Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Warning Screens

These are the warning screens of Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video, Columbia TriStar Home Video/Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

1979-1982, 1991, 1993
The warning begins with a yellow text scroll reading "These films are sold for home use only. Any duplication, reproduction, public performance or commercial use is strictly prohibited." Coming after this scroll is the actual FBI warning screen, which looks similar to NTA Home Entertainment/Republic Pictures Home Video Warning Screen. The opening (and sometimes closing) transitions vary by tape. Sometimes, the closing audio from the movie will play over the warning.

On GoodTimes Home Entertainment releases of Columbia Pictures product, these screens run in reverse order.

As seen on VHS, such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Gilda (1946), The Guns of Navarone (1960), Shamus (1973), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974), Breakout (1975), Taxi Driver (1976), The Deep (1977), Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977), California Suite (1978), Midnight Express (1978), Hot Stuff (1979), The Villain (1979), ...And Justice for All. (1979), The Blue Lagoon (1980), Stir Crazy (1980), Union City (1980), Used Cars (1980), Yor, the Hunter from the Future (1983), Rick Springfield: Platinum Videos (1984), The Three Stooges: A Plumbing We Will Go (1993; especially the black and white version), and others.

1982-2005
These warning screens are from Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment (1981-1982), RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (1982-1991), Columbia TriStar Home Video (1992-2001) and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2001-2005).

1982-1987
The details are the same as in the previous warning, but now mostly in lowercase, recolored white, and shifted off to the left.

Seen on RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video VHS tapes, such as The Batty World of Baseball (1982), All the King's Men (1949; either in color or B&W), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964; B&W version), Absence of Malice (1981), Annie (1982), Tootsie (1982), Christine (1983), Krull (1983), The Natural (1984), Ghostbusters (1984), We are the World: The Video Event (1985), The Real Ghostbusters (TV series, 1986-1991), and others.

1982-1987 (Different Variant)
Before the warning, a variant of the "These films are sold..." scroll is shown, with the text in a thinner font. Then we cut to an early variant of the FBI warning itself.

Seen on some RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video VHS tapes, such as Funny Girl (1968), Easy Rider (1969), Cry For Happy (1961), Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different (1971), and others.

November 1982-May 1985
The pre-warning text scroll fades to a revised version of the FBI warning, which was also used by GoodTimes Home Entertainment.

Seen on some RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video VHS tapes, such as The Batty World of Baseball (1982), All the King's Men (1949; in either color or B&W), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964; B&W version), Annie (1982), Absence of Malice (1981), Tootsie (1982), Christine (1983), The Natural (1984), and others.

June 1985-2002
The details (which says "These films are sold for home use only") fade to the FBI Warning Screen (late variant) especially two versions of this FBI Warning Screen, which has been used for AIP Home Video, SVS/Triumph, Interglobal Video, VidMark Entertainment (now Lionsgate Home Entertainment), DualStar Video (now owned and exclusively distributed by Warner Home Video), Epic Home Video (for the early 1990s), Starmaker Entertainment and Media Blasters (gradient background, FBI Anti-Piracy Warning Seal, warning text centered, ”FBI WARNING” on top).

Seen on RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (later Columbia TriStar Home Video/Entertainment) VHS tapes, such as Ghostbusters (1984), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), We are the World: The Video Event (1985), Fright Night (1985), About Last Night (1986), Stand By Me (1986), Critters (1986), La Bamba (1987), Leonard Part 6 (1987), The Seventh Sign (1988), Critters 2: The Main Course (1988), Willow (1988; from MGM), The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1989), Ghostbusters II (1989), Steel Magnolias (1989), One Man Out (1989), Awakenings (1990), Loose Cannons (1990), Pump Up the Volume (1990), The Gate II: Trespassers (1990), Flatliners (1990), My Girl (1991), Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare (1991), Critters 3 (1991), Hangin' with the Homeboys (1991), City Slickers (1991), House Party 2 (1991), Suburban Commando (1991), Relentless 2: Dead On (1992), Candyman (1992), A Few Good Men (1992), Thunderheart (1992), Groundhog Day (1993), Lost in Yonkers (1993), Cliffhanger (1993), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), Last Action Hero (1993), In the Line of Fire (1993), My Girl 2 (1994), Little Women (1994), Wolf (1994), First Knight (1995), Jumanji (1995), Fly Away Home (1996), ​Matilda (1996), The Cable Guy (1996), The Craft (1996), Men in Black (1997), Godzilla (1998), The Mask of Zorro (1998), The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999), Arlington Road (1999), Baby Genuises (1999), Limbo (1999), The 6th Day (2000), Dogma (1999), Hollow Man (2000), Vertical Limit (2000), Charlie's Angels (2000), Joe Dirt (2001), Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), Men in Black II (2002), Spider Man (2002), and others.

August 19, 1997-June 7th, 2005
The FBI warning screen is the same but the text is different and the FBI seal is colorized. This was also used by Warner Home Video, HBO Video, and Starmaker Entertainment among others.

Seen on Columbia TriStar Home Video/Entertainment DVDs, such as Zotz! (1962), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Godspell (1973), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974), Breakout (1975), Taxi Driver (1976), The Deep (1977), Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977), Ice Castles (1978), Happy Birthday to Me (1981), Annie (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), Fright Night (1985), About Last Night (1986), Stand By Me (1986), Short Circuit 2 (1988), Ghostbusters II (1989), The Adventures of Milo and Otis (1989), Hero (1992), Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992), Jumanji (1995), Fly Away Home (1996), ​Matilda (1996), The Cable Guy (1996), The Craft (1996), Men in Black (1997), Godzilla (1998), The Mask of Zorro (1998), The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999), Arlington Road (1999), Baby Genuises (1999), Limbo (1999), The 6th Day (2000), Dogma (1999), Hollow Man (2000), Vertical Limit (2000), Joe Dirt (2001), Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001), Men in Black II (2002), Spider Man (2002), Eight Crazy Nights (2002), XXX (2002), Anger Management (2003), Darkness Falls (2003), The Medallion (2003), National Security (2003), Secret Window (2004), Spider Man 2 (2004), 13 Going on 30 (2004), Hellboy (2005), and others.

2002-2005
A revised variant for VHS, with a colorized FBI seal and bolder text. This was also used for Starmaker Entertainment.

Seen on Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment VHS releases, such as Eight Crazy Nights (2002), XXX (2002), Anger Management (2003), Darkness Falls (2003), The Medallion (2003), National Security (2003), Secret Window (2004), Spider-Man 2 (2004), Hellboy (2005), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), and others.

July 11th, 2005-2012
The FBI Anti-Piracy Warning Screen is the same as the one used by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, although there is no drop shadow in the text. An alternate version was seen on Blu-Ray discs, in which the FBI seal is larger, the text is smaller, and the background runs in a different direction.

Seen on Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (later Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) VHS tapes and DVDs, such as Thank God It's Friday (1978), The Forgotten (2004), Are We There Yet? (2005), Boogeyman (2005), Zathura (2005), Talledega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), Monster House (2006), Open Season (2006), Are We Done Yet? (2007), Spider Man 3 (2007), Ghost Rider (2007), Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007), Superbad (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), Step Brothers (2008), Hancock (2008), 2012 (2009), Salt (2010), Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (2011), and others. Blu-rays with the alternate version include The Last Waltz (1978), Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979), Big Fish (2003), and others.

2012-present
These are the current Sony Pictures Home Entertainment warning screens. The first part was the details, which says "Piracy is not a victimless crime.", along with the "National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center" above the detail and the website below the detail. The second part was the warning screen detail along with FBI Anti-Piracy Warning Seal and US Homeland Security Investigations badge. This warning screen has been used for Image Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Buena Vista/Walt Disney/Touchstone, The Asylum, Universal Music Group, Magnolia Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and other companies.

Seen on Sony Pictures Home Entertainment DVDs and Blu-Ray discs, such as The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Hotel Transylvania (2012), Men in Black 3 (2012), The Emoji Movie (2017), Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), and others.

Late 1982-1984
Warning: On a white background, we see the "Genuine first genration copy" notice. After a few moments, it slideshows into the warning text scrolling.

FX/SFX: The scrolling of the warning text for the second half.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on early RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video releases.

1984-1985
Warning: On a white background, we see the "Genuine first genration copy" notice. After a few moments, it fades out and the warning text scrolls up slowly.

FX/SFX: The scrolling of the warning text for the second half.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video releases from 1984-1985.

1985-1988
Warning: On a red background, we see the "Genuine first genration copy" notice from the first two warnings fading in. After a few moments, it fades out and the warning text fades in. After a few moments, it fades out and segues into the Red Spine warning.

FX/SFX: The "Genuine first generation copy" notice and the warning text fading in and fading out, the transition to the Red Spine warning.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video releases from 1985 to 1988.

1988-1989
Warning: On a marble background, white generic warning text scrolls up. At first the "Genuine first generation copy" notice from the first three warnings scrolls up before the warning text does.

FX/SFX: The "Genuine first generation copy" notice and the warning text scrolling up.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video releases from 1988 to 1989.

1989-1993
The warning screen is white generic warning text scrolling up on a black background.

As seen on VHS, such as Rock-A-Doodle (retail), The Krays, Critters 2, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and others.

1990-1997
The warning screen is set after the 20/20 Vision logo is done animating. The logo then zooms out for the word "WARNING", in blue, to appear next to it. The same warning text from above scrolls up, shining in a gradient of blue and coral pink.

As seen on VHS, such as Rock-A-Doodle (rental), Drop Dead Fred, Mixed Nuts, ''All Shook Up! (Hexed)'', and others.

1993-2006
1993-1995 variant

The warning screen is yellow generic warning text in Helvetica (with "Warning" underlined above it) scrolling up on a blue gradient background (sometimes brighter). The font depends on what release it is seen in. Before 1997, the font of the warning text is in Futura. Before 1995, the font is in ITC Avant Garde and the text is spaced out, but it isn't spaced out since December 1993. Since 1997, the font is in Helvetica.

Availability: Seen at the beginning after the Columbia TriStar Home Video (later Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) logo on Columbia TriStar PAL tapes and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment PAL tapes including Men in Black, The Net, Call Me Claus, Macbeth, Spider-Man and Philadelphia. Sometimes It is seen at the beginning and at the end of some tapes for example of the 2000's reprints of 1984'sGhostbusters, 1998's Madeline, 2000's The Patriot, 1968's Oliver!, 1982's Annie, 1987's Hamburger Hill and 2004's Spider-Man 2. The December 1993-1997 variant was also seen on Nu Image releases and Eureka Video releases in Australia. The warning screen with black writing and a black background was also used by Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Abbey Home Entertainment and HiT Entertainment.

1993-1998
The warning screen is white generic warning text in Futura (with "Copyright Warning" underlined above it) scrolling up on a black-turquoise background.

Availability: Seen on Columbia TriStar Laserdiscs in the UK.

1997-2001
The warning screen is generic warning text in Times New Roman (with "Warning" underlined above it) on a black background.

As seen on DVD, such as Bad Boys, Erin Brockovich, Stuart Little, Charlie's Angels, and others.

2001-present
The warning screen is the same generic warning text in Futura Condensed on a black background. Video CDs of Columbia TriStar/Sony Pictures movies from Hong Kong have a Chinese translation of it.

Variant: Current Blu-ray releases use the Arial Narrow font.

Availability: Seen on later Columbia TriStar DVD's and most Sony Pictures Home Entertainment DVD's, such as Bad Boys II, Spider-Man, Stuart Little 2, The Karate Kid, Click, and The Pink Panther. Also on Blu-ray Disc releases. Also on Australian DVD's since the late 1990s and since 2006, Blu-ray Discs.

1984-1988
Warning: On a blue background, we see the warning text scrolling up.

FX/SFX: The scrolling of the warning.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on RCA/Columbia Pictures International Video Australia releases, and early RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts releases, such as Hells Angels Forever, and Breakdance.

1988-1991
Warning: On a black background, we see a yellow outline of a television set. Inside, it's the red word "Warning" and underneath said word is yellow text. This warning screen is very similar to Roadshow Home Video 's warning screen on Australian video-tapes.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts releases, such as Death Wish IV.

1991-2005
The warning screen is a red word "Warning" appearing at the top on a black background. White text scrolls up, with "It is prohibited to" in red in the middle of the text. When the text finishes scrolling, the word "Warning" disappears. Later on in its use, the font of the warning text was changed to a bolder one and "DVD" replaces "Laser Disc".

As seen on VHS, such as Hudson Hawk (1990), Guarding Tess (1994), Charlie's Angels (2001), and Secret Window (2003).