Richard Horwitz Studios is a British-American film production and animation studio headquartered and founded in Manchester, United Kingdom. They specialize in producing feature films, both animated and live-action, such as The Dot and Dash Movie, Shirtless, and Fast Lane franchises. As of May 2023, they have produced 57 feature films in total, all grossing over $16 billion worldwide. Their first film, Jose Venezuela: The Movie, was released on April 13, 2005, and their latest film, Moonbright, was released on February 17, 2023.
History[]
1994-2002: Establishment and early years[]
Richard Horwitz Studios was founded in Manchester, United Kingdom by Richard Horwitz and 8 of his friends in August 1994 with a $30 million investment. Horwitz was the founder and president of the studio, and his younger brother Steve was the Head of Development and Production, overseeing television and film production.
The company started producing animated commercials in 1995, followed by animated shorts and TV series in 1996. The first TV series of theirs was José Venezuela for MTV, which premiered on September 20, 1996 and lasted five seasons spanning to 2004. They would also produce kid-orientated animated shows for MTV's sister network Nickelodeon, such as Luke Lustin: Alien Kid.
2002-07: Venture into film and purchase of Mosaic Pictures[]
Richard Horwitz always had a passion for filmmaking and its process, as stated in a MTV interview from 2002.
On October 24, 2002, Richard Horwitz had announced a purchase of 25% of new film studio Mosaic Pictures' stake for $8.2 million, with Beach Party 2 being the first to be released under the new ownership. The new ownership would also allow them to collaborate on film projects, such as The Sims franchise movies, which started with The Sims 2 in 2005. Though, their first film, Jose Venezuela: The Movie, was based off and meant to serve as the finale to the series, was released on April 13, 2005. Richard Horwitz Studios films are mainly distributed through Sony Pictures Releasing and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Their first fully original film, Shirtless, was released on September 6, 2006, and was a big success both critically and financially, launching them into the mainstream film market.
2008-11: Foundation of the American division[]
From February to April 2008, Richard Horwitz hired around 150 employees to his Manchester studio, with around 338 working there in total at the time. Richard then announced that they were shifting some film production team to a new American division in Baltimore, Maryland, becoming a British-American film studio. Construction of the American unit was complete on September 14, 2009 and about 35% of the 430 employees at the Manchester studio were moved to the Baltimore studio. Expansions would later arise to both studios in 2012 and 2016. The Dot and Dash Movie 2, released in July 2010, was the first movie with work partially done by the Baltimore studio, and The History of the Car two years later would be the first to be fully produced by them.
Richard Horwitz reported in 2011 that 753 employees were working at both studios; the number doubled to 1,355 by 2016.