Troma Entertainment - History of Troma Studios

History of Troma Studios

In the mid 1970s, Kaufman and Herz began producing, directing, and distributing raunchy sex comedies such as The First Turn-On! and Squeeze Play!. Troma provided production support for Louis Malle's My Dinner With Andre, for which Kaufman served as a production manager.

In 1985, Troma had a hit with the violent dark comedy superhero film The Toxic Avenger. The film went on to become Troma's most popular, spawning sequels and an animated television program. However, following the financial demise of the company Troma itself, the sequels to the film were box office bombs, and the cartoon adaptation quickly ended. The Toxic Avenger character is now Troma's official mascot.

Kaufman's follow-up film to The Toxic Avenger was Class of Nuke 'Em High, co-directed with Richard W. Haines. The film was a hit nearly as successful, though it inspired two unsuccessful sequels, both following the financial demise of Troma. At one time, it was the highest-selling VHS release for Troma.

The Toxic Avenger was turned into a musical which debuted at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey and opened in New York in the fall of 2008. The Toxic Avenger Musical book by Joe DiPietro, the author of the long-running I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change and All Shook Up, was released the same year. The music is by David Bryan, keyboardist of the rock band Bon Jovi.

Soon after Class of Nuke 'em High was completed and distributed, Kaufman directed Troma's War. Intended as a criticism of what it saw as Ronald Reagan's attempt to glamorize war, the story concerns a group of everyday people who crash land on a remote island, only to find it populated by an isolationist militia that intends to overthrow the US government. Troma's War was a box office bomb. In the aftermath of the film's poor financial performance, Troma experienced financial hardship, jettisoning the company from the Hollywood mainstream. In the years that followed the financial failure of their films, Troma tried to reestablish itself as a smaller, independent film company, mostly out of financial necessity. Despite unsuccessful attempts to assert itself in the mainstream Hollywood community, notably with two direct sequels to The Toxic Avenger, and another stab at the superhero genre Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD, Troma was unable to reenter the mainstream film market.

Today, the majority of Troma films are viewed for the first time on VHS or DVD, with some theatrical releases for their films in smaller art houses, college campuses, and independent cinemas.

In August 2012, Troma released "over 100" of its back catalog films on YouTube, many for free, some for 48-hour paid viewing.