American International Pictures

American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and originally an independent film production and distribution company, prior to its acquisition by Filmways in 1979 and rebranding in 1980. It was formed on April 2, 1954 as American Releasing Corporation (ARC) by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures Inc., and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer. It was dedicated to releasing low-budget films packaged as double features, primarily of interest to the teenagers of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Nicholson and Arkoff formed ARC in 1954;[1] their first release was Operation Malaya in 1954. In 2005, Robert Rodriguez founded a horror company called Rodriguez International Pictures, which is a homage to the company. On October 7, 2020, four decades after the original closure, MGM revived AIP as a label for acquired films for digital and theatrical releases, with MGM overseeing across streaming platforms and United Artists Releasing handling theatrical distribution in North America.