Millennium Media (formerly Nu Image and Millennium Films) is an American independent film production and financing company that was founded by Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Danny Dimbort and Danny Lerner in 1992, and is one of Hollywood's longest running independent film companies. Millennium creates, produces, finances, and sells films worldwide. The company produces action films, most of which are filmed primarily in South Africa and Bulgaria (by 2005, it acquired Nu Boyana Film Studios),https://www.screendaily.com/nu-image-acquires-boyana-film-studios-in-bulgaria/4025769.ar among other locations.
History Nu Metro Entertainment In the mid-1980s, The Cannon Group, Inc. began expanding its operation into Africa, taking advantage of cheap locations and labor in countries such as Zimbabwe and South Africa. Avi Lerner opened Nu Metro Entertainment, a film production company based in Johannesburg to accommodate production demands in the countries. During this time, Lerner executive produced many films, such as American Ninja 2: The Confrontation and River of Death for Cannon as well as Howling IV: The Original Nightmare for Harry Alan Towers.
Nu Image After pressure from anti-apartheid forces, Cannon closed its African operations in 1988, Lerner created a new company, Nu Image, to produce original, low budget films alongside his brother Danny Lerner and other Cannon employees Trevor Short, Danny Dimbort and Boaz Davidson.
From 1992, Nu Image began producing multiple films a year, mainly in the action genre. Many of its films went direct-to-video, however some, such as Shark Attack debuted on television. Many stars, writers and directors from The Cannon Group, Inc. appeared in films for Nu Image, including David Bradley, Michael Dudikoff, Sam Firstenberg and Billy Drago. They also built a new generation of action talent such as Bryan Genesse and Joe Lara.
However, their efforts to break into the mainstream with mockbusters such as Freefall starring Eric Roberts, Jeff Fahey and Pamela Gidley, created to capitalise on the success of Sylvester Stallone's Cliffhanger failed to make much of an impact. Freefall ended up going direct-to-video.
After the successes of creature features such as Anaconda and Deep Blue Sea released in the late 1990s, Nu Image produced a spate of low budget franchises to capitalise on the trend including; Tobe Hooper's Crocodile, Shark Attack, Spiders, Killer Rats, Octopus and Raging Sharks and various sequels were produced from 1999 to 2005. While not critically successful, the films were extremely successful on television and home media.
Millennium Films & Millennium Entertainment In early 1996, Nu Image formed a subsidiary label, Millennium Films, for higher-budget productions. From the mid-2000s, the main Nu Image company gradually began producing fewer films, with Millennium Films releasing more with a greater level of financing than previously.
In 2005, it purchased Nu Boyana Film Studios in Bulgaria.
In March 2007, Nu Image acquired a controlling 52% stake in independent film and home video company First Look Studios. As a result, Nu Image and Millennium Films were given an additional outlet for home video and theatrical distribution.
One of the first films to be produced by Millennium Films was the remake The Wicker Man starring Nicolas Cage. The film was a critical and commercial failure. They continued on with a focus on sequels and remakes of notable properties such as Day of the Dead and Rambo. After the commercial success of Rambo, Millennium Films entered into a multi-year deal with Lionsgate to produce several big-budgeted films, the first of which was Conan the Barbarian. The deal would be extended over the years with successful box-office hits (The Mechanic) and box office bombs (The Legend of Hercules). Another notable success was Olympus Has Fallen starring Gerard Butler.
In November 2010, First Look filed for bankruptcy. Nu Image formed Millennium Entertainment, LLC to assume the assets of First Look.
Millennium Entertainment was sold in August 2014. The company's library and distribution assets had been sold to a consortium consisting of its current management and Virgo Investment Group. The new owners renamed the company Alchemy in January 2015, finally cutting ties to its former sister company Millennium Films, which remained under the control of Avi Lerner. Alchemy filed for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy on June 30, 2016.
Millennium Media In 2017, a deal was reached with The Recon Group, a Chinese investment firm, for them to purchase a majority stake in the Millennium Films subsidiary. The deal was signed and a $20 million downpayment was secured. However, this deal was later announced to be off in August 2017 due to the Chinese government clamping down on overseas business investments. The same year, Millennium Films was merged into Nu Image to form Millennium Media.
In 2017, Millennium faced sexual harassment allegations alleging hostile workplace and rampant sexual harassment and gender disparity.
In 2018, actor Terry Crews testified in front of Congress that he had been threatened by Avi Lerner of Millennium Media not to testify in his sexual assault case.
Films Year Title Notes Ref 1988 The Stay Awake 1989 Crazy Camera (Ochlim Lokshim) The Big Gag Kill Slade Funny Face 1990 African Express 1992 Lethal Ninja 1993 You're Famous Terminator Woman That Englishwoman Cyborg Cop Direct-to-video Point of Impact 1994 Woman of Desire Double Suspicion Private Lessons II Project Shadowchaser II Direct-to-video Freefall F.T.W. Warriors Blood of the Innocent Direct-to-video Blood Run Television film Cyborg Cop II Direct-to-video Illicit Dreams 1995 Never Say Die Personal Vendetta Television film Lunarcop Human Time Bomb Direct-to-video Wild Side Search and Destroy Septembers of Shiraz Passover Fever (Leylasede) Hard Justice Direct-to-video The Last Word The Immortals Raging Angels Man with a Gun Project Shadowchaser III Direct-to-video Cyborg Cop III Direct-to-video 1996 Dog Watch Direct-to-video Street Gun Warhead Hollow Point Hello, She Lied Television film Danger Zone Deadly Outbreak Past Perfect Direct-to-video The Last Days of Frankie the Fly Forest Warrior Direct-to-video Judge and Jury Project Shadowchaser IV Direct-to-video 1997 Mossad Plato's Run Direct-to-video Operation Delta Force Television film American Perfekt Merchant of Death Top of the World The Maker Lesser Prophets Operation Delta Force 2: Mayday Television film The Peacekeeper Deathline Looking for Lola 1998 Armstrong Some Girl Scar City Operation Delta Force 3: Clear Target Direct-to-video Break Up Shadrach On the Border Television film No Code of Conduct October 22 Sweepers 1999 The 4th Floor Guinevere Shark Attack Television film Cold Harvest Direct-to-video Bridge of Dragons The Big Brass Ring Operation Delta Force 4: Deep Fault Direct-to-video Traitor's Heart Cool Dog Lima: Breaking the Silence 2000 Operation Delta Force 5: Random Fire Direct-to-video U.S. Seals Direct-to-video Beat The Alternate Track Down City of Fear Direct-to-video Married 2 Malcolm Spiders Forever Lulu How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog Octopus Television film For the Cause Direct-to-video Shark Attack 2 Direct-to-video Crocodile Direct-to-video 2001 Diamond Cut Diamond Disaster Sharkman Television film Nobodys Baby Cold Heart U.S. Seals II: The Ultimate Force Direct-to-video Skeletons in the Closet Spiders II: Breeding Ground Prozac Nation Replicant Edges of the Lord The Grey Zone Dead Awaker Diary of a Sex Addict Ticker Octopus 2: River of Fear Direct-to-video The Order Flying Virus 2002 Submarines Direct-to-video Air Panic Hard Cash Direct-to-video Derailed Vampire Clan Reality Check Crocodile 2: Death Swamp Undisputed U.S. Seals 3: Frogmen Direct-to-video The Badge All I Want The Return from India (Ha-Shiva MeHodu) Shark Attack 3: Megalodon Direct-to-video Windfall Television film 2003 Marines Direct-to-video Killer Rats Death Train Direct-to-video Sumuru Den of Lions Direct-to-video Special Forces Detention Alien Hunter Out for a Kill Direct-to-video Air Marshal Shark Zone Direct-to-video In Hell Blind Horizon Belly of the Beast Direct-to-video 2004 Nature Unleashed: Tornado Direct-to-video Nature Unleashed: Volcano Direct-to-video Alien Lockdown Television film Skeleton Man Television film Air Strike Direct-to-video Direct Action Shadow of Fear Nature Unleashed: Avalanche Direct-to-video Unstoppable Nature Unleashed: Fire Direct-to-video Control Direct-to-video 2005 Nature Unleashed: Earthquake Direct-to-video Larva Television film Loverboy Raging Sharks Direct-to-video Mosquito-Man Television film SnakeMan Television film Bloodsuckers Television film Submerged Direct-to-video Target of Opportunity The Chumscrubber Before It Had a Name Mozart and the Whale Today You Die Direct-to-video Edison The Tenants The Cutter Direct-to-video Days of Love (Yamim Shel Ahava) 2006 16 Blocks End Game Undisputed II: Last Man Standing Direct-to-video Mercenary for Justice Direct-to-video Journey to the End of the Night Relative Strangers The Black Hole Television film Lightspeed Direct-to-video The Wicker Man The Black Dahlia Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep Television film The Contract Lonely Hearts Wicked Little Things Home of the Brave The Inquiry 2007 Gryphon Television film 88 Minutes Until Death Cleaner When Nietzsche Wept Children of Wax Finding Rin Tin Tin Mega Snake Television film The Death and Life of Bobby Z King of California Headless Horseman Television film Showdown at Area 51 Television film Blonde Ambition 2008 Mad Money Rambo Day of the Dead Hero Wanted My Mom's New Boyfriend War, Inc. Ghouls Television film Shark in Venice Flu Bird Horror Television film Righteous Kill Cyborg Soldier Kill Switch Direct-to-video Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous Train The Prince & Me 3: A Royal Honeymoon Direct-to-video Witches: The Dunwich Horror Television film 2009 Thick as Thieves The Way of War Vampire in Vegas Direct Contact It's Alive Cyborg Conquest Labor Pains Streets of Blood Direct-to-video Solitary Man Leaves of Grass Lies & Illusions Wolvesbayne Television film Ninja Command Performance Double Identity Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans Memories of Anne Frank 2010 Brooklyn's Finest House of Bones Hesher The Prince & Me: The Elephant Adventure Direct-to-video Quantum Apocalypse Television film As Good As Dead Undisputed III: Redemption The Expendables Stone Trust 2011 The Son of No One The Mechanic Drive Angry Elephant White Blitz Conan the Barbarian Trespass 2012 The Expendables 2 The Iceman Stolen The Paperboy Playing for Keeps 2013 Texas Chainsaw 3D Straight A's Lovelace Spiders 3D Olympus Has Fallen Killing Season The Big Wedding As I Lay Dying Homefront Ninja: Shadow of a Tear 2014 The Legend of Hercules The Expendables 3 The Humbling Before I Go to Sleep Autómata Good People The Taking of Deborah Logan Stonehearst Asylum 2015 Body of Deceit 88 Frankenstein Survivor Intruders 2016 London Has Fallen Criminal Mechanic: Resurrection Chuck The Late Bloomer 2017 The Institute Security Boyka: Undisputed The Hitman's Bodyguard Leatherface Loving Pablo Acts of Vengeance Khali the Killer Day of the Dead: Bloodline 2018 Hunter Killer 2019 Hellboy The Poison Rose Angel Has Fallen Rambo: Last Blood Kill Chain The Dare 2020 The Outpost Tesla Blackbird 2021 Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard Till Death Jolt The Protégé 2023 The Offering Expend4bles 2024 The Bricklayer Wanted Man Hellboy: The Crooked Man Dirty Angels 2025 Red Sonja 2027 John Rambo Night Has Fallen
References
External links Avi Lerner's Millennium Entertainment Up for Sale (EXCLUSIVE) on Variety.com