Touchstone Pictures is the adult film banner of The Walt Disney Company (actually part of Walt Disney Pictures). Touchstone was formed in 1984, by then CEO Ron Miller who wanted to put his father in law’s company into a more adult format due to movies like “The Black Hole” (1979) and “Tron” (1982) underperforming at the Box Office. It’s first film was “Splash” (1984) which was a big hit, and helped kickstart the acting career of Tom Hanks.
Unlike other Disney-owned studios such as Miramax Films, Marvel Comics, Pixar and Lucasfilm, however, Touchstone is not a separate studio but essentially Walt Disney Pictures minus the Disney name and indicia. Touchstone was notable for releasing Disney's first PG-13 and R-rated films, as well as several PG-rated films considered too adult or too intense for the Disney brand, such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993).