By 1970, they had produced films on a larger production scale than a lot of major distributors, such as Joe, starring Peter Boyle.
[7][8] James Cameron's story treatment for Rambo: First Blood Part II was floating around Hollywood in 1983, which Golan and Globus reviewed and were "inspired" by.
Other action/adventure films they produced included the 3-D Treasure of the Four Crowns, King Solomon's Mines, and the vigilante thriller sequel Exterminator 2.
Cannon produced musical and comedy films such as Breakin', Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, The Last American Virgin, and the U.S. release of The Apple (directed by Golan); erotic period drama pictures such as Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981), Bolero, and Mata Hari (1985); science fiction and fantasy films such as Hercules, Lifeforce, and The Barbarians; and serious pictures such as John Cassavetes' Love Streams, Franco Zeffirelli's Otello (a film version of the Verdi opera), Norman Mailer's Tough Guys Don't Dance, and Andrei Konchalovsky's Runaway Train and Shy People.
[28] By 1988, a cooling in the film market and a series of box office disappointments—including the multimillion-dollar production of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), whose original $36-million budget was slashed to $17 million—had once again put Cannon in financial woes.
Concerns about Cannon's financial future had been expressed as early as 1986; one unidentified film executive called the company a "house of cards", with Golan and Globus -- between their splashy wheeling and dealing, reports of "penny-pinching" by the duo in terms of business expenses, and numerous lawsuits incurred by the company (including one filed by David Begelman over Cannon's buyout of the Thorn EMI assets; Thorn EMI had been a financing partner of Begelman's Gladden Entertainment) -- attaining an unwelcome reputation in the Hollywood community.
On the verge of failure, Cannon Films was taken over by Pathé Communications, a holding company controlled by Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti.
This film was conceived to use both the costumes and sets built for a planned but unmade sequel to Masters of the Universe and the ill-fated live-action version of Spider-Man.
Not to let that pre-production work go to waste, Pyun wrote Cyborg, with Chuck Norris in mind, suggesting it to Cannon Films.
[37] In 1989, Pathé greenlit three films, The Russia House with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, Quigley Down Under starring Tom Selleck and Fires Within with Jimmy Smits.
They also announced Shattered directed by Wolfgang Petersen, Not Without My Daughter with Sally Field, Company Business starring Gene Hackman and Mikhail Baryshnikov as well as Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise.
[39] Soon after announcing a new slate of films and the distribution deal with Warner Bros., Parretti made a $1.2 billion bid for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, backed by Crédit Lyonnais.
[44] Parretti was later convicted of perjury and evidence tampering in a Delaware court for statements he made in a 1991 civil case, brought by Credit Lyonnais to validate their removal of Parretti, to the effect that a document he claimed allowed him to retain control of MGM was authentic;[45][46] he fled the country for Italy before he could be sentenced or extradited to France, where he was wanted on criminal charges related to his use of MGM's French assets.
[46][47] In 1997, the California Superior Court in Los Angeles entered a final judgement in a separate civil suit against Parretti, ordering him to pay $1.48 billion to Credit Lyonnais.
[46] After Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment against Parretti and Florio Fiorini accusing them of fraud in 1999, Italian authorities arrested both men and held them for extradition to the United States.
[48] Parretti was released by the court of appeal in Perugia shortly thereafter, ordered to remain in his home town of Orvieto and report to the police three times a week, even though authorities in Rome had requested he be held pending a decision on the extradition.
[49] The new Cannon announced their presence at that year's MIFED international film market in Milan, with an impressive line-up of multiple new productions and releases, including some with Cannon standbys like Chuck Norris (Fifty/Fifty, Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection and TOP KICK) and Michael Dudikoff (WINGS, Midnight Ride and American Ninja 4), JAM to be directed by Joel Silberg, Dusted (later released as Death Warrant with Jean-Claude Van Damme), Keaton's Cop with Lee Majors, an untitled film starring Charles Bronson, Crack House with Richard Roundtree and Jim Brown, Rockula, The Rose Garden with Maximilian Schell and Liv Ullmann, The Secret of the Ice Cave with Michael Moriarty and Sally Kellerman and A Man Called Sarge.
After the MGM-Pathé merger, Parretti agreed to sell Pathé's 60% majority stake in Cannon Pictures to Assonitis and a group of investors for $14 million.
[61] Under Pearce, Cannon Pictures announced it would keep contracts with players Charles Bronson, Chuck Norris and Michael Dudikoff signed under Golan's management and revealed a slate of films for 1991, Fifty/Fifty (now starring Peter Weller and Robert Hays), No Place to Hide with Kris Kristofferson and Drew Barrymore, The Hitman (with Norris), as well as The Human Shield and Rescue Me (both with Dudikoff).
[63] American Ninja V and the unmade Ants of God were added to the slate at the AFM in 1991 and Warner Home Video signed an agreement to distribute Cannon Pictures' output in North America, UK, Japan, Italy and Australia for ten years.
[64] Cannon Pictures greatly expanded its slate in time for the Cannes Film Festival in 1991 with a total of 18 films, in addition to those already announced, American Kickboxer 1, Black Cat Run with Dudikoff, The Borrower, Deep End and Dream Lover from Boaz Davidson, Delta Force 3: The Killing Game, Ninja: The American Samurai, Solemn Oath and Terminal Bliss had all been added to Cannon's production slate.
[66] In the wake of the Crédit Lyonnais foreclosure on MGM-Pathé, Pearce stepped down as president of Global Pictures, being replaced by Avi Lerner.
[68] That March, Cannon sued Vision International and its chairman Mark Damon for $15 million over Chuck Norris' involvement in the film, Sidekicks.
[69] At the Cannes Film Festival in 1992, Pearce and Yoram Globus announced they were merging Globus' privately held Melrose Entertainment, Pearce's privately owned Global Pictures and the publicly traded Cannon Pictures into one single entity called the Cannon Entertainment Group.
The merger was announced alongside a slate of pictures including Chicago Loop with James Spader, Cold to the Touch with Norris, Teen Angel from Boaz Davidson, Ivory to be directed by Aaron Norris, Delta Force IV: The Deadly Dozen directed by Brian Hutton and White Sun with Dudikoff,[70] as well as a new TV show called Sam Bolt: Texas Ranger, which would later become Walker, Texas Ranger.
[79] In August 1993, Cannon reported a net profit of $1 million for its second quarter, double the same period the previous year, due to the success of Walker, Texas Ranger.
[88] To prevent any fraudulent deals at MIFED, a warning appeared in Screen International and other publications stating all business must be done with the court appointed trustee and not with Pearce.
[89] The United States bankruptcy court set a deadline of January 11, 1995 for creditors of Cannon Pictures to submit their claim and evidence of debt.
[98][99] Golan continued to produce and direct films after New Cannon, including Children of Wax with Armand Assante and Udo Kier, A Dangerous Dance and Marriage Agreement.
In 2013, Golan announced sequels to several films he had produced at Cannon in partnership with MGM (successor-in-interest to the original Cannon), including Allan Quatermain and the Jewel of the East with Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone returning to their roles, Return of the Delta Force and American Ninja Apprentice with Michael Dudikoff, David Bradley and Steve James' daughter Debbi, alongside new original projects The Sniper with Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis and The Golem with Al Pacino and Nastassja Kinski; however, Golan died before any were produced.