Enjoy Movies

Enjoy Movies was a Moscow-based Russian film production company established in 2010 by director Sarik Andreasyan, producer Gevond Andreasyan, and producer Georgy Malkov. The company emerged during a period when Russian independent producers were attempting to build commercially oriented local film businesses capable of developing, financing, and releasing several feature films each year. Its activities centered on Russian-language cinema and related television production, while its international profile was raised through a proposed partnership with Canadian actor Hayden Christensen and his brother, Tove Christensen. The company’s first theatrical release was The Pregnant, which opened in September 2011. Enjoy Movies then expanded its output in 2012, releasing five feature films. According to the company’s Wikipedia account, this slate helped it reach approximately 25 percent of the Russian film-production market that year. The same account reported average revenue of about $27.9 million in 2012, described as roughly ten times the company’s initial production spending. Because the available reference gives no detailed accounting methodology, title-by-title revenue breakdown, or independent financial filing, the figure should be understood as a reported historical estimate rather than a complete financial statement. Enjoy Movies was also ranked first in Filmpro.ru’s 2012 list of Russia’s most successful production companies. In May 2013, at the Cannes Film Festival, Enjoy Movies announced the creation of Glacier Films, an alliance with Hayden Christensen and Tove Christensen. The proposed three-year program called for 11 micro-budget films, each budgeted at approximately $1.5 million. The first announced project was American Heist, a crime film starring Hayden Christensen and based on the 1959 film The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. Glacier Films represented an effort to extend Enjoy Movies’ production reach beyond Russia and to connect its financing and production capabilities with internationally recognizable talent. The alliance’s announced plans were broader than the company’s established Russian output, although the available material does not provide a full account of all projects ultimately completed under the arrangement. Enjoy Movies encountered serious financial difficulties in 2017. In July of that year it initially announced that it was declaring bankruptcy. In September 2017, the company stated that it had exited bankruptcy. The available sources do not provide a detailed restructuring plan, creditor list, court record, or explanation of the legal mechanism by which the bankruptcy process was concluded. Following that episode, the company did not produce newer films according to the available reference material. By November 2021, its website had reportedly been shut down and the company was no longer active as a significant film producer. Enjoy Movies is therefore best treated as a defunct or inactive production-company brand rather than an operating studio. Its documented legacy rests on its rapid rise in the Russian market around 2011–2013, its commercially ambitious 2012 slate, and its attempted international expansion through Glacier Films.

Enjoy Movies was founded in Moscow in 2010 by Armenian director Sarik Andreasyan, his brother Gevond Andreasyan, and producer Georgy Malkov. The company was created as a commercial film-production venture focused on developing and releasing Russian films, with television production also associated with its broader activities. Its early development coincided with a period of growing interest in locally produced Russian feature films and in production companies that could manage multiple projects rather than operate around a single filmmaker or title. The company entered theatrical distribution with The Pregnant, released in September 2011. The film established Enjoy Movies as a new production presence and was followed by a rapid increase in output. In 2012, the company released five feature films. The available reference characterizes that year as a major commercial breakthrough: Enjoy Movies was reported to have secured approximately 25 percent of the Russian film-production market and to have generated average gains of around $27.9 million, or approximately ten times its initial production expenditure. The same account places the company first on Filmpro.ru’s ranking of Russia’s most successful production companies for 2012. These figures are presented in the reference without a detailed methodology, so they should not be treated as audited corporate accounts. Enjoy Movies also pursued an international strategy. At the Cannes Film Festival in May 2013, it announced the formation of Glacier Films with actor Hayden Christensen and his older brother, Tove Christensen. The planned alliance was intended to produce 11 micro-budget films during a three-year period, with each project valued at approximately $1.5 million. American Heist was announced as Glacier Films’ first film. It starred Hayden Christensen and drew on the 1959 film The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. The partnership indicated that Enjoy Movies was seeking to combine its production infrastructure with English-language projects and internationally known performers. The reference material does not establish the complete number of Glacier Films projects delivered or the long-term commercial result of the alliance. The company’s expansion was followed by financial stress. In July 2017, Enjoy Movies announced that it was declaring bankruptcy. Two months later, in September, it stated that it had exited bankruptcy. No detailed information is supplied in the available reference about the company’s creditors, court proceedings, restructuring terms, or the source of the financial problem. The bankruptcy episode nevertheless marked a significant interruption in the company’s development and appears to have limited its subsequent production activity. By November 2021, Enjoy Movies was reported not to have produced newer films after leaving bankruptcy, and its website had been shut down. The company consequently ceased to function as a visible active production studio. Its historical importance is concentrated in its short period of rapid expansion: the 2011 launch of its theatrical program, the unusually productive and commercially successful 2012 slate, and the 2013 attempt to establish an international micro-budget production alliance. Later bankruptcy-related developments and the absence of subsequent releases suggest that the operating brand had effectively ended by the early 2020s.

• 2021

  Operations no longer visible

  [1]Enjoy Moviesen.wikipedia.org

  By November, the company is reported not to have produced newer films and its website is shut down.

• 2017

  Bankruptcy episode

  [1]Enjoy Moviesen.wikipedia.org

  The company announces bankruptcy in July and states in September that it has exited bankruptcy.

• 2013

  Glacier Films alliance announced at Cannes

  [1]Enjoy Moviesen.wikipedia.org

  Enjoy Movies announces a planned international production alliance with Hayden Christensen and Tove Christensen.

• 2012

  Rapid expansion and reported market leadership

  [1]Enjoy Moviesen.wikipedia.org

  Enjoy Movies releases five feature films and is reported to have reached about 25 percent of the Russian film-production market.

• 2011

  First reported theatrical release

  [1]Enjoy Moviesen.wikipedia.org

  The Pregnant becomes the company’s first reported movie release, opening in September.

• 2010

  Company founded in Moscow

  [1]Enjoy Moviesen.wikipedia.org

  Sarik Andreasyan, Gevond Andreasyan, and Georgy Malkov establish Enjoy Movies as a Russian film production company.

Commercially oriented Russian film production company with ambitions in both domestic cinema and international co-production.

• Feature film · 2011

  The Pregnant

  The Pregnant was Enjoy Movies’ first reported movie release. It opened in September 2011 and served as the company’s initial theatrical production during its emergence as a Russian commercial film studio.

• International feature film

  American Heist

  American Heist was announced as the first film of Glacier Films, the international alliance formed by Enjoy Movies with Hayden Christensen and Tove Christensen. Starring Hayden Christensen, the film was based on the 1959 crime film The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery. The available material identifies it as a Glacier Films project rather than providing a complete account of Enjoy Movies’ direct production role.

• 2013Glacier Films international production alliance

  Russia · International

  Enjoy Movies used the Cannes Film Festival to announce Glacier Films, a planned partnership with Hayden Christensen and Tove Christensen. The alliance proposed 11 micro-budget films over three years, with an indicated budget of approximately $1.5 million per film.

  Outcome. American Heist was identified as the first project. The supplied reference does not document the complete delivery or commercial outcome of the broader 11-film plan.

  Source

• 2017

  Enter and exit bankruptcy proceedingsOther

  Background

  Enjoy Movies announced in July that it was declaring bankruptcy, indicating a serious financial disruption.

  Action taken

  The company subsequently stated in September that it had gone out of bankruptcy.

  Aftermath

  The available source gives no restructuring details. The company did not produce newer films in the period described by the reference and later ceased maintaining its website.

  Source

• 2013

  Create Glacier Films with the Christensen brothersM&A

  Background

  Enjoy Movies sought to broaden its business beyond Russian-language production and use an international partnership to develop English-language films.

  Action taken

  The company announced Glacier Films with Hayden Christensen and Tove Christensen, with a plan for 11 micro-budget films over three years.

  Aftermath

  American Heist was announced as the alliance’s first project. The available material does not establish the full outcome of the proposed slate.

  Planned per-film budget. $1.5 million per film (Three-year plan announced in 2013)

  Source

• 2012

  Scale up feature-film productionStrategy

  Background

  After its first release in 2011, Enjoy Movies pursued a high-output production strategy and released five feature films in 2012.

  Action taken

  The company expanded its slate and targeted a larger share of the Russian film market.

  Aftermath

  The company was reported to have captured approximately 25 percent of the market and to have ranked first in Filmpro.ru’s 2012 list of successful Russian production companies.

  Reported average gains. $27.9 million (2012)

  Source

1. 1Enjoy Moviesen.wikipedia.org