-video in U.S.; co-owned by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
October 14, 1988	Pumpkinhead	distributed in U.S. by United Artists; MGM holds ownership; DEG managed distribution outside North America
October 21, 1988	Tapeheads	U.S. release via Avenue Pictures
October 1988	Dracula's Widow	direct-to-video release in U.S.; shared ownership by Lionsgate and StudioCanal
February 17, 1989	Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure	co-production with Nelson Entertainment; U.S. release through Orion Pictures; MGM and StudioCanal co-own rights

Paramount Pictures managed Canadian distribution of DEG titles through its Famous Players division. In May of 1986, Cineplex Odeon Corporation filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against Paramount for violating a Canadian distribution agreement that DEG had with Cineplex Odeon Films.

An early version of Total Recall, featuring Patrick Swayze as Quaid and directed by Bruce Beresford, was in pre-production under DEG; following DEG’s bankruptcy, the project was transferred to Carolco Pictures.

After DEG declared bankruptcy in 1989, its film catalog—including Embassy Pictures holdings—was sold to Paravision (a L'Oréal subsidiary), which was later acquired by Canal+; the collection is currently owned by StudioCanal.