Cinema International Corporation

Cinema International Corporation (CIC) was a film distribution company started by Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios on April 9, 1970 to distribute the two studios' films outside the United States, as a response to declining movie-going audiences and national anti-trust laws. It even operated in Canada and the Caribbean Basin before those territories were considered part of the "domestic" North American market. CIC was registered in England and Wales, but was headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company began operations on January 1, 1971. In 1973, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer closed down its distribution offices and became a partner in CIC, which took over international distribution for MGM's films; however, United Artists took over the North American distribution of MGM films. In 1981, MGM purchased United Artists, which had its own international distribution unit. CIC refused to let MGM drop out of the venture at the time, which led to the reorganization of the company as "United International Pictures". In the mid 70s, CIC Australia merged its units with 20th Century Fox's Australian distribution arm to form a joint venture, known as CIC-Fox. Walt Disney/Buena Vista also made distribution deals with CIC (Paramount) in Italy until 1991 (under UIP) and Australia through CIC-Fox (20th Century Fox) until 1986. CIC also entered the home video age, with its subsidiary CIC Video. MGM, however, had its own home video distribution unit (originally a partnership between MGM and CBS Video Enterprises).