What Submarine does

Submarine Entertainment is a privately held hybrid sales, production, and distribution company specializing in independent documentaries and narrative films. Founded in 1998 by twin brothers Dan Braun and Josh Braun and headquartered at 197 Grand Street, New York, NY 10013, the company operates across three core functions: international sales representation for independent filmmakers, in-house production, and theatrical distribution through its Submarine Deluxe division launched in 2009. Its primary customers are streaming platforms, theatrical distributors, and international sales partners, with reported buyer relationships including Netflix, Hulu, and Apple TV+.

The company generates revenue through one-time license fees for distribution rights, transaction-based sales commissions on behalf of filmmakers, and licensing royalties over the life of distribution contracts. Pricing is project-specific and varies by title, territory, and window rather than following a standardized SKU structure. The company also represents the Creepy and Eerie comic book IP libraries, indicating extension into rights management for legacy media properties beyond its core film business.

Submarine has built its positioning around documentary sales expertise and has reportedly been involved with 6 of the last 12 Academy Award-winning documentary features, providing reputational credibility in a relationship-driven sales business. As a privately held firm with no disclosed funding rounds, headcount, or financial statements, the company's operational scale, growth trajectory, and unit economics cannot be verified from public sources, which constrains due diligence precision.

Name

Submarine

Legal name

Submarine Entertainment

Website

https://submarine.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Submarine Entertainment is a privately held sales, production, and distribution company for independent documentaries and films, founded in 1998 by Dan and Josh Braun. It serves streaming platforms and theatrical distributors through project-based licensing and operates the Submarine Deluxe theatrical division.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Film Production: Submarine produces documentary and feature films, generating revenue through sales to distributors, streaming platforms, and theatrical releases.
2. Theatrical Distribution (Submarine Deluxe): Submarine Deluxe, the theatrical distribution division founded in 2009, brings films to audiences nationwide through theatrical releases, generating revenue from ticket sales.
3. Sales Agent/Intermediary: As sales agents, Submarine handles the sale of films to distributors and platforms, earning commissions or fees on transactions.
4. Licensing and IP Rights: Submarine principals represent the comic book libraries Creepy and Eerie, being developed across all platforms, representing future licensing revenue potential.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Submarine Entertainment is a hybrid sales, production, and distribution company focused on documentary and feature films. The company produces and acquires films, acts as a sales agent to sell them to distributors and streaming platforms, and operates Submarine Deluxe, its in-house theatrical distribution division founded in 2009. It has been involved with six of the last twelve Academy Award winning documentaries.

Product overview

Submarine Entertainment is a hybrid sales, production and distribution company operated by co-founders Dan Braun and Josh Braun. The company operates two main divisions: its core documentary sales and production business, which has handled six of the last twelve Academy Award winning documentaries; and Submarine Deluxe, its theatrical distribution division founded in 2009. The portfolio encompasses documentary films (American Factory, Honeyland, Crip Camp, Blackfish), non-fiction series (Wild Wild Country, Lenox Hill, The Andy Warhol Diaries), and theatrical releases through Submarine Deluxe (All That Breathes, War Game, Separated).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Submarine Entertainment (Documentary & Feature Film Sales and Production) Hybrid sales, production and distribution services for documentary and feature films, acting as a sales agent that sells films to distributors and streaming platforms while also producing original content. The company has been involved with six of the last twelve Academy Award winning documentaries.
• Submarine Deluxe (Theatrical Distribution) Theatrical distribution service for acclaimed feature films and documentaries, specializing in works exploring art, culture, pop culture, social issues, and compelling human stories. Brings films to audiences nationwide through theatrical releases.
• Documentary Films Portfolio Portfolio of produced and represented documentary films including American Factory, Honeyland, Three Identical Strangers, Crip Camp, Wild Wild Country, Blackfish, The Social Dilemma, and others. Films are sold to distributors and streaming platforms.
• Non-Fiction Series Portfolio Portfolio of produced and represented non-fiction series including Wild Wild Country (Emmy winner for Best Documentary Series in 2018), Lenox Hill, The Andy Warhol Diaries, Evil Genius, The Keepers, and Pick of the Litter.

Quantifiable outcome

• Six of the last twelve Academy Award winning documentaries sold
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Creepy and Eerie Comic Book LibrariesminorOthersSubmarine's principals represent the comic book libraries Creepy and Eerie, which are being developed across all platforms. This represents IP licensing opportunities rather than traditional partnerships.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• IFC Films: IFC Films is an independent film distributor specializing in documentaries, foreign films, and genre arthouse releases in the US market. It is a longstanding direct competitor to Submarine Deluxe in the theatrical/streaming distribution of prestige documentaries.
• NEON: NEON is an independent film production and distribution company with a strong track record in prestige documentaries and international arthouse titles (e.g., Parasite, I, Tonya). Like Submarine, it produces and self-distributes through theatrical channels and sells to streamers, making it a closely comparable boutique indie.
• Bleecker Street: Bleecker Street is an independent film distribution and production company focused on prestige theatrical releases with strong documentary and arthouse crossovers. It directly competes with Submarine Deluxe for theatrical slots on similar titles and on streaming platform deals.
• Magnolia Pictures: Magnolia Pictures is an independent film distribution and production company specializing in documentaries and arthouse features, with both a sales arm and theatrical/streaming distribution. It directly mirrors Submarine's hybrid production/sales/distribution model and targets the same distributors, platforms, and art-house audiences.
• Kino Lorber: Kino Lorber is a US-based independent film distributor with a deep documentary, foreign-language, and classic repertory catalog. It competes with Submarine Deluxe in theatrical/streaming distribution of art-house and documentary titles and serves similar B2B platform buyers.
• Oscilloscope Laboratories: Oscilloscope Laboratories is an independent film production and distribution company with a documentary-heavy, prestige-focused slate. It is closely comparable to Submarine on both the production and theatrical/streaming distribution sides of the business.
• A24: A24 is an independent entertainment company focused on producing and distributing films and television, with a strong documentary and prestige-feature slate. It competes with Submarine for premium documentary filmmakers and platform deals, and operates a comparable hybrid production/distribution model.
• FilmRise: FilmRise is a US-based independent film and television distribution company with a large documentary and unscripted catalog distributed across streaming platforms and ad-supported services. It overlaps with Submarine's documentary distribution model and platform relationships, particularly for back-catalog and non-fiction content.
• Dogwoof: Dogwoof is one of the leading global documentary sales agents and distributors, representing award-winning documentaries to platforms and theatrical audiences worldwide. It is a near-perfect direct peer to Submarine's core sales-agent business and overlaps on many of the same high-profile documentary titles.
• Participant: Participant is a documentary and impact-media production company known for socially conscious, award-winning films (An Inconvenient Truth, Roma, American Factory). American Factory itself is in both Participant's and Submarine's portfolios, making them directly comparable on business model, content type, and customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/submarineco
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@submarineent
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/submarine-entertainment
• Instagraminstagram.com/submarineent

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Submarine