VFX Houses in Memoriam

In progress...

Asylum Visual Effects | 1999~2010
Boss Films | 1983~1997
Buena Vista Visual Effects
CafeFX | 1993~2010
Centropolis Effects | 1997~2002
C.O.R.E. | 1994~2010
Disney Feature Animation
DreamQuest Images
ESC Entertainment | 1997~2004
FUEL VFX | 2000~2012 (Animal Logic Purchased Fuel VFX in Oct 2012)

Giant Killer Robots | 

Illusion Arts | 
Image Movers Digital | 
Kerner Optical | 1977~2011

Cinergi F/X ~> Mass Illusion ~> Manex Visual Effects | 1995-2001

Matte World Digital | 
Mecury FX Limited | 2013
Meteor Studios | ~2008
Mill Film Effects Division | 
Pacific Title & Art Studio | 1919 to 2009, Resurrected & Relaunched in 2012! Why?
Pixomondo UK & Detroit | 
The Orphange | 
The Secret Lab
Tweak Films | 
Warner Digital | 

Until I have time to flesh this list out, I have borrowed the list below from the VFX Crossroads series, all credit to Phil Feiner below:

Shuttered: a list of bankrupt or closed VFX Houses

This list has been kept and maintained over the years by Phil Feiner, who kindly made it available for publication. Thanks to Jonathan Erland for the suggestion to add the box office numbers for the films that these now-defunct VFX houses did. Global box office numbers are courtesy BoxOfficeMojo.com

Please note that more than one VFX house worked on most, if not all, of the movies listed below.

The list includes houses that did opticals & titles as well as a handful of post production facilities that also contributed visual effects. Most, but not all, of the facilities listed here were closed due to bankruptcy.



2013

Rhythm & Hues – Lord of the Rings: Return of the King ($1.1B); Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ($974M); Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring ($871M); The Hunger Games ($691M); Life of Pi ($601M thus far)

2012

Digital Domain (Purchased by Galloping Horse (China) & Reliance Media (India) –Titanic ($2.1B); Marvel's The Avengers ($1.5B); Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($1.1B); Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($836M); Transformers ($708M)

ICO VFX – Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore ($112M)

2011

CIS – Hollywood – Titanic ($2.1B); Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1B); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($963M); The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ($698M); Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ($654M)

Kerner Optical – Transformers: Dark of the Moon ($1.1B); Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($836M); Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($786M); Iron Man 2 ($623M).

2010

Asylum VFX – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.1B); Alice in Wonderland ($1B); Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($836M); Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($786M); Transformers ($708M)

Café Fx (aka Computer Café) – Alice in Wonderland ($1B); Spider-Man 3 ($890M); Iron Man ($585M); Armageddon ($553M); King Kong ($550M)

C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures – X-Men ($296M); Doctor Dolittle ($294M); Flubber ($177M); Nutty Professor II: The Klumps ($166M); Saw II ($147M)

2009

Illusion Arts – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe ($745M); Ghost ($505M); Bruce Almighty ($484M); Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian ($413M); Batman Forever ($336M)

Pacific Title & Art Studio – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1B); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($963M); The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ($745M); Star Trek ($385M); Night at the Museum ($177M)
Note: Pac Title has been Resurrected & Relaunched! (Why?) 

2008

Gray Matter – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl ($654M); XXX ($277M); American Gangster ($266M); Fun with Dick and Jane ($202M); The Italian Job ($176M)

2007

The Orphanage – Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1B); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($963M); Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ($896M); Night at the Museum ($574M); Iron Man ($585M)

2005

Digital Filmworks – Planet of the Apes ($362M); Minority Report ($358M); The Longest Yard ($190M); Cheaper by the Dozen ($190M); Big Momma's House ($173M)

ESC Entertainment – The Matrix Reloaded ($742M); The Matrix Revolutions ($427M); Constantine ($231M); Catwoman ($82M); The Ladykillers ($76M)

2004

Howard Anderson Company – Spider-Man ($821M); Hannibal ($351M); Jurassic Park III ($368M); Rush Hour 2 ($347M); Scary Movie ($278M)

Imagica USA – My Fair Lady ($72M); Mysteries of Egypt – IMAX ($45M); Island of the Sharks - IMAX ($10.7M); Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box -IMAX($5.23M)

2003

B/G/L Post – Evil Dead II ($5.92M); New Best Friend ($46.3K)

Buena Vista Imaging – The Lion King ($951M); Beauty and the Beast ($425M); Armageddon ($553M); Toy Story ($362M); As Good As It Gets ($314M)

Centropolis – Godzilla ($379M); What Women Want ($374M); How the Grinch Stole Christmas ($345M); Stuart Little ($300M); The Patriot ($215M)

Cinesite (Hollywood) – Titanic ($2.1B); Mission: Impossible II ($546M); Armageddon ($553M); Ocean's Eleven ($450M); Rush Hour 2 ($347M)

The Secret Lab (TSL) – Unbreakable ($248M); Gone in 60 Seconds ($237M); The Princess Diaries ($165M); Snow Dogs ($115M); Disney's The Kid ($110M)



2002 and Prior

Apogee
Atomix
Available Light 

Bill Cruse & Associates
Blue Sky/VFX
Boss Films
Boy Wonder

Caliban
Cascade
Centropolis
CFA
CFC – LA
CFI Optical
Chandler Group
Cinergi Efx.
Charlex
Coast Productions
Colossal Pictures
CRC (Cinema Research)
Curri

DeGraf / Wahrman
Digital Anvil
Digital Magic
Digital Muse
Digital Productions
Disney Visual Effects
Dream Quest Images
D-Rez
Eastern Opticals (NYC)
EEG (Entertainment Effects Group)
EFX Unlimited Inc. (NYC)
Encore Efx.

Hollywood Optical

Ferren & Associates
Film Effects of Hollywood
Flat Earth
Freeze Frame/Cinefx
Gray Matter 
I-Magic 
Introvision
Jack Rabin & Associates 
LA Effects Group
Landmark Entertainment
Look Out Mountain
Magi Synthivision
Magicam
Manex
Mass Illusions
Master Film Effects
Master Film Effects
Metrolight Studios
MGM Optical Dept.
Mirage
Modern Film Effects
Motion Opticals
Movie Magic
National Screen 
Netter Digital
Omnibus 
Optical Cinema Service
The Optical House-LA
The Optical House-NYC

Pittard Sullivan Design

Pixel Envy
POP (Pacific Ocean Post)
Post Group Film Unit
Praxis
Rainmaker-LA
Ray Mercer
Robert Abel & Associates
RGA-LA
RGA-NY (Robert Greenberg & Associates)
Side Effects
Sidley-Wright
Skyline Digital Images
Station X

Threshold Digital
Total Optical Productions
TNT Optical
Triple I

Unitel
Universal Digital Department
Universal/Heartland
Universal Title & Optical
Universal Matte Department
Van Der Veer Photo Effects
Varitel
VI Efx. – 20th Century Fox
Vision Arts
Virtual Magic
Warner Digital 
WBIT 
Westheimer
Whitney-Demos

Zoptic