Black Bear was founded in 2011 by
Teddy Schwarzman, a
film producer and former
corporate lawyer who left
Cinetic Media to establish his own production company. In 2013, Black Bear financed the launch of
Elevation Pictures, an independent film and TV distribution company in Canada, with the two companies entering an output deal. Black Bear later fully acquired Elevation, which now operates as a subsidiary of Black Bear. Elevation has distributed films including
Anora,
Anatomy of a Fall,
The Zone of Interest, and
Everything Everywhere All at Once. In 2022, Black Bear launched an international sales division (Black Bear International) led by John Friedberg. In addition to its own productions, Black Bear has sold third-party titles including
Longlegs,
The Monkey, and
Afterburn. Also in 2022, Black Bear partnered with
New Regency to launch a documentary production unit entitled Double Agent to produce & finance premium documentaries, with Dana O’Keefe appointed president. In 2023, Black Bear was launched as a primary distributor (Black Bear UK) in the
United Kingdom, starting with
Dumb Money (2023). In 2025, they launched a U.S distribution division led by Benjamin Kramer to release between ten and twelve films per year.
Christy was the division's first release, followed by
Shelter. In November 2025, it was reported that
Bad Robot Productions sold their
Santa Monica property housing for to serve as Black Bear's new headquarters. ==Films==