Miramax (formerly Miramax Films) is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1979 by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, Miramax was a leading independent film motion picture distribution and production company before it was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993. Shortly thereafter, Pulp Fiction was released. The Weinsteins operated Miramax with more creative and financial independence than any other division of Disney, until September 30, 2005 when they decided to leave the company and founded The Weinstein Company. Miramax was sold by Disney to Filmyard Holdings, a joint venture of Colony Capital, Tutor-Saliba Corporation, and Qatar Investment Authority, in 2010, ending Disney's 17-year involvement with the studio.
Founded by the brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in Buffalo, New York in 1979, the company was named by combining the first names of their parents Max and Miriam, and was originally created to distribute independent films deemed commercially unfeasible by the major studios.