2929 Entertainment is a company that was established with a goal of developing, producing, and financing movies that are not part of Hollywood cinematography. The company was launched in 2003 by entrepreneurs Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner. Today, the company has headquarters in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas.
The company works on producing original films and series. According to the founders, the goal of their company is to bring some compelling untold stories that didn’t make the Hollywood cut to the audience. We are going to discuss some of these projects later on.
In addition, their goal is also to make all the films and series available to the audience on multiple platforms at the same time. Through their collaboration with Netflix, some of the films were released on DVD alongside their theatrical premiere.
In 2006, Variety praised the 2929 Entertainment Company for its work on releasing drama film “Bubble” simultaneously in theaters and on a cable network. The movie is directed by Steven Soderbergh and their main roles are played by Debbie Doebereiner, Dustin James Ashley, and Misty Dawn Wilkins. At that moment, releasing a movie this way was extremely controversial since different formats of the projects were launched following a specific schedule.
Most popular projects
Within the first few years, the company produced some of the movies that were positively acclaimed by critics such as “Godsend”, “Criminal”, and “The Jacket”. Numerous well-known actors were involved in these projects such as Kiera Knightly, Robert De Niro, Adam Brody, Daniel Craig, and others.
In 2005, 2929 Entertainment financed the historical drama movie called “Good night, and Good Luck” that was written and directed by George Clooney. Besides Clooney, other actors that were in this film were Robert Downey Jr., David Strathairn, Jeff Daniels, and so on. Wagner decided to include Jeff Skoll and his company Participant Productions on this project. The movie was highly acclaimed by the critics and it was nominated for six Academy Awards, including one for Best Picture.
The same year, the company was involved in another successful project – a documentary film called “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room”. This movie, which was based on the 2003 book of the same title, went to earn Academy Awards nomination for Best Documentary Feature.
Furthermore, in 2006, 2929 Entertainment collaborated with Lionsgate Films on producing and financing the film called “Akeelah and the Bee”. The movie starring Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke Palmer, earned $19 million domestically. It won numerous awards some of which are the Black Reel Award, the Chicago Film Critics Association award, the NAACP, and others.
Another highly successful film that was produced by this company was “We Own the Night”. The main roles of this crime drama are played by Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, and Robert Duvall. It premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival where it earned a nomination for the Palme d’Or. It grossed almost $55 million in Canada and the United States and another $22 million from the DVD release.
Other successful movies produced by 2929 Entertainment include “What Just Happened”, “The Road”, “Deadfall”, “Serena”, “2:22”, and their latest releases “Please Stand By” and “The China Hustle”.
Television
When it comes to television, the company is also the owner of AXS TV, a channel that was launched on September 6, 2001. Actually, one of the founding partners is Mark Cuban, who established 2929 Entertainment. AXS TV is primarily developed as a channel that runs entertainment programs, combat sport, and live music events.
Furthermore, the company also runs the Rysher Entertainment, a television syndication distributor that was originally founded in 1945 and acquired by 2929 Entertainment in 2001. Between 1995 and 1998, 20 feature films were produced by Rysher Entertainment, and today, they own a number of movies and TV shows such as “Sex and the City” and “Star Search”.
Who are the founders?
Mark Cuban
Now, let’s discuss the two men who founded this company. Firstly, we are going to tell you about Mark Cuban. Besides having an important role in this company and being the founding partner of AXS TV, Cuban also owns National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks. Additionally, he is also one of the investors on the reality TV series “Shark Tank”.
Cuban graduated from the Kelley School of Business in 1981. When asked why he chose this business school, he said “(that) it had the least expensive tuition of all the business schools on the top 10 list”. When it comes to his beginnings, the first company that he founded was MicroSolutions that went on to earn $30 million in revenue and that he later sold to CompuServe.
He often invests in startups some of which were RedSwoosh and Brondell Inc. In 2011, he wrote a book called “How to Win at the Sport of Business” where he shared his experience in both sport and business and also told the story of how he became a successful entrepreneur that he is today. If you want to learn more about his earnings, but also his family and private life, visit Taddlr.com.
Todd Wagner
Todd R. Wagner graduated from Indiana University in 1983 and began his career with companies Hopkins & Sutter and Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Field.
In 1995, together with Mark Cuban, Wagner established a platform for airing radio stations and live sporting events online called AudioNet. A few years later, they changed its name to Broadcast.com and eventually sold it to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion, which made them both instant billionaires.
Moreover, Wagner owns shares in the Dallas Mavericks, and he is also a founder and co-president of Content Partners LLC. He also participates in charity work. In 2014, he established a platform for raising funds for different causes by connecting fans with their favorite celebrities via videos. In 2016 he established a company called Charity Network with the main goal of aiding charities to move from analog to digital. The company also arranges regular charity fundraising events, and in 2017 it was included on the list of Fast Company’s 2017 Most Innovative Companies.
