In 1979, broadcast television was paying huge sums of money for the rights to air theatrical films. The various networks thought that if they produced their own films, they could eliminate the outside studios completely. ABC decided that it would join CBS in setting up a movie studio who could provide it with a steady stream of films. ABC setup ABC Pictures, Corp. as its new studio arm.
At first, things went well. Despite the fact that control of the theatrical release dates was held by 20th Century Fox, the studio had some impressive hits like The Flamingo Kid:
And the highly awarded Prizzi's Honor:
However Fox soon decided to reserve its best distribution slots for its own films. ABC's films got short shrift. By that time, however, audiences were tiring of theatrical releases released on broadcast television. The networks were receiving films after they had appeared in theaters, aired on pay cable and were released on videocassette. If someone truly wanted to see a film, they had many opportunities before the network got their hands on them. Faced with the audience losses, the networks ended their bidding on movies and closed their movie studios. The last film produced by ABC Films was 1986's Space Camp.
