Collective Pictures is a Canadian production company founded in 2010 by Jeff Chan and based in Toronto, ON.

Collective Pictures
Company typePrivate
IndustryFilm production
Founded2010
FounderJeff Chan
Headquarters,
Canada
Key people
Jeff Chan
(President)
Websitecollective.ca

Notable work includes the Code 8 sci-fi film franchise and the romantic drama Float. Collective was formerly known as Colony Pictures.[1]

History

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Chan, one of Playback‘s “5 to Watch” in 2014, rose to prominence after creating the viral Activision short film Find Makarov.[2] Activision initially threatened to sue Chan because fans believed a new version of the game was being released. But after seeing the strong audience response, Activision hired him to create its first and only short film for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, entitled Find Makarov: Operation Kingsfish.[3]

Code 8 Series

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Collective Pictures released a 10-minute short film entitled Code 8 on YouTube in March 2016. Centred around the 4% of people living in fictional Lincoln City who possess special abilities, the sci-fi fantasy stressed individual power over technological superiority and military authority.[4] The short has accumulated over 6.9 million views as of January 2024.[5]

The short acted as a teaser for the potential feature film. An Indiegogo fundraising campaign, spearheaded by Collective, Robbie Amell, and Stephen Amell, asking for $200,000 was launched on March 23, 2016.[6] The campaign reached its goal within 36 hours and reached $2.4 million by April 24, 2016. Fundraising closed with $3.4 million on December 31, 2019, with the continued campaign helping recover costs of DVD pressings and the distribution to contributors of perks, wardrobe and props from the production.[7] A four-minute segment of the film's closing credits shows a list of only some of the 30,810 contributors to the fundraising campaign. The first announcement of additional cast came on June 12, 2017, when Laysla De Oliveira joined the film.[8]

Code 8 set the record for the highest grossing day-and-date release for Elevation Pictures in Canada and Vertical Entertainment in the U.S., eventually earning $5 million in VOD revenue through Apple, Amazon and Vudu. The film, also financed by Telefilm and U.K. based Fyzz Facility, reached No. 1 on Netflix's Top 10 list in the U.S., France, Australia, UK, Mexico and Brazil.[4] Following Code 8's success, a sequel was announced in June 2021.[4]

On June 1, 2021, it was announced Robbie Amell and Stephen Amell would produce the sequel alongside Collective and reprise their roles from the original film.[9] On June 14, Ted Sarandos announced Netflix had acquired the rights to the feature film and would release it exclusively to their platform.[10] Filming was scheduled to begin in Toronto in October 2021. Cast members confirmed filming had begun in November 2021, with Amell teasing the possibility of Code 8: Part III.[11] Code 8: Part II began filming in the fourth quarter of 2021 and was released February 28, 2024 on Netflix.[12]

Other projects

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In September 2020, it was announced that Wattpad and Collective Pictures would team up to develop Float, a film based on the story written by Kate Marchant on the Wattpad social storytelling platform.[13] The film, directed by Sherren Lee, was released on February 9, 2024.[14]

Crowdfunding

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Collective raised $2.4 million CAD (US$1.1 million) from more than 30,000 supporters for Code 8 (2016) on the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. This far exceeded its initial $200,000 goal, making it the largest-ever crowdfunded campaign for a Canadian film on any crowdfunding platform.[15]

Filmography

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Film Year Film title Director Notes
2016 Code 8 (short film) Jeff Chan distributed by YouTube
2019 Code 8 Jeff Chan distributed by Vertical Entertainment
2024 Float Sherren Lee distributed by Lionsgate Films and Elevation Pictures
Code 8: Part II Jeff Chan distributed by Netflix and XYZ Films

References

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  1. ^ Pinto, Jordan (2020-09-20). "Wattpad partners with Code 8 producer Collective Pictures on new feature film". Playback. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  2. ^ Cummins, Julianna (2014-09-05). "Playback's 5 to Watch: Jeff Chan". Playback. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  3. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2013-12-13). "Lionsgate Lights Firefighter Project With Jeff Chan To Helm, Sascha Penn To Write". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  4. ^ a b c Krewen, Nick (2021-06-21). "Code 8 sequel in the works". Playback. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  5. ^ Code 8, Movie (2016-03-22). "Code 8 - Short Film [2016]". YouTube. Retrieved 2024-02-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ McNary, Dave (2017-06-08). "Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell Producing, Starring in 'Code 8' Sci-Fi Movie". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  7. ^ McNary, Dave (2016-04-26). "Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell Raise $1.7 Million for 'Code 8' Movie". Variety. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  8. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2017-06-13). "Laysla De Oliveira To Co-Star In 'Code 8'; James Jagger Joins 'The Last Full Measure'". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  9. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (2021-06-01). "Robbie Amell & Stephen Amell To Star In 'Code 8' Sequel". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  10. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (2021-06-14). "Netflix Lands Worldwide Rights To Sci-Fi Sequel 'Code 8: Part II'". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  11. ^ Navarro, Alexander (2021-11-05). "Code 8: Part 2 Begins Filming, Robbie Amell Teases the Possibility of Code 8: Part 3". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  12. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (2024-01-17). "Robbie and Stephen Amell return in 'Code 8: Part II' photos". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  13. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (2020-09-22). "Wattpad And Collective Pictures Developing 'Float', Robbie Amell To Produce And Star". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  14. ^ Humphrey, Julia (2024-02-07). "Robbie Amell and Andrea Bang Share Their Pasts in 'Float' Sneak Peek [Exclusive]". Collider. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  15. ^ Reid, Regan (2020-04-20). "Code 8 sets crowdfunding record". Playback. Retrieved 2024-02-08.