Logo description by mr3urious
Logo capture and video courtesy of PalaceRoadshow

Background: This is the film and video distribution arm of The Hoyts Group, an Australian cinema operator. They have had joint ventures with PolyGram and Sony.

1st Logo
(1984-c. 1990)
Nicknames: "Golden Hoyts", "Cheesy Hoyts", "Hoyts from Hell", "Hoyts of Doom"

Logo: We first start off with a yellow BG. Then, with a flash, the word "Hoyts" in a blocky gold font zooms out. Sparkles shoot out below from left to right, causing the word "PRESENTS" to zoom up. The BG turns light blue, and the words sparkle and shine.

FX/Cheesy Factor: The zooming, sparkling, and shining. This logo looks like it was animated on Apple II or Commodore 64!

Music/Sounds: A loud video game-like synth choir fanfare with sparkling sounds.

Availability: Rare; seen on old Aussie tapes from the period. Check eBay.com.au!

Scare Factor: Medium, due to the sparkling and the fanfare.

2nd Logo
(1988-1993)
Nickname: "Hoyts in Space"

Logo: On a space BG, several neon red outlines of the Hoyts logo zoom out, followed by several more in blue, yellow, green, and white. They then flash and turn gold. A spot of light wipes in "PRESENTS" below the logo from left to right. The logo sparkles several times to the rhythm of the music, then flashes at the end.

FX/Cheesy Factor: The neon trails and light effects, which were starting to look dated around the time.

Music/Sounds: A fast-paced synth pop tune.

Availability: Rare; seen on Aussie tapes from the period. This was also used in Hoyts cinemas at the time.

Scare Factor: Low; the neon and light effects may get to some.

3rd Logo
(1990-c. 1993)
Nickname: "Hoyts from Purgatory", "HOYTS!"

Logo: Against a purplish BG with a grid below and a red circle in the distance, we see a 3D Hoyts logo rise up letter by letter, with each letter fading to blue, except the T, which is red. As the logo is fully formed, it transforms into a 2D image with two spotlights circling it, and the BG turns to black. Below are the words "A FILM FROM" and "HOYTS DISTRIBUTION" (in the same font as the logo).

FX: The letters rising up, the transformation into 2D, the spotlights.

Music/Sounds: A rising synth sound ending with a voice shouting "Hoyts", echoing throughout.

Availability: Rare; seen on old Aussie tapes from the period.

Scare Factor: Medium, due to the fast pace.

4th Logo
(2007?- )
Nicknames: "Glass Hoyts", "Hoyts of Splendor"

Logo: On a black background, red glass squares fly at the screen. Then, we move away from them, and we see the glass squares as a red line. The red line turns blue and we zoom out. Then, more red glass squares fly out of the blue line and form a line that zooms out. Above this line we see the Hoyts logo (in blue) and below the line we see the word "DISTRIBUTION". The logo shines.

FX: Everything in excellent CGI.

Music/Sounds: An extended whoosh.

Availability: On most Aussie releases of Sony material.

Scare Factor: Low; the in-your-face animation and whoosh will get to some, and the jarring cut from the Sony logo doesn't help either, but this is a cool and professional logo.