Sony Pictures Classics at 15

Who knew that releasing art films could become big business? As anyone in the independent film sector will attest, the more esoteric spectrum of cinema is fraught with risk, and the list of specialty distributors that have started with a bang and then flared out is long. The reasons for their downfall? Failure to make the transition from indie to major. Gobbled up in a corporate merger. Collapse following abandonment of business models that made them successful. Inability to adapt to changing markets.