40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, sometimes shortened to 40 Acres, is an American production company founded by filmmakers Spike Lee and Monty Ross in 1979. It has produced all of Lee's films.
History The company's name is a reference to forty acres and a mule, a section of military orders during the American Civil War which stated that certain recently emancipated black families on the Georgia coast were to be given some surplus army mules and lots of land no larger than . The company's logo contains a circle with the icon "40a" and it has occasionally used a parody of/homage to the Mark VII Limited logo.
The company has produced all of Lee's films, starting in 1986 with She's Gotta Have It. After the success of his films Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, Lee expanded the company's brand by opening clothing stores featuring its merchandise.
40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks has an advertising division with DDB called Spike DDB located in New York City. They have done Super Bowl, Nike, Levi, and Eckō Unltd. commercial spots. They have produced commercials and music videos in addition to Lee's films. The company established a music branch, used to designate records, 40 Acres and a Mule Musicworks in 1993.
In the late 1980s, the company sought a partnership with Universal Pictures, which was reupped in September 1992, and stayed on for five years, which lasted until March 2, 1997, when it was moved to Columbia Pictures for a three-year deal. Sam Kitt was named president of production at the Sony-based studio on June 18, 1997.
In 2001, Lee's TV film A Huey P. Newton Story won a Peabody Award. In 2006, documentary series When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts won a Peabody Award. In 2008, the company moved its operations from DeKalb Avenue, where it had been since the mid-1980s, due to skyrocketing rent. The headquarters moved "around the corner" to a building on South Elliott Place still in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. In 2010, Lee's documentary If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don't Rise won a Peabody Award. In 2021, the company had signed a multi-year creative partnership with Netflix to develop their film and television projects.
Filmography
Film Date Title Director Co-producer Distributor August 8, 1986 She's Gotta Have It Spike Lee Island Pictures February 12, 1988 School Daze Columbia Pictures July 21, 1989 Do the Right Thing Universal Pictures August 3, 1990 Mo' Better Blues June 7, 1991 Jungle Fever November 18, 1992 Malcolm X Warner Bros.Largo International May 13, 1994 Crooklyn Universal Pictures October 28, 1994 Drop Squad David C. Johnson Gramercy Pictures April 19, 1995 New Jersey Drive Nick Gomez May 24, 1995 Tales from the Hood Rusty Cundieff Savoy Pictures September 13, 1995 Clockers Spike Lee Universal Pictures March 22, 1996 Girl 6 Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Searchlight Pictures October 16, 1996 Get on the Bus Columbia Pictures Sony Pictures Releasing May 1, 1998 He Got Game Touchstone Pictures Buena Vista Pictures July 2, 1999 Summer of Sam October 22, 1999 The Best Man Malcolm D. Lee Universal Pictures April 21, 2000 Love & Basketball Gina Prince-Bythewood New Line Cinema August 18, 2000 The Original Kings of Comedy Spike Lee MTV ProductionsLatham Entertainment Paramount Pictures October 6, 2000 Bamboozled New Line Cinema July 1, 2001 3 A.M. Lee Davis Prism Leisure Corporation December 19, 2002 25th Hour Spike Lee Touchstone Pictures25th Hour ProductionsGamut FilmsIndustry Entertainment Buena Vista Pictures July 30, 2004 She Hate Me Sony Pictures Classics March 24, 2006 Inside Man Universal PicturesImagine Entertainment Universal Pictures September 26, 2008 Miracle at St. Anna Touchstone PicturesRai CinemaOn My Own Produzioni Cinematografiche Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures August 10, 2012 Red Hook Summer Variance Films November 27, 2013 Oldboy Good UniverseVertigo Entertainment FilmDistrict January 25, 2015 Cronies Michael Larnell Circa 1978 Productions February 14, 2015 Da Sweet Blood of Jesus Spike Lee Gravitas Ventures December 4, 2015 Chi-Raq Amazon Studios Roadside AttractionsFebruary 5, 2016Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the WallOptimum Productions Sony LegacyShowtime April 20, 2018 Pass Over Amazon Prime August 10, 2018 BlacKkKlansman Blumhouse ProductionsMonkeypaw ProductionsQC EntertainmentLegendary EntertainmentPerfect World Pictures Focus FeaturesUniversal Pictures October 2, 2018 Tales from the Hood 2 Rusty CundieffDarin Scott Universal 1440 EntertainmentHood Productions, Inc. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment May 17, 2019 See You Yesterday Stefon Bristol Netflix June 12, 2020 Da 5 Bloods Spike Lee Rahway RoadLloyd Levin/Beatriz Levin Production October 6, 2020 Tales from the Hood 3 Rusty CundieffDarin Scott Universal 1440 Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment October 17, 2020 American Utopia Spike Lee HBO FilmsParticipantRiver Road EntertainmentWarner Music EntertainmentRadicalMediaTodomundo HBOUniversal Pictures August 15, 2025Highest 2 Lowest Escape ArtistsMandalay Pictures A24Apple Studios
Television A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) Good Fences (2003) When the Levees Broke (2006) Kobe Doin' Work (2009) If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise (2010) She's Gotta Have It (2017–19) NYC Epicenters 9/11-2021½ (2021) Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (2025)
References
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