Columbia Pictures

(191?-1924)
TBA

1st Logo (March 15, 1924-December 29, 1927)
Nicknames : “The Female Roman Soldier”, “‘20s Female Roman Soldier”

Logo : On a dark gray background, we see a female roman soldier, holding a grain of wheat.

FX/SFX : TBA

Music/Sounds : TBA

Availability : Ultra rare. Seen on movies during the era.

Editor’s Note : None.

2nd Logo (January 1928-May 25, 1936)
Nicknames : “The Torch Lady”, “‘20s Torch Lady”

Logo : On a black background, we see a torch lady with “COLUMBIA PICTURES CORPORATION” above it. Below it is “Presents”.

FX/SFX : The rays shining.

Music/Sounds : A loud horn theme, which sounds similar to the Fox music or the opening theme.

Availability : Uncommon. Seen on movies during the era.

Editor’s Note : None.

3rd Logo (May 28, 1936-December 21, 1976)
Nicknames : “The Torch Lady II”, “‘30s Torch Lady”, “Ultra Common Torch Lady”

Logo : On a background filled with cumulonimbus clouds, we see a torch lady, this time standing on a pedestal. Above it is “COLUMBIA”.

Variant : Starting In 1974, “A DIVISION OF COLUMBIA PICTURES INDUSTRIES, INC.” appears below the logo.

FX/SFX : The rays shining.

Music/Sounds : Usually, the opening theme plays. On some films, this logo appears silent. However, a few shorts have a majestic theme before The Stooges theme plays.

Availability : Ultra common. Seen on movies during the era.

Editor’s Note : This is the first logo to have a pedestal.

4th Logo (June 23, 1976-1982)
Nicknames : “The Torch Lady III”, “‘70s Torch Lady”, “The Sunburst”

Logo : We see the logo from before, only this time slightly less detailed. The camera zooms to the torch and turns out to be a sunburst that zooms out. “Columbia Pictures” appears below the logo.

FX/SFX : The zoom in and out effects.

Music/Sounds : A majestic violin/synth theme. Of course, like many other movie logos, the opening theme could also play over it or silence, but usually not.

Availability : Rare. Internationally, it was used until at least 1982.

Editor’s Note : A cool-looking logo.

5th Logo (June 5, 1981-May 14, 1993)
Nicknames : “The Torch Lady IV”, “‘80s Torch Lady”, “Ultra Common Torch Lady II”

Logo : We see the same logo as before, only once again, slightly less detailed. A sunburst appears which causes “Columbia” and “Pictures” to appear on the left and right sides of the torch lady.

Variant : Starting around 1989, the text appears about a second after the logo fades in. There is no sunburst in this variation.

Closing Variants :
 * June 5, 1981-1989: None.
 * 1989-1992: We see the print logo with “A Columbia Pictures Release” underneath.

FX/SFX : Nice animation.
 * 1992-May 14, 1993; November 24, 1993: We see the same print logo, but with “COLUMBIA PICTURES” underneath and the SPE byline underneath it. On some films films (mainly the Castle Rock Entertainment co-produced films), “RELEASED BY” appears above. On Josh and S.A.M., “A COLUMBIA PICTURES RELEASE” appears above the “RELEASED BY” variant. The film itself would use the next logo at the beginning.

Music/Sounds : None or the opening theme. Rarely, the theme from the previous logo was used.

Availability : Very common. Last appeared on Lost in Yonkers.

Editor’s Note : None.

6th Logo (June 18, 1993- )
Nicknames : “The Torch Lady V”, “‘90s Torch Lady”, “Ultra Common Torch Lady III”

Logo : On a black background, we see a bright light, as if in sunburst, brightens the background. We zoom out to see a torch lady. “COLUMBIA” appears above and the clouds move very slowly to the right.

Byline : Variant : Starting with The Holiday, released on December 8, 2006, the logo is given a more “enhanced” look with a darker sky background, the “COLUMBIA” text has more silver in it and is slightly off center.
 * June 18, 1993-1999: (bylineless)
 * May 3, 1996-October 11, 2013: “a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company” (it is slightly off center.)
 * February 7, 2014- : “a Sony Company” (in this version, the Sony logo transitions to this logo.)

Closing Variants : FX/SFX : The zoom out and the clouds.
 * June 18-November 19, 1993; April 22, 2005; March 24, 2017- : One early closing variantnof his logo featured the boxed torch lady at center. Below it is “COLUMBIA PICTURES”. Some films have a “RELEASED BY” above the logo. Starting in 2017, “A COLUMBIA PICTURES RELEASE” can also appear below the logo.
 * December 10, 1993-December 21, 2016: We see a torch lady in a box with a cloud. The cloud and torch overlap the top of the box. Below it is “A COLUMBIA PICTURES RELEASE” or “RELEASED BY” above the logo. Sometimes, “A COLUMBIA PICTURES RELEASE” isn’t there. Sometimes, it’s bylineless.

Music/Sounds : A majestic theme, which ends with a brass sounder, composed by Jonathan Elias. There are 3 versions of the theme: one that is more synthesized, one that’s orchestrated with a piano orchestration, and the third, starting in October 20, 1998 with Vampires, both themes are mixed in together. Sometimes, the opening theme plays over the logo or it is silent.

Music/Sounds Variants : Availability : Ultra common. It’s held over Columbia Pictures films for over 25 years. Editor’s Note : None.
 * On the Open Season short Boog and Elliot’s Midnight Bun Run and The ChubbChubbs Save X-Mas, 1/2 of the Sony Pictures Animation theme plays over this logo.
 * There is a higher tone version that appears on such films like The Pink Panther, Open Season, Ghost Rider, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the 2012 remake of Total Recall and Hotel Transylvania.
 * The first film to use this logo was Last Action Hero.
 * The bylineless version appears on 1993-1996 films and some post-1996 films until 1999.
 * The Sony Pictures Entertainment variant first appeared on The Craft.
 * The enhanced Sony Pictures Entertainment variant first appeared on The Holiday and last appeared on Captain Phillips.
 * The Sony variant first appeared officially on The Monuments Men.