Film Roman history

During the 1988–89 television season, Garfield and Friends ranked as the highest rated Saturday’s children’s program.

The pace of growth accelerated decidedly from there, making Film Roman a 250-employee studio by 1993, a year in which the firm collected $27 million in sales.

The strength of Film Roman after its first decade promised much for the decade ahead, but 1994 would be followed by several difficult and unprofitable years.

The company started trading in October 1996, when its stock debuted at $10 per share, enabling the studio to raise $33 million.

In the fall of 1998, the studio hired Mark Leiber, previously senior vice-president of children’s programming at Polygram Television, to serve as president of Film Roman’s new domestic television and distribution division.

In February 1999, Roman left the company he had founded.

In 2001, when the company generated $44.1 million in sales, its net loss nearly reached $6 million.

“Animation Guru to Return to North Hollywood, Calif., Company,” Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, February 21, 2002.

“Newark, N.J.-Based Telecom Purchases Majority Stake in Animation Company,” Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News, May 16, 2003.

In 2015, Film Roman was acquired from its parent company Starz Distribution by Waterman Entertainment, the production company of executive producer Steve Waterman.

On November 22, 2016, the company formed a joint venture based in Tijuana, called Film Roman Baja J.V. (also known as Film Roman Baja Productions), with Boxel Studios, a Baja California-based animation facility.