 It was formed sometime in 1971 as a production company and distributor as 21st Century Distribution Corporation.In the late 1980s, while filing for bankruptcy, it was purchased by Giancarlo Parretti.Pathé had also recently purchased The Cannon Group, which was renamed Pathé Communications, and he eventually handed 21st Century Film Corporation and Spider-Man and Captain America film rights (held by Cannon) over to Israeli filmmaker Menahem Golan as part of Golan's severance package from Cannon.