Without Harvey Weinstein, Is There a Weinstein Company?
So far this year, the Weinstein Company, a boutique studio
that specializes in sophisticated, small-budget dramas like the 2011 Oscar winner “The King’s Speech,” has released six films, which have taken in a combined $123 million at the domestic box office.
On Friday, three members of the board — Marc Lasry, Dirk Ziff and Tim Sarnoff — resigned, according to a board member and a company executive.
“Without Harvey actively managing, the Weinstein Company will become even more capital constrained — tougher to find funding,” Harold L. Vogel, a media analyst
and the author of the book “Entertainment Industry Economics” wrote in an email on Friday.
But Harvey Weinstein is the one who called — or screamed — the shots, often pushing the company forward by sheer force of will.
In a statement, Bob Weinstein and three other board members said
that a group of lawyers from Debevoise & Plimpton, including one with experience prosecuting sex crimes, would lead an investigation into Harvey Weinstein’s behavior.
To compare, major studios like Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Company generally
take in $1 billion to $2.5 billion annually at the domestic box office.
The Weinstein Company has also found itself sidelined at film festivals, where Mr. Weinstein has long shopped
for movies to release, helping to discover auteurs like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh.